The New Oppo BDP-83 Player will have SACD Capability

[Big Daddy]

This article appeared in The Absolute Sound magazine, December 2008, P. 25

Blu-RAY, Oppo-Style

Although Oppo wasn’t officially showing at CEDIA I arranged a special early morning meeting with Jason Lio, VP of product development, and Nathaniel Plain, Oppo’s technical services manager. From an iridescent green bag they produced a prototype of Oppo’s new Blu-ray player, the BDP-83.

Normally, another Blu-ray box wouldn’t do much to set my heart aflutter, but Oppo’s machine isn’t merely another movie-masher. It not only plays Blu-ray discs, but also promises to do SACDs! Fully compliant with Blu-ray 2.0 specifications, including BD Live Ethernet connectivity, the Oppo BDP-83 will play CDs, DVDs, HDCD-encoded CDs, USB audio devices via a USB connector, and MP3 discs. (Although the prototype didn’t play DVD-A, that may change on the production model.) The BDP-83 also supports Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD Master Audio formats. On the video side the BDP-83 will have Anchor Bay’s latest VRS chipset. Its analog output section will resemble Oppo’s HD-983, but with improved power supplies and the ability to output 7.1 channels.

At 12 pounds, and a projected street price between $500 and $700, this player represents a step up for Oppo. Even the remote was a major improvement over the earlier designs – with built-in backlighting and a new ergonomic shape. As to when consumers can begin to enjoy BDP-83, the Oppo brain trust was pointedly non-specific. In Jason Lio’s words, “When we are happy with the BDP-83 it will be available. We intend to make it right.”

I have been waiting for this announcement for the past few months. Oppo rocks.

Shame on you Sony/Philips for abandoning SACD.