I really enjoy Oppo players. They are built well, play movies well and the company seems very good at providing customer service and support. I currently own the OPPO DV-980H, the BDP-83 and now, this BDP-93 model.
I'll be honest, I was one of (probably) many who thought their BDP-83 could have 3D capability with a firmware update (Just like the the PS3). Sadly, this was not the case. What we did get was a new player capable of playing 3D at the same price as the previous model. While I was not anxious to spend another $500, at least the price was reasonable (OPPO could have really taken advantage here) and I really wanted to have 3D capability so I was one of the first to order as soon as it was available just before Christmas. This new 3D player however, while having made some improvements, still has some flaws compared to the previous player. Here are some of the things I like about this new player:
- Call me superficial, but I love the look of this new player. The faceplate looks like brushed steel or aluminum painted black with buttons that are flush. Very sexy. It seems like it is the same dimensions as the previous model although there is no fan in the back.
- The 3D capability is fantastic! The same picture quality that we have come to expect from Oppo but with 3D!
- One thing I did not like about the older BDP-83 model was the fast-forwarding and rewinding during DVD playback. No matter how fast you forward or rewind during DVD playback, it is choppy and slow. I'm happy to say that this is greatly improved on this player. It is much smoother and more accurate. Navigating through DVD playback is much easier.
- I also love the second HDMI output. It's a very helpful feature to have under certain circumstances.
- And finally, OPPO has finally gone wireless! No more having to drag Ethernet wires through the house to somehow connect your OPPO and get those valuable firmware updates!
Here is what I don't like:
- The loading time seems longer than the previous model. Maybe it's my imagination, but I find the loading time especially longer when I insert a DVD. Not so much with most Blu-Ray discs.
- Which brings me to my next point: I have noticed that some Blu-Ray discs take a very long time to load and I have already encountered one movie (Monsters on blu-ray) that not only took very long to load, but also froze my player just as the movie was about to play. I contacted Oppo about this and the person I spoke to told me that they've had issues with discs from certain companies like Anchor Bay. They were not, though, aware of the problems with the Monsters blu-ray. OPPO suggested I send the Monsters Blu-Ray in the mail so that they could test it, but I decided against it because I was afraid of losing my disc. (By the way, the movie played flawlessly and loaded quickly on my older BDP-83 player.)
- When I eject a disc from the player, I have to wait about 10 seconds before I can close the tray again. This is an annoyance I can do without. I never had this issue with the BDP-83 player. I was able to eject the disc, switch another disc and close it without any trouble. In fact, I've never had this issue with ANY player. Hopefully, a firmware update will change this.
- Although I like the new faceplate for this player, the display is significantly smaller this time so it is harder to see the information when you're sitting on the couch away from the player. The BDP-83 player had a larger display that was easier to see from a distance.
- And lastly, although I love having wireless on this OPPO, it is not built-in. You have to plug-in a fairly fat wireless USB adapter that looks like the D-Link WUA-1340 model. It's ugly to look at so I have it plugged it in the back of the player. This wireless adapter adds another four inches or so to the length of the player. Fortunately, I had just enough room to fit it in my TV stand.
In conclusion, the most important feature on any Blu-Ray player is picture quality and the OPPO BDP-93 certainly delivers. I had, for a short time, a Sony BDP-S350 and as nice as that player was, it still couldn't compare to the picture quality of my two OPPO Blu-Ray players. Still, the BDP-93 is not perfect by far and hopefully the problems I've experienced will be remedied with upcoming firmware updates. As it is now, with the exception of 3D capability, I think I still prefer my older BDP-83 player. Perhaps this player was rushed so OPPO could have this available in time for Christmas. I can't say for certain. What I can say is this player has a lot of potential if these flaws are fixed. For the time being, however, I would rate this player as is with 3 1/2 stars.
**Update May 1st, 2011**
Just to let everyone here know, I've encountered the exact same problem again with another blu-ray disc as I did with the Monsters blu-ray disc. I recently purchased the "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" blu-ray. I inserted the brand new disc in the Oppo and waited...and waited ...and waited. Finally, after about five minutes, I tried to eject the disc so I could try having the Oppo read it again, but no luck! The Oppo had froze and I had to hold the power button for 10 seconds to completely power down the player. I tried powering up again, hoping to have a different result this time and finally watch the movie, but unfortunately, the exact same thing happened. For the sake of curiosity, I played the blu-ray disc in my older BDP-83 player that I keep downstairs in the basement. Sure enough, I had the exact same result as with the Monsters blu-ray... It loaded quickly and played flawlessly! At this point, I am becoming too frustrated with this player to enjoy it anymore. The negatives are outweighing the positives so I've decided to replace the Oppo BDP-93 with my older BDP-83. The BDP-93 will go downstairs and I will switch them back for those few times I need a 3D player (assuming that I don't replace it for a different 3D player altogether!). Otherwise, the older BDP-83 will be my main blu-ray player. Because of this, sadly, I am now changing my personal rating from 3 1/2 stars to 2 1/2 stars.
***Update June 25th, 2011***
I just encountered the same problem AGAIN with another disc I purchased. This time it's "The Italian Job" Blu-Ray. That's right. You read correctly..."The Italian Job" on Blu-Ray. I inserted the disc, got as far as the main menu and once I selected to play the main feature...I got, what seemed to me, the OPPO equivalent of the BSOD (blue screen of death). That is to say, nothing seemed to work on the BDP-93 and all I could see on the television was a blank screen with the OPPO logo. The only way I could get out of it was to completely power down the BDP-93. I tried playing the disc over and over again, but unfortunately with the same result. Needless to say (but I will say again for the record), it "loaded quickly and played flawlessly" on my older, discontinued OPPO BDP-83. This is becoming ridiculous! These are just the discs that I'm aware of! Sadly, I am very close to giving up on the BDP-93. I will wait to see what the next firmware update will bring to the table, but in the meantime, I think it's time to accept this loss and begin my search for another 3D Blu-Ray player.
Even though it's discontinued, if you're looking for a solid, no frills, quality Blu-Ray player, you won't do better than the OPPO BDP-83. Grab one, if you ever have the opportunity. As for a 3D Blu-Ray player? If anyone has any recommendations, I would be very happy to hear from you.
****Update October 12th, 2011****
At the request of some of the people who have shown interest in my review of the OPPO BDP-93, today I have tested those three discs (Monsters, Anchorman & The Italian Job) that the BDP-93 could not play many months ago. Although it was not relevant to me at this point since so much time has passed, I am happy to say these discs are no longer unplayable. After a fair amount of time and a few firmware updates, the BDP-93 was able to play those blu-rays with no trouble at all. This is good to see, but what has really made me happy is that since my last post in June, I have not had any trouble playing ANY of my purchased blu-rays with the BDP-93. I have a fairly extensive collection of older and newer blu-rays (from The Natural to Thor 3D) and all have played flawlessly so far. I still find the small time delay when opening and closing the loading tray incredibly annoying, but the continuous firmware updates are helping and I am finding myself feeling optimistic with the BDP-93.
*****Update December 16, 2011*****
Yesterday, I accidentally found a workaround for the annoying delay problem when opening and closing the loading tray. I mentioned earlier that there is an approximate 10 second delay when opening the loading tray, placing a disc inside and closing it again using the open and close button on the player itself. However, I discovered this annoyance does not occur when using the same button on the remote. I have tried this a few times last night and as bizarre as that might seem, using the remote to open and close the loading tray causes no delay whatsoever. It works as seamlessly as it was meant to be. I'm still hoping for firmware update that will address the problem for the player itself, but at least this is something. The only alternative to this would be to actually physically push the loading tray closed, but this is something I am loathe to do. In my mind, I worry about breaking the tray somehow as I cannot imagine it was designed to be closed that way (I could be wrong...).
Anyways, I mention this in case someone else might find this helpful. Otherwise, all is still going well and I am continuing to enjoy the BDP-93.
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