Questions Before I Buy An Oppo Multi-Region Player

[takeasneededforpain]

Hi all,

So after unexpectedly coming into some extra cash I've 90% decided on biting the bullet and just getting a multi-region Oppo player. However I have a few questions as I'm not sure about a few things.

A. In simple terms is there really that much of a difference between this model http://www.world-import.com/Oppo-BDP...Ray-Player.htm and this one http://www.world-import.com/oppo-bdp...dvd-player.htm besides the price?? Would I still have a kick ass player if I just bought the regular BDP-103 or is the Derby version that much better and worth the extra cash????

B. Where is the best place to get a multi- region Oppo player from??? I was thinking of ordering from the World-Import site that I linked earlier in this thread or are there better places??? And since I'm in Canada, out of curiosity are there any places online that are Canadian that sell multi-region Oppo's that I could maybe order from so that I wouldn't get nailed by customs with duties???

C. Can Oppo players really play things in 4k??? I'm just asking for future reference when I get a 4K TV.

D. What's Oppo's customer service and warranty like for multi-region players? Are there good extended warranties available for multi-region players???

Hopefully you Oppo owners can help me out. And if there's anything I should know before buying anything....please feel free to chime in and tell me.

[solarrdadd]

you do realize that with just a little research on this site, all of your questions can be answered, many times over as they have been asked many times over. don't get me wrong either, i'm sure people will respond, but, you could have gotten this info by using the search feature.

just sayin......

good luck, keep us posted whatever you decide to do.

[bigshot]

Easier just to answer...

Yes, Darbee is very effective, especially with very good HD video and a large monitor. I think it's worth the money.

I bought my region free Oppo BDP-103D on eBay. There are two dealers there who specialize in it.

Oppos won't play 4K but they will upscale to it.

Oppos customer service is great, but the warranty is voided by the hardware region free hack. If you are concerned you can buy a third party warranty when you buy the player. I didn't bother. The seller warrantied it for 30 days which is enough to make sure it works fine.

[ZoetMB]

Darbee is in effect, a special effects generator. It might best be described as a visual equalizer. While many are pleased with the results, it is not creating what the director intended. If they did intend that, they would have mastered the equivalent of the Darbee effect into the disc in the first place. IMO, it cannot make up for faults in the TV.

So the question becomes, do you want to view an "accurate" picture or do you want to see a picture that you might like better? If it's the latter, then you might want the Darbee. If it's the former, then you don't.

I can tell you that none of the "experts" at the Value Electronics Shootout thought Darbee was a good idea. On the other hand, there are obviously plenty of people who think it's just fantastic.

[bbrown5222]

I will only say that I have purchased from World Imports about 10 times and I have always been happy with the way they do things. and the way they stand behiond thier items after the sell.

of the items in my signature were from them.

[hometheatergeek]

Originally Posted by ZoetMB

Darbee is in effect, a special effects generator. It might best be described as a visual equalizer. While many are pleased with the results, it is not creating what the director intended. If they did intend that, they would have mastered the equivalent of the Darbee effect into the disc in the first place. IMO, it cannot make up for faults in the TV.

So the question becomes, do you want to view an "accurate" picture or do you want to see a picture that you might like better? If it's the latter, then you might want the Darbee. If it's the former, then you don't.

I can tell you that none of the "experts" at the Value Electronics Shootout thought Darbee was a good idea. On the other hand, there are obviously plenty of people who think it's just fantastic.

Well like I have stated before if you want to see an accurate picture that the director intended you would just invest in a 35/70 mm projector and skip all of the other components in a typical home theater environment. You will not get any awards for being a purist. The only thing you posted that I find factual is "it cannot make up for faults in the TV."

[bigshot]

I think the whole concept of "as the creator intended" is backwards. The creator didn't see it on your particular monitor in your particular room with ambient light or seating distance. The reason that equipment includes settings is so you can suit your own particular situation. One size does not fit all.

Every speaker setup requires equalization to work at its best. Every monitor or projector requires a little tweaking to provide the best picture. Darbee is very effective and is a much more artifact free way of enhancing the image than any other I've seen. I can't see how anyone would be unhappy with the results. For $100, it's definitely worth it.

[Naiera]

Originally Posted by hometheatergeek

Well like I have stated before if you want to see an accurate picture that the director intended you would just invest in a 35/70 mm projector and skip all of the other components in a typical home theater environment. You will not get any awards for being a purist. The only thing you posted that I find factual is "it cannot make up for faults in the TV."

Getting a 35 or 77mm projector isn't really an option. And you know this perfectly well. Just because you can't make it look PERFECT on a normal budget, doesn't mean you should just say "f*ck it" and pay $300 to intentionally move further away from what the director intended.

[ZoetMB]

Originally Posted by hometheatergeek

Well like I have stated before if you want to see an accurate picture that the director intended you would just invest in a 35/70 mm projector and skip all of the other components in a typical home theater environment. You will not get any awards for being a purist. The only thing you posted that I find factual is "it cannot make up for faults in the TV."

Sorry, that was never true. The fact is that there was always a great deal of variety in both the quality of prints and the quality of projection. Even in a place like Manhattan, which had a lot of supposedly high-quality theaters at the height of the film era, there were only a few that I would attend when there was a choice, always seeking out the best picture and sound.

The only way you could see a movie shot on film the way the director intended was to have an archival-quality print played back in a high-quality screening room or in one of the best theaters, which was probably fewer than 1% of those out there. Did you know that many theaters, even some of the big chains, used to turn down the brightness of their Xenon lamps to preserve lamp life and to reduce electricity costs?

In the peak era of quality theaters, special prints of many films were run exclusively for New York and Los Angeles, especially for roadshow productions.

And if you want to take that argument to its ultimate conclusion, one should only see an old print lit by an arclamp, not a Xenon, because the color of the light is different and this makes a difference even for black and white films. (Of course one could also argue that classic films should also only be seen in a room filled with cigarette smoke - when I was a kid, if the film was boring I'd watch the clouds of smoke moving in the light of the projector. There was so much second-hand smoke, it's amazing I'm still alive.)

Even if you could find a film print of non-current films, the chances of that print not being faded, dirty, scratched or have frames missing (from being placed on platters, then put back onto reels) is almost nil.

Even the few movie theaters that still have film projection don't get it right. As I've reported before, when I saw a 70mm print of "The Master" at the Ziegfeld in NYC, a theatre where many premieres are held, it had dirt end-to-end.

When I saw "Her" at a local movie theatre that still only plays 35mm, it was scratched and dirty at the reel changes and fairly dim to boot.

On the other hand, the Film Forum, also in NYC, does a pretty good job in projecting film as does the Museum of Modern Art, but more and more of their presentations are digitally projected.

For almost any current movie, even if shot on film, more likely than not, the director is approving a digitally projected print, which is exactly what they should be doing because so few theaters are still projecting film and some studios, like Paramount, are no longer releasing any movies on 35mm film.

But none of this has anything to do with the fact that the Darbee purposely distorts the image. As I wrote originally, you and others might like the result, but it's a purposeful distortion. The fact that few consumers have a perfect HT setup with a perfectly calibrated screen and ultimate audio doesn't change or excuse that.

[takeasneededforpain]

So out of you guys here who own Oppo BDP-103 multi-region players do the majority of you have them with that Darbee effect thing or do more of you just have the normal hacked multi-region BDP-103 player???

Going without that Darbee effect on an Oppo player isn't that big of a deal is it???

[Naiera]

Originally Posted by takeasneededforpain

So out of you guys here who own Oppo BDP-103 multi-region players do the majority of you have them with that Darbee effect thing or do more of you just have the normal hacked multi-region BDP-103 player???

Going without that Darbee effect on an Oppo player isn't that big of a deal is it???

You don't want the Darbee screwing up your Blu-rays. Save the $100.

And a few question marks as well, maybe.