OPPO BDP-93 Universal Network 3D Blu-ray Disc Player
OPPO BDP-93 Universal Network 3D Blu-ray Disc Player
- Universal Blu-ray disc player providing playback for a myriad of video formats on disc or eSATA/USB drives
- Dual HDMI 1.4 outputs for multiple displays or separate, dedicated video/audio connections
- Supports Blu-ray 3D specifications (3D television and glasses required)
- Decoding and individual 7.1-channel output for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio
- Stream content from Netflix or Blockbuster and update firmware via your wireless or wired network; Voltage: 100V – 240V, 50/60Hz AC
Oppo’s BDP-93 gives you universal playback of Blu-ray, DVD, CD, SACD, DVD-Audio, and a wealth of digital files, with solid picture and sound quality no matter the format. With access to streaming content from Netflix or Blockbuster on Demand, USB and eSATA ports for your external drives, and wide connectivity including dual HDMI 1.4, this player defines versatility. (December 2011) Winner: PCMag Readers’ Choice Awards Best Blu-ray Player “Apple doesn’t make Blu-ray players, but if it did, we hav
List Price: $ 499.99
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Truly Impressive Video and Audio,
Oppo has created quite a name for itself with their Blu-ray players for home theater devotees. Priced between extraordinarily high end equipment and players that you can buy at warehouse clubs, the Oppo units have wowed users by truly being worth the extra dollars while providing a high-end experience. So here we have Oppo’s brand new BDP-93. There were some minor glitches that were solved with the first firmware upgrade, already included on the release units. Firmware upgrades take place wirelessly using the included wifi dongle, assuming, of course, that you have a wifi network at home. You can alternatively plug into your network using an ethernet cable.
First thoughts: This is a well packaged machine with subdued highlights on the front panel, clearly labeled inputs and outputs on the back panel, and an informative and useful display. Drop in a DVD-A disc, for instance, such as the one within the Lord Of The Rings complete soundtrack sets, and the front panel informs you that you’re listening to a DVD-A. There’s no confusion, as there can be with other components, as to whether you might be mistakenly listening to the standard stereo track and creating surround from that. The intuitive setup panels, accessed via the well designed and internally lit remote, quickly allow you to adjust your playback desires – you can listen to the multi-speaker output from the DVD-A or the mixed-down stereo version at the touch of a button.
And I’ve started out with audio discussion for a reason. Many of us with high end CD players still have an extra box in our audio stack; finding a DVD player, Bluray or otherwise, that can play back a standard CD with sufficient quality to allow removal of the CD player has been a difficult task. Most reviewers of DVD players seem to ignore the stereo audio component entirely. Here, you not only have the ability to listen to DVD-A versions of audio sources when available, but you have a real reason to disconnect your CD player for good. I have one of Sony’s wonderful ES models from years ago which until now has been unparalleled by any reasonably priced component. The staging of the audio, though, is really improved on the Oppo over other DVD players and is at least on a par with the Sony ES CD player, if not somewhat better. Taking, for example, “Blackbirds” from the new remastered Beatles White Album, Paul is clearly staged just to the left of my right speaker. His vocals are pure and clear to an exquisite extent (sometimes to a fault as you can now clearly hear a sibilant s in the lyric – a fault of the microphones of the era – that is somewhat muffled on other equipment). Orchestral and pop music alike are impressive and clear. Of course, now you can listen not only to standard commercial CD’s, but also to CD’s containing .mp3 or .flac libraries (among other alternatives). In those latter situations, your TV will function as a display, showing the titles of the entire disc’s content and allowing you to easily pick your desired track.
The Oppo’s front drawer operates smoothly, quickly, and quietly, and the entire unit itself is inaudible in operation unless you’re hovering a few inches above the component. Playback of DVD-A’s and CD’s are quick and straightforward. No delays in loading were apparent. Unlike many alternative models, the Oppo responds quickly. Turn it on by pushing the eject button and the unit will immediately come alive and open the drawer. There’s been no time when I found myself standing next to the component and waiting for a response – as I have with many earlier Bluray players.
After testing audio, I moved to streaming. Getting my Netflix account set up to stream to my BDP-93 took all of one minute. Seriously, this was far faster than I thought possible. Click the Home key on the remote, then move the cursor to select Netflix, click Select, and you’re given a code. Type the code in at the Netflix website and in a few seconds you’ll see your Netflix Instant Viewing menu loading. I quickly and easily watched the first few minutes of a movie and a TV series, both in HD. Mind you, Netflix doesn’t stream 5.1 or 7.1 audio nor is their HD of the same quality that you’re used to from Bluray. Streaming is NOT a replacement for Bluray discs (and isn’t really a replacement for DVD’s if it’s quality that you’re after), BUT it’s a great way to quickly watch a movie with the family that you don’t have available in your home library.
I didn’t test Blockbuster on Demand, but that’s available as well.
As we move to video, I should point out that I utilized a direct HDMI 1.4 connection between my Oppo and a 53″ Sony XBR6 (last year’s model, not 3D). 1080p Video was selected for my first test disc – the JJ Abrams Bluray of Star Trek. This disc was one of the tougher discs for my previous player (a Sony BDPS550) to handle, and I would wait and watch the Enterprise spin for quite some time while the player loaded…
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|A truly universal player that cuts no corners,
I was one of the early owners of the BDP-83. My only major disappointment in it was its lack of Netflix streaming. At one point, there were rumors that BluTV (included in a firmware upgrade) would add this feature, but after waiting for over a year I gave up on that.
Is it worth it to upgrade this player just to get the BDP-93′s streaming capabilities (which are limited to Netflix and Blockbuster now, but will be expanded shortly)? My answer is an unqualified yes. Why? Because you not only get streaming, but much more. The BDP-93′s video processing, including its upconversion of standard DVDs, is even better than that of the BDP-83. The BDP-93 also has built-in wireless, although I opted to connect through an Ethernet cable for better speed and stability. The BDP-93′s disc transport is more solid and stable than that of its older brother (although, to be honest, I never had problems with the 83′s transport). Support for SACD and DVD-Audio remain, to say nothing of numerous other formats like HDCD. Finally, there is its 3D capability — not something I’m interested in right now, but should I decide later to go this route, my Blu-Ray player is ready.
You can get a Blu-Ray player with network streaming for a lot less than the cost of the BDP-93. But this player delivers all the goods — it’s a high-end component at a price that won’t break the bank. It will play, with optimal results, almost anything you put into it. And it is ruggedly constructed, built to last. In the end, I bought it for both these reasons: flexibility and high quality. One last thing: Oppo is a company that really listens to its customers. It responds promptly and competently to feedback and questions.
I highly recommend this player. Like other reviewers, I strongly suggest buying it directly from Oppo or from Amazon, so you won’t get fleeced on the price.
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|Great Player, But Not Without Some Flaws…,
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…
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