Frustrated with my Oppo BDP-83 (1 Viewer)

[Keith I]

Supposedly a flagship player (back when it was first released), it is now the source of my nearly-endless frustrations. Is it because better models have come out and there is very little tech support? My previous frustrations were limited to select Fox titles: Predators, Moulin Rouge!, Percy Jackson, and even the Star Wars Saga to name a few. Now, it's coming from recent Warner TV shows: Fringe and The Vampire Diaries. I watched Nikita but it didn't have any problems. The discs start up, then just stops while the player's display shows 0000000 (time code). The firmware is upgraded (no upgrades since March 2011 according to Oppo's website). I have BD-Live turned off. I disconnected the wireless bridge (which is discontinued). And my persistent storage is empty. I try ejecting the disc, then reinserting it. I turn the player off, then turn it back on. I have to do this for 15-30 minutes before it decides it will play. It's not a defective player because other discs play fine, even those with BD-Live features on them and with BD-Live capabilities turned on for my player. Does anyone else have issues with this player and these titles/studios? Other players? I am not placing blame solely on Oppo. The studios in question may be putting features on their discs that aren't meshing with my player. I guess I'm from old-school where I like everything on the disc. I don't want the fancy features that require BD-Live or an internet connection, but that's "progress" I guess. It's being reported that physical media is on its way out. Well, if things like this keep happening, I will stop buying physical media (and help with making that statement come true) and quit watching altogether and save me money, time and health watching all these movies and TV shows; this is an awesome DVD-A and SA-CD player though. I won't stream for reasons stated (too much "buffering", slow bandwidth, etc.). It's a conspiracy! They all got my money!

 

[TheBat]

oppo is a great company. I would suggest that you talk with them. I remember having this player and I had to send in the player twice. both times they fixed it. I own the oppo 93 player. Jacob

 

[Keith I]

I have communicated them many times and they said all the things I said above (upgrade firmware, turn off BD-Live, disconnect the bridge and erase persistent storage), short of shipping it to them to have them take a look at it. I don't think I want to pay money to ship it to them and come to find out that nothing it wrong; and why would it not work only with Fox and WB titles? Maybe I have to look into another (cheaper) player just to play the movies. I might save money for what I'd pay for shipping and repairs.

 

[Keith I]

Deleted by author.

 

[Keith I]

Someone is working late on a Sunday. I received a reply from Oppo already. They said that there are issues with WB TV BDs distributed by Fox and WB. A firmware upgrade later will address it. At least it's not a defect in my player, but it still is frustrating when you need firmware upgrades to resolved issues. Oppo did tell me once that Fox puts all this BD-Live stuff on their discs and it's difficult to keep up since Oppo is not a big company. But as Jacob said, they are very good with customer service.

 

[TheBat]

other companies are having problems with the fox titles. I know its a common problem. most other companies wont respond like oppo. if they even answer the emails. that is why people love the oppo company so much. Jacob

 

[Keith I]

Yes, that is one big plus advantage with Oppo. They will take the time to communicate with their customers and I applaud them greatly for that. I was told by Oppo to "power cycle" my player, then erase persistent storage and then re-load the disc, and that (according to Oppo) works with titles like Dexter, Fringe, Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries. However, I already did those things and it didn't work. What's interesting is that I watched all five seasons of Dexter with no issues. I watched all previous seasons of Fringe, Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries with no issues. Has WB put new BD-Jive stuff on their recent BDs? I watched Nikita with no problems. What I haven't tried yet is to actually unplug the player. I'll go try it later. What did seem to work is to reset the settings to its default factory settings. Ugh. It's tedious but it's a good thing I have my settings noted elsewhere.

 

[Phil A]

I've never had a problem with any title on the BDP-83, except for one (don't recall), but it was fine after firmware update (I had not updated the firmware in over a year before that - have a modded player - for audio). I have the BDP-93 in the secondary bedroom system. The couple of times over the years (I have an old Oppo DV-980H which was in the secondary bedroom system for years and now is in the secondary basement system) I talked to their customer service I found them great to deal with.