Talk me out of buying an Oppo BDP-93

Hi All,

I am a current PS3 user. It's getting close to its 5 year birthday and with all of the wear and tear on it I'm fearing that it will soon give up the ghost. I've really liked using it as my BDP for the entire time, with its only weakness being the loud internal fan that kicks up during BD playback. Luckily I tend to have movies on fairly loud so I don't hear it most of the time, but on quieter passages I can occasionally be distracted by it.

For my next BDP, I would like:

1. To spend $500 or less

2. To have BD load times near to the PS3

3. To be able to play the 50 or so DVD-A and SACD discs that I own (currently the PS3 plays SACD and my old Pioneer RP91 plays DVD-A but I'd really like to retire that player).

4. To have great 1080p upscaling of DVD content (ideally 24p would have been great but I understand the Oppo dropped that feature).

5. Solid build quality.

6. Ability to connect external storage devices for BD-Live and other content.

7. Of course great A/V playback of all BD/DVD/SACD/DVD-A/CD media.

From my research it seems the Oppo not only is good or great at all of these things, but also seems to be the "only game in town" in the $500 and under range.

Am I wrong? Is there another machine I should be looking at? I'm looking to pull the trigger on Wednesday so feedback sooner rather than later would be appreciated! Thanks!

Thanks everyone for the feedback. Pulled the trigger on it and hopefully it will be here by the weekend!

Thanks Ron. Been putting it through it's paces over the last four days and here are my initial observations:

Positives:

1. Very fast load times. I'm coming from a 60GB PS3 so this says something. I can't tell a discernable load difference between the two on the dozen or so BDs I've played, many of which have BD-J content. Handled the John Mayer Where The Light Is BD, which often caused hiccups on my PS3.

2. Better PQ than PS3 - now I admit I didn't do a scientific A/B, and yes it could be the "new car" feeling, but it seems to me that the Oppo gives a slightly sharper/clearer playback than the PS3. I always thought the PS3 was the pinnacle of PQ, but upon using the Oppo I could swear that movies I'm intimately familiar with look better on the Oppo. Playback seems "smoother" too - I do have it on 1080p/24 (and my TV is set at that too, I hate the 120Hz video game look), but I see less film judder than on the PS3. It doesn't quite look video-game surreal, but just seems overall a little bit smoother than the PS3 playback.

3. Fit/finish is excellent. Love the look and heft of the machine. I like the backlit hardbutton remote too (although I'm primarily using a Harmony One).

4. Excellent video/audio setup customizable options. Very robust. If you're a beginner you can use easy setup and be up and running quickly, if you like to tweak, the Oppo gives you plenty of options. I love the subtitle shift. I don't have a constant height setup but for 2.35 foreign films I like the subs to be mostly in the black bars (as opposed to the picture) so I like being able to adjust them downwards. 

5. Detailed and very helpful manual (and not confusing). There's an art to writing a good, helpful user manual, and Oppo clearly put a lot of time and effort into it.

6. Has handled every disc I've thrown at it so far (including about a dozen different BDs, 3 SACDs and 4 DVD-A). All worked flawlessly so far (knock on wood).

7. Allowed me to untangle the rats nest. I had two 5.1 cable hookups from my DVD-A and SACD player, as well as their component video hookup for my DVD player. All have been replaced by a single HDMI going from the Oppo to the receiver. This has made my girlfriend very happy! It's allowed me to retire the SACD and DVD-A players as well.

Negatives/Room for improvement

1. Remote sensor angle could be wider. I have my setup off to the right of my TV (about 4') and I have to really point the remote (both the Oppo and Harmony) right at it to get reliable responsiveness.

2. Responsiveness of OSD menus. Not BD menus, which this thing has handled, but the Oppo's native OSD menu seems a little...sluggish at times. I guess I'm spoiled by the silky smooth PS3 menus and its overall responsiveness to the remote. At first I thought it might be unfair to compare what is essentially a computer to a BD player, but given how the Oppo actually costs more than a PS3, I think it's fair to compare the two. This is a minor ergonomic complaint, to be sure.

NOTE: This player does not support 24p playback of DVDs. I thought this would be something I'd miss in the rare instance when I watch DVDs (admittedly maybe twice in the last 12 months). I tested two DVDs on it and was more than happy with the playback quality. Motion seemed to be fine. Yes I wish they'd have included it, but when I watched DVDs on the Oppo I can say that the playback was very good.

That's all I have for now. I'll post more thoughts as time goes on. At some point in the future Ron I'll be looking at some region free options.

I hear ya, Scott. I'm in the market for a new Mac once they're refreshed this summer so justifying the $500 was really difficult for me as well. After owning it for over a week now, and really putting it through its paces with more BDs, DVD-A and SACDs, I can I haven't regretted the purchase for one second. If it means I wait another few months before my Mac upgrade, so be it.

As I live with the Oppo, I find the positives I noted above far outweighing the minor complaints I listed.

As far as I know there is no remote hack for region code for either DVDs or BDs on the 93. Only the solutions similar to what Ron bought. There are some that don't require full install, and will connect via USB and RS232 like this one.