Customer Reviews

OPPO BDP-80 Blu-ray Disc Player with SACD and DVD-Audio (Black)

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

You should look closely at this player if any of these descriptions fit you:

-You own SACDs or DVD-As and want to play them on the same player you use for Blu-ray and DVD;
-You want to upgrade to a universal player that can transmit all audio and video formats (including SACD and DVD-A) via HDMI;
-You own a high-end video processor (separately or built into your receiver or display) that you want to use instead of the one built into your player;
-You own a processor that does not accept HDMI but does have analog 7.1/5.1 inputs, and want to use them to hear lossless audio (TrueHD/DTS-MA) from Blu-ray Discs.
-You prefer to do business with a smaller company that has a reputation for responsive and effective customer support.

You are not the target market for this player if:

-You require that your streaming solution (for Netflix, Amazon, YouTube etc.) be part of your Blu-ray player -- this player does not stream;
-You own a very large display and need the very best available upconversion of standard DVDs (which would make you a candidate for Oppo's $499 BDP-83);
-You don't want to spend more than the minimum for standard Blu-ray audio and video performance, and you have HDMI-enabled equipment.
-You feel you can benefit from the audio performance of very high-end DACs for stereo or multichannel analog audio (which would recommend the BDP-83 or BDP-83SE).

While I've only had my BDP-80 for a few days, I've become very impressed with the thoroughness and elegance of its design. This is a very well thought-out player, aimed at users who have a reasonable grasp of the technology they're using.

I should note that I did not spend much time on the file-playback capabilities of this unit. I did play a couple of MPG files I had on a thumb drive (there's a port on the front of the player) and found a very nice menu and very straightforward operation. There is a long list of supported file formats.

Some of the things that jumped out at me:

-The very well-packed player arrives, inside the box, wrapped not in plastic, but in an Oppo tote bag made from recycled material.
-The manual is clear, well-written in English, and printed with premium materials. (Updated versions can be downloaded as well.)
-A 6' HDMI cable is included.
-The unit has a very solidly-built feel to it.
-It is silent in operation (no cooling fan) yet does not run hot.
-Tray operation feels and sounds solid, well-damped, and not a bit flimsy. There is no ambiguity about whether the disc is properly centered in the tray.
-Menus are attractive and unambiguous.
-The remote has a number of unusual but useful controls, but is still comfortable and intuitive for basic operations. (Note that it is not backlit; the backlit version costs more and is available direct from Oppo. This is moot if you plan to use a universal remote, as I do.)
-The player is very quick in all modes of operation. It powers up and boots very fast; the tray is ready to open in a few seconds. Blu-ray operations are on a par with the PS3; other types of discs load and play as fast as most regular players.
-In my installation, at least, I connected to my home network, the player immediately configured itself, contacted the mothership, found and downloaded the latest firmware, all in a couple of minutes.

Detailing every feature of the player and remote would basically be to reproduce the owner's manula which, since it's available as a pdf on Oppo's site, you can do for yourself. So I'll end by saying that the player appears to do everything that Oppo says it will do, and does it quickly and without fuss. The company includes a one-year parts-and-labor warranty, and has an excellent reputation for customer support.

You can pay a lot less for equivalent performance in Blu-ray playback via HDMI, even in players with support for streaming services. If that's all you need there may be no reason for you to pay more for a player like this. But particularly if you can use a universal player with Blu-ray, this is not just a great performer, but it's a stone bargain.

Here was my problem. My old Sony Esprit series CD player was on its last legs. I had a lo-fi DVD / VCR. I own several dozen hybrid SACD's that I could only hear as CD's. I wanted, no, needed, a quality universal player.

The rest of my system has very nice equipment, the kind of equipment that fellow audiophiles on a tight budget appreciate. My home theater speakers are Magnepans, my multichannel receiver was a high quality Yamaha, and I used my old Carver M1.5t amplifiers to amplify the main MG12/QR's and a Dahlquist subwoofer.

I wanted something to play SACD's and CD's at a high quality, multichannel for the DSD streams and as a bitstream for traditional CD. I also wanted to up-convert DVD signal. Did I need Blu-ray? No, but when you can get it for free, why not?

The OPPO BDP-80 is the ONLY universal player in the world that includes Blu-Ray, and SACD on the same platform, and costs only $289.00! That is phenomenal.

After several weeks listening to the unit, hooked into my system via both HDMI and optical digital, I have these comments.

The CD bitstream, acquired via optical digital, is at least as good as my Sony was. The sound is clean, pure, and accurate. SACD, acquired as a discrete multichannel output, is excellent. I can finally hear the improvement that DSD provides; a more open high end, more "air" around string instruments in the orchestra, more ambiance in jazz recordings. I've been missing something, and this is the answer for serious home reproduction of fine music.

The pleasant surprise - MP3's via the USB port! I am shocked that better quality MP3 input (320 kbps) sound almost as good as CD's. And it is trivial to move files onto a thumb drive, and play them on the player. I am shocked at how often I use this little gem of a feature.

Video is vastly improved. All of the up-converted signals from traditional DVDs are sharp, far better than the lo-fi players I used to use. The ability to get clean Dolby Digital signal over HDMI is a huge improvement, as my receiver is not capable of decoding the new Blu-ray formats.

Here's my bottom line:

The only unit that can do all this, under a thousand dollars, is the larger OPPO! While I concede that the audio output of the larger OPPO is better than this unit,(heck, Lexicon takes the BDP-83, changes out a few capacitors, wraps a better box on it, and charges $3500!) this still delivers SACD, good CD, and MP3 in a single package, for less than $300.00.

And as someone who takes pride in getting a lot of audio bang for my buck... this unit delivers exactly what I want. I can put any media format in my house into one player, and get high quality audio and video, for a very nice price.

Bravo, OPPO!

The first thing you will notice when you take this player out of the well packaged box it is shipped in is that it has a very solid feel, it's also deeper then most of the stuff made today by sony and others I like the deeper machines they fit better with all my other gear. My Sony and most new Sony's feel like the constructed of tin so you have what looks a bit fancier in some of the Sony's but really they all seem to be built like junk in the Oppo 80s price class, while I would love if the draw assembly had the liquid smooth quiet damped draw like my Yamaha's I did not expect this on th 80 and it would probably increase the cost to build it in so its understandable in this range, I would think the Oppo 83 has that at $200 more.

The picture when using its own upscaler chip I'm a little torn on, I think its quite good overall but it also has source direct that sends the signal direct to your set allowing your TV or High End Reciever to do the upscaling, this feature is not found on lesser machines, this also allowed me to test the upscaling capability in the Oppo 80 with what I have, and here's what I noticed if I feed the source from a well recorded DVD direct to my TH46PZ85U it seems to do a very good job at up scaling SD but on-screen titles and text seem to be handled better in my Pany then the 80, text seems cleaner and whiter where is the Oppo seems a little softer and not as white im not sure why but it seems that the 80 is less sharp on something's, this has nothing to do with the sharpness control in the player as you can't make the Oppo show text as clearly defined no mater how you set it.

Im not sure how the 83 compares in this test as I do not own one but thats somthing I notice right away please don't let that stop you however as the picture, sound and build are all quite high, do not expect an over procesed image as may be seen with many machines, this machine produces a much more natural picture then most mass market machines and I expect that from a smaller high quality company like Oppo Digital.

With this aside I would say the machine does a great job, it even played discs my sony machine wouldn't even play. In my sony some discs would lock up but the same problem disc plays fine in the Oppo.

So if what you want is a fast well made machine that will play most of what you toss at it I think you cant go wrong with this machine.

this player does not have the case flex of many other machines that is I mean that cheep box construction seen on so many others built today you can flex the case on others ... but the 80 it really is solid I would say that the case that the 80 was built around is thicker steel then other players out there, I have not confirmed this, but sure they cut some corners in the 80 like the true puck style feet that are on most high end gear like my Yamaha's and the Oppo 83 but I feel that's ok as they didn't seem to skimp in over all build at all and that's welcome and important in my book I really don't like junk.

So if you just want a cheep player that has Netflix stuff and buy one of the others that are less then this or even close to this you will not get this build quality in the other machines in my opin.

This was my first foray into Blu-ray, and I wanted a player with full out-of-the-box support for the format (BD Profile 2.0, 1GB on-board memory for BD-Live), as well as excellent DVD upconversion, fast load times, universal audio disc and media file playback, solid build quality, reliable firmware support, and a reasonable price. The OPPO BDP-80 was a perfect fit.

I seriously considered the acclaimed BDP-83 but for my needs I couldn't justify the extra $210 for its step-up features, namely:

- Better analog audio: I'm using bitstream output over HDMI exclusively since I own a new receiver (Pioneer VSX-9040TXH) with HDMI 1.3 and TrueHD/DTS-MA decoding.
- DVD 24p conversion: This feature is problematic anyway due to the inconsistent authoring of commercial DVDs, and my TV's (Sony KDL-40XBR9) CineMotion feature essentially produces the same result from 60i/p input (3:2 cadence detection and proper 10:10 pulldown at 240 Hz).
- Superior DVD upconversion: At my TV's relatively small screen size (40"), the difference is considered negligible.
- Backlit remote, included calibration discs: Not needed and can be ordered separately from OPPO.
- Aluminum front panel: The "fake" panel on the BDP-80 actually matches my receiver and still looks slick to me.

Some of the possible criticisms of this unit compared to the mainstream brands were actually pluses for me, such as:

- No media streaming services (YouTube, Netflix, etc.): I already have multiple boxes with those capabilities (BRAVIA TV, Xbox 360, TiVo). I preferred a player focused on core disc playback functionality.
- Bulkier chassis: The deeper, heavier chassis fits in better with my other A/V components than other shallower, flimsier models.

So far I am very impressed with the video quality, performance, attractive yet straightforward menus and displays, ease of use, even the packaging of this unit.

I grew up in the household of a professional audiophile, became one myself, and I've seen them all. This player is a flat-out steal at this price. I replaced a Pioneer DV-610av-s with this unit, literally just swapped cables over, and used a USB drive to update the firmware. Amazing machine. I geeked out over it, big time.

Here's why you should pick this thing up:
- Every possible connector a low-budget audio/videophile wants: 7.1 analog outputs, digital coax, optical, HDMI, component, composite, S-Video, 2x USB, and ethernet
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoders on-board, for hi def audio on the analog (7.1) outputs (for those of us still attached to our older Pioneer Elite receivers ^_^)
- Excellent DVD up-conversion...I've seen better, but we're talking wayyyyy beyond this price point
- Cheapest blu-ray you can buy with DVD-A and SACD AND analog audio outputs...I bought this player for this reason alone
- 96 and 192 khz audio options for compatible receivers
- Simple setup...intuitive menu, GORGEOUS manual (the thing was professionally printed IN ENGLISH), and HDMI cable included
- On-unit display screen has indicators for everything
- Quick eject/load time
- Great remote
- Beautiful packaging = enjoyable unboxing experience

Here's what irks me so far:
- No ability to have surround speakers set at different distances in the menu--you change the distance on one, the other changes too (although any decent receiver gives you this option, so not a big deal...)
- Short power cord (again, not a big deal)
- No backlighting on the remote (big deal = no)

Oh, and shipping with UPS is garbage...I signed up for 2-day delivery, UPS showed up after my apartment's front office was closed and couldn't get in, so I called to have it ready for pickup that night, drove out there only to find they never pulled it off the truck, and had to call back to make sure they delivered it during business hours. And when I called to have the operator send the driver the code to our gate, the operator said "our drivers don't have cell phones". WTF? What is this, 1982?

Buy this thing already. Just don't ship with UPS.

If you are thinking about spending $150-$200 on a blu-ray player from Sony, LG, Samsung, etc...and have dismissed this player because its almost $300 and doesn't have the internet features --- please stop and reconsider. My experience is that Oppo players just plain work better and have better video quality than anything else near this price -- particularly when playing regular DVD's. You will not be sorry. This player is worth the extra $100. If you want Netflix streaming, pick up a Roku box. This is my 2nd Oppo (also own the 981 -- had for a few years now it still works great, looks great and plays almost any disk regardless of condition). Several friends own Oppo as well and they feel the same.

Previously had blu ray player from LG (model 370) Worked OK at first: 1) Good blue ray video quality, 2) internet streaming worked but was not as good/smooth as Xbox or Roku, 3) good speed 4)poor DVD playback (not even close to my Oppo 981), 5)terrible remote. Started having problems -- would not read newer blu ray disks (disk error message) and 90 day warranty expired. After several no responses from LG customer service I gave up. LG stopped doing firmware updates after my player had been discontinued -- seems like they expect the consumer to simply buy a new player every year or two. Learned my lesson and went back to Oppo. Its such a relief now to put in a disk (DVD or Blu Ray) and have it play without any problems and look great.

Considered the higher price Oppo unit but it was just too high for me. Worried from Oppo website that it would not look good on large screen. After playing a few favorite disks (BR and DVD) realized how much better it looked than the LG. DVD quality was as good as my Oppo 981 which looked way better than the Sony and Samsung players I had also previously owned (all died). I am very happy. Hope this helps.

I currently own an OPPO DV-980H up-converting DVD player that I've had for a few years now. I loved it when I got it and still do, but this new player far exceeds that one all the way around. This player is super quiet, unlike the DV-980H which is quite noisy at times. It does a better job up-converting DVDs and has a source video mode where it will leave the output as is so you can allow your receiver or TV to do the up-converting instead. The overall look and feel of the physical unit is great, it's almost as thin as any good DVD player plus it has a USB port on the front for loading up movies or music that way. It supports just about every audio and video format out there, however I have noticed some strange artifacts/pixelation that occurs on a couple videos I encoded using the newest H.264 encoding standards. I'm sure this will be addressed in future firmware updates, OPPO is always good about keeping their firmware up-to-date and it's super easy to upgrade. It supports all the latest and greatest Dolby audio formats along with many others and can output the sound to your receiver as is (bitstream) or convert it to LPCM first for better compatibility if your receiver can't decode it. The menus and navigation are much improved over older models and the manual is very well written and explains everything well.

If you are interested in playing many different formats of audio and video, this is definitely for you. If you don't need the higher-end video processing for DVD up-conversion that the BDP-83 provides for a premium, get this one instead. You just can't beat what you get for the price. I have a Netflix Blu-ray subscription and ever disc I've watched so far has worked flawlessly. There will always be more potential problems with ripped and burned audio and video because of the multitude of encoding formats and methods used.

I will keep this review short and sweet since there has already been so much written about the Oppo BDP-80. The best word to describe this unit is "elegant." It's a Blu-Ray player designed to do one thing well: play Blu-Ray and DVD plus high-quality audio formats. No streaming features, no games, no fuss. Just what the doctor ordered.

Ready to finally take the Blu-Ray plunge, I was looking at Sony and other similar players and was quite simply overwhelemed by the laundry list of features, which frankly duplicated functionality that I already didn't use in other devices like my Tivo. Then I found the Oppo BDP-80 and was blown away by it's single-minded simplicity and focus on the basics. I believe Oppo is unique in the markeplace, offering a simple, high-quality Blu-Ray playback device using high quality components, with a solid build and elegant user interface.

I have been very pleased with DVD upscaling performance on my 37" 1080i Plasma TV, which comes pretty close to the quality of Blu-Ray playback. Disc loading and playback performance overall is best-of-class and the feature set on the remote is comprehensive yet simple to use. I would recommend reading the well written manual, which would have saved me some setup frustrations had I spent a few minutes with it before using the player.

Highly recommended!

I replaced an entry level Sony Blu-ray player for the Oppo 80 in order to play a wider variety of media (namely SACD & DVD-A discs). Solid construction, ease of setup, speed, and the ability to play almost all audio/video media sets this player way above others in this price range. Blu-rays are pristine in audio & picture quality. I generally don't play DVDs, so I can't really comment on the upconversion quality.

A cool feature of the remote is the "Pure Audio" setting. It shuts of the video signal, player's display & other possible interference so you can hear audio without any noise. You can also adjust video resolution on-the-fly with the remote. Simply a perfect machine.

Yes, it sells for a little more than most of those that have saturated the market. Sony, Toshiba, Sharp, Vizio, Panasonic, LG and a plethora of others, offering all the new features, including USB ports for live online access etc...My setup included, two Sony 400 capacity DVD players, which housed the 800 plus DVD's I have amassed over a three year period. However, not unlike other Sony Laser guided audio and video machines, their shelf life, so to speak, is designed to last from perhaps, one and a half to three years, at which time their lasers stop working, causing the freezing of any particular DVD or CD, being the case, in their 5 disc carousel, I have quite literally gone through, eight Sony machines, be they CD or DVD, in the past four to six years. None of the eight were lower entry level machines, rather, several from the Sony ES Series. Therefore, when my two Sony, Disc Explorer 400 Machines went down within three days of each other, I knew it was time to move on and scratch that name from my list of Audio/Video components. While cruising Amazon.com, I came across the name Oppo. This company does not have aspirations of owning a large percentage of the market share.The Oppo "Mission Statement" is one that developed a mentality of producing several great machines for both audio and video, grasping a very small portion of the marketplace and to produce the absolute best machines in the field. I purchased the lowest/least expensive of their DVD players, the Oppo BDP-80 Blue-ray Disc Player with SACD and DVD Audio in Black. I received it in less than two full days, as I am a Prime member with Amazon, (well worth the fee) and had it wired and fired within 5-10 minutes. It is so quiet, I did not believe the motor was running. In addition, from the moment I shut the door, the CD was ready to play in several seconds. This boggled my mind since both Sony's would take a significantly extensive and prolonged period of time just to get to the point where one could read the disclaimers on Intellectual Property Rights. The playback resolution is absolutely brilliant as are the crisp highs, clean mid-range and solid bottom lows out of the SubWoofer. This was a win-win situation. I am definitely sold on Oppo and am planning several more purchases in the next several months. I would not hasten to recommend any of the Oppo products as being great investments, a sound (pardon the pun) investment in developing a home theater or simply for the occasional viewer of DVDs. I know it will last and will be backed-up by the Oppo Tech Department, in the event it requires this type of work. I am extremely pleased with it's performance, quiet operation and magnificent reproduction of the best video offered in the world of digital entertainment.