Talk me out of buying an Oppo BDP-93 (1 Viewer)

[Mark Cappelletty]

Tried out my first Region B Blu-Ray last night -- you have to input a code to change the region and then another code to change it back (I tried putting in the Criterion BEAUTY AND THE BEAST afterwards and it wouldn't let me do it). It's a bit cumbersome, but it works just fine! I don't see me owning ton of foreign BRs, so it's hard to complain. I heartily recommend this -- and it's less than half than the mods offered by other firms.

 

[Carlo_M]

Thanks for your impressions Mark. Please keep us updated with any future experiences, thoughts, etc. I'll probably be springing for something like this in October. I'll be in Europe in the fall and may be purchasing some BDs while overseas.

 

[Mark Cappelletty]

I wish I'd known about this mod last month when my wife and I were in Paris on our honeymoon (that being said, there was a lot of eye-rolling on her part when I went into a couple of record stores, so hitting video retailers probably would have resulted in the same treatment).

 

[David_B_K]

I have a question about the "moveable subtitles" feature. If I am watching a foreign DVD that is not anamorphic (or the OOT Star Wars trilogy), I zoom it on my TV. However, when I do that, the subs drop below the level where they are readable. Does this "moveable subtitles" feature enable the moving of the subs upward where I can read them?

 

[Carlo_M]

David: yes the movable sub feature has a +5 to -5 shift in subtitle range. I'm fairly sure in that range it can accommodate what you want it to do, although you may have to edge up to +5.

 

[David_B_K]

My player should arrive on Thursday. Now I need to order a region free mod kit.

 

[Mark Cappelletty]

The bad news? My Oppo started giving me issues with disc loading, etc. last week. Oppo customer support was kind of clueless other than reluctantly agreeing to let me send it back for repair. The good news? It was (barely) within the Amazon return time-frame, so I have a new player. I had to peel the mod off the side of the player (the glue pad was sticky), but then replaced it into the new machine with a loop of tape to the machine's bottom. Hopefully, all will be well.

 

[David_B_K]

David: yes the movable sub feature has a +5 to -5 shift in subtitle range. I'm fairly sure in that range it can accommodate what you want it to do, although you may have to edge up to +5.

Yep, it worked like a charm. Popped in the non-anamorphic Star Wars, and used the Oppo's zoom function. I shifted the subtitles to +4 (though +3 probably was enough), and was able to read the subtitles perfectly in the Greedo scene. The SACD and DVD-A are nice as well. The SACD outputs DSD over the HDMI; so I can lose the jumble of cables that were needed for my Sony SACD player. This player looks like a great buy so far.

 

[dargo]

Love my oppo BDP-83 you will love yours so much better than a "piece of sh*t 3"

 

[lee vitalone]

Oppo has been clearly coming up with some terrific bang for the buck with every dvd they have made. Clearly the best overall PQ I have seen in my home sd and now BD. Universal player now with pandora/netfilix/ utube /blockbuster/and othet streaming hd available and flac. There are upgades for the analog audio section from nuforce avail. moded or diy. I have yet to see a blu ray player meet what this can do for the money. I love mine, high resolution music dvd audio sacd and now bd music I'm hooked.

 

[Charles Smith]

Reading some of this over, I feel like I've walked into an AA meeting. Hi, my name is Charles, and I'm a Blu-ray user, and I feel dangerously close to upgrading from a cheap Panasonic to an Oppo 93.

Most of my original questions have been answered here, but I'm still confused when it comes to region capabilities and what the choices are. For BD, one must buy one of several different third-party devices, none of which is difficult to install. (Right?) As of today, a beautiful spring day in April 2012, which one is considered the favorite?

Next, DVD regions. Oppo states: PAL/NTSC Conversion[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 128)] - The BDP-93 supports NTSC and PAL systems for both disc playback and video output. It can also convert content of one system for output in another. ([/COLOR]Subject to DVD and BD region restrictions.[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 128)])[/COLOR]

Does this mean I theoretically could play my UK PAL DVDs, but most likely not, since they're not coded Region 1? I believe people have said the 93 does not offer menu-based DVD region changing like the 981HD player did. Is another "hack" necessary...or is there one? My fear is that I'll be stuck keeping the 981 in the stack for the sole purpose of playing those UK items when it could be doing good duty elsewhere.

Finally, do the region hacks not void the warranty? And which is better to buy from -- Amazon, or directly from Oppo? Sorry, I know many of these questions keep popping up, but some kind of concise summary would be of great help. Thanks!

 

[megancheung]

There is NO reason what so ever to NOT buy the Oppo BDP-93, once you have this wonderful machine in house you are set and there is NO reason to buy anything else

 

[Carlo_M]

One of the highest compliments I can pay my Oppo 93 is that I don't think about it.
That is to say, I am very prone to upgraditis and buyer's remorse (aka nitpickyness). More often than I care to admit, I buy something, find some small little flaw with it, and then begin to research what new upgrade will fix that problem (only to introduce a new flaw and hence start the cycle over again).
Ever since I bought the Oppo almost a year ago now, I've never discovered a flaw nor have I been tempted to upgrade it. It's just sat in the rack and taken every disc I've thrown at it and handled it like a champ.
:tu: :tu:

 

[Charles Smith]

Okay, I'm convinced. Not that I expected not to be!

I'll still need to know pretty soon which all-region device is preferred, and whether it makes any difference purchasing the player directly from Oppo or through Amazon. Does the Oppo portal here benefit HTF like the Amazon one does?

 

[Charles Smith]

Okay, the heck with it. DONE.
And I feel like a new man already!

 

[Charles Smith]

Okay, I've had the Oppo for several days, and the ImegStore region mod got here a couple of days later, so even though it was a crazy week and weekend that didn't allow me much time to indulge in a lot of exploration, I've put the thing through its basic paces and can honestly say that...

I'm in love!!!

The machine's silky smooth operation is incredible, picture and sound are outstanding, and I'm delighted with the mod. I like being able to just have it plugged into the back, and that it automatically defaults the player to Region 0 for DVDs, and the changeover required for Blu-rays is just no hassle at all. Since the majority of mine are, of course, Region A, all I have to remember after playing a B disc is to change it back at the "No Disc" screen before shutting it down.

I know I haven't even begun to get to a full measure of appreciation, but this is an incredible upgrade so far, and I wanted to have all the basics in place before treating myself to an ISF calibration later this year. Thank you all for your input.

 

[David_B_K]

Reading some of this over, I feel like I've walked into an AA meeting.  Hi, my name is Charles, and I'm a Blu-ray user, and I feel dangerously close to upgrading from a cheap Panasonic to an Oppo 93.
Most of my original questions have been answered here, but I'm still confused when it comes to region capabilities and what the choices are.  For BD, one must buy one of several different third-party devices, none of which is difficult to install.  (Right?)  As of today, a beautiful spring day in April 2012, which one is considered the favorite?  
Next, DVD regions.  Oppo states:  PAL/NTSC Conversion
 - The BDP-93 supports NTSC and PAL systems for both disc playback and video output. It can also convert content of one system for output in another. (
Subject to DVD and BD region restrictions.
)
Does this mean I theoretically could play my UK PAL DVDs, but most likely not, since they're not coded Region 1?  I believe people have said the 93 does not offer menu-based DVD region changing like the 981HD player did.  Is another "hack" necessary...or is there one?  My fear is that I'll be stuck keeping the 981 in the stack for the sole purpose of playing those UK items when it could be doing good duty elsewhere.
Finally, do the region hacks not void the warranty?  And which is better to buy from -- Amazon, or directly from Oppo?  Sorry, I know many of these questions keep popping up, but some kind of concise summary would be of great help.  Thanks!

Charles, you will need one of the Region mods to play blu-ray discs out of region A and DVDs out of region 1. I bought one like THIS ONE. You can open the machine to connect it, or connect it outside the machine (which I did), and presumably, not void the warranty, because no one would know the machine has been modded if you remove the mod (which is why I chose this type of mod). the internal ones may betray the fact that the machine was opened.
As you see from the link, it is connected to the serial port on back of the machine, and one cable is plugged into one of the USB ports. Takes about 10 seconds. The only downside is that the USB port you use will not be available for anything else (but there is another USB port on the front of the unit).
Once installed, you can play all regions of DVDs. In order to play other regions of Blu-rays, you have to enter a code on the remote. It will stay in whatever region you set until you change it back via the code. All-region DVD play stays active no matter what Blu-ray region is set.
One more thing. I recently upgraded my Mitsubishi DLP to a Sharp Aquos LED. I tried to play a region 2 DVD and it was very jerky. I tried resetting the "Aquomotion" setting on the TV, and while this improved the jerkiness' it was still there. I started playing around with the Oppo BDP93 menu, and selected PAL as my output (I don't remember precisely where that setting was; somewhere under video). Anyway, now my Region 2 PAL DVDs play fine.
I am a classical music fan and have a fair number of DVD-Audio and SACD discs, which play superbly in multichannel audio with this machine. Yes, it is pricey, but worth it. FWIW, I still have a Panasonic player in the rack to do Amazon streaming. I usually keep the Oppo set to Region B and the Panasonic plays what the Oppo will not play, so I don't spend time resetting the Oppo. The Oppo still plays most everything, because it will play any all-region disc. All my Warner discs are all-region.
---EDIT---
I just noticed Charles has the player. Sometimes, the "last post" shown on HTF is not really the last port. Anyway, my info can be used by anyone else thinking of taking the plunge.

 

[Carlo_M]

Welcome to the club, Chas! Will have to start investigating region mods soon. Don't have a ton of out-of-region DVDs (like six) and even less Blus (none) but I'm hoping to change that in the coming months. Keep us up to date on how the region mod works out for you.
Just out of curiosity, these mods aren't broken by firmware updates by Oppo, are they? Are you all running the latest firmware?
Thanks!

 

[David_B_K]

I don't know if I have the latest firmware, but I have updated it with no changes to the mod.

 

[Charles Smith]

The mod installation instructions said to make sure the firmware was the one March 17, 2011 or later, but I couldn't find a way to see the date of my firmware, only its ID number. However, since the machine is new, I made a huge assumption that it's the latest and proceeded with no problems.

I would sure hope the mod is "immune" to future firmware updates; otherwise, that would be a fifty dollar right out the window.