Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray Player Thread

[Headphone Czar]

New member of the family.. Uncle Bubba. Got my 83SE.. Now I just need a new display.. I have a 1080i & 720p HDTV.. no 1080p/24fp/No 120h.. My dad has 1080p but only 60hz.. Anyways.. The two channel is my main concern.. My set up is two channels anyway.. Hi end Headphones With a good dedicated headphone amp.. Still have my Yamaha 1800 to take advantage of HD audio.. Just need to get some speakers.. This was a huge purchase for me, working for BB & all.. I could have gotten a huge discount on some Sonys, LG, Pioneer.. But I wanted the 'best' with great CS.. & Hell, they are a 20minute drive away from my place.. Already started on my collection.. But the bottle neck is my TV, unless I want to spend have the time at my dads house watching BR on his 62inch DLP..

The Fog just came in.. Gotta go.

[Trogdor2010]

Originally Posted by gonk

It may be that the digital volume control will do just fine for what you are intending.

Splitting a signal will decrease the signal's strength, so you would need to re-calibrate to compensate for that, but you'd have to re-calibrate anyway when adding a subwoofer or two.

Ok. If I have less of a need to go with the extra stereo output, although this decreases it, a recalibration is needed anyway. I'm betting though using an analog signal amp may preserve it. I might have less of a reason to go with the BDP-83, although I would certainly love to go with the BDP-80, but I might want that ABT-2010 chip though .

[gonk]

I may not be understanding your plan completely. When I was talking about the splitter and recalibration, I thought that it was in relation to splitting your receiver's subwoofer output to send the subwoofer signal to three places. Splitters are often used in multi-sub setups, and any time you add a new speaker you've got to get your SPL meter back out and adjust. Were you planning on putting splitters somewhere else?

[Trogdor2010]

Originally Posted by gonk

I may not be understanding your plan completely. When I was talking about the splitter and recalibration, I thought that it was in relation to splitting your receiver's subwoofer output to send the subwoofer signal to three places. Splitters are often used in multi-sub setups, and any time you add a new speaker you've got to get your SPL meter back out and adjust. Were you planning on putting splitters somewhere else?

Yes that is actually correct, I figured I don't take advantage of the independent stereo output, the only reason to go with the BDP-83 over the 80 is the ABT2010 upscaling chip built in.

I use my amp to power my Yamaha subwoofer as an LFE channel, so I figure I can use my amp to also power my JBL speakers and use them as subwoofers. I was figuring if using a signal amplifier would be necessary to provide information and power my other speakers and use them as subwoofers, although the point of an amplifier is to provide power to the signal.

P.S. I do not have a SPL meter, but of course being this tenacious, it could be more useful.

[gonk]

If you plan to run 5.1 analog from the BDP-83 or BDP-80 into your Yamaha receiver (which is the recommended approach, as it allows you to hear the lossless formats) then using the stereo output and going straight to an amp is not going to work. The problem is the lack of a common volume control - the subs that get a signal directly from the BDP-83 would not be at the same volume as the rest of the speakers because their signal wouldn't go through the Yamaha and thus wouldn't have the same volume control applied. For the same reason, splitting the left/right channels of the multichannel analog output won't work, as the split still occurs before the Yamaha's volume control.

The best way to drive the two JBL's as subwoofers is to split the subwoofer output from the Yamaha. I would use two splitters: the first would send one signal to the Sony sub and one signal to a second splitter, which would in turn feed into the two amplifier channels that will drive the JBL's. A separate signal amplifier between the Yamaha and the subs should not be required - the Yamaha would see a roughly 3dB drop in level, and the JBL's amps would see a roughly 6dB drop, but that isn't enough to compromise the signal and can be compensated for as part of the overall calibration process.

The BDP-83's dedicated stereo output wouldn't be useful in this, but the BDP-83 does have a higher quality analog output section (which would benefit you in this case) as well as the ABT2010 video processor.

I would recommend getting an SPL meter and using it to accurately calibrate the speaker levels in your system, even if you don't make any other changes. Any surround sound system deserves this effort. Your Yamaha manual should describe how to do this using its internal test tones, but if not there are other resources online that can help explain how to do it using either internal test tones or a calibration disc.

[Trogdor2010]

Originally Posted by gonk

If you plan to run 5.1 analog from the BDP-83 or BDP-80 into your Yamaha receiver (which is the recommended approach, as it allows you to hear the lossless formats) then using the stereo output and going straight to an amp is not going to work. The problem is the lack of a common volume control - the subs that get a signal directly from the BDP-83 would not be at the same volume as the rest of the speakers because their signal wouldn't go through the Yamaha and thus wouldn't have the same volume control applied. For the same reason, splitting the left/right channels of the multichannel analog output won't work, as the split still occurs before the Yamaha's volume control.

The best way to drive the two JBL's as subwoofers is to split the subwoofer output from the Yamaha. I would use two splitters: the first would send one signal to the Sony sub and one signal to a second splitter, which would in turn feed into the two amplifier channels that will drive the JBL's. A separate signal amplifier between the Yamaha and the subs should not be required - the Yamaha would see a roughly 3dB drop in level, and the JBL's amps would see a roughly 6dB drop, but that isn't enough to compromise the signal and can be compensated for as part of the overall calibration process.

The BDP-83's dedicated stereo output wouldn't be useful in this, but the BDP-83 does have a higher quality analog output section (which would benefit you in this case) as well as the ABT2010 video processor.

I would recommend getting an SPL meter and using it to accurately calibrate the speaker levels in your system, even if you don't make any other changes. Any surround sound system deserves this effort. Your Yamaha manual should describe how to do this using its internal test tones, but if not there are other resources online that can help explain how to do it using either internal test tones or a calibration disc.

Thanks, although I was planning on using the amps, I might end up just using the Yamaha without the amps, of course the amps are used for the subwoofers.

What would be a good and cheap price for a SPL? I used the built in test tones from the Yamaha to get it balanced.

[gonk]

They can be had for $40 to $50 most places. This is Radio Shack's standard model. There's also at least one iPhone app that provides a sound meter.

[Semp1]

Even with a wireless bridge the OPPO will not work with Pocketblu. It needs to be wi-fi a wireless bridge is recognized as wired not wi-fi trust me I know I have the wireless bridge by Asus for my OPPO. You would understand this more if you had an Apple TV or other players that could use the iPhone via wi-fi as a remote. It's a stupid gimmick any way you're not missing anything trust me.

[solarrdadd]

Originally Posted by gonk

They can be had for $40 to $50 most places. This is Radio Shack's standard model. There's also at least one iPhone app that provides a sound meter.

yep, i've got that app. i borrowed a friends spl from radio shack and the iphone app was dead on with the meter. i is called "spl meter" don't remember how much it was, but it was under $5 and you can't beat that if you own an iphone or a itouch (check on itouch compatability)

[gonk]

I've got one called "SoundMeter" that was in the same price range ($5 or less).

[oppopioneer]

Oppo is collaborating with Dreamer Corporation for their Blu Tv interactive to steam online videos.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/09/b...rting-with-th/

http://www.cedailynews.com/2009/01/c...ct-to-tvs.html

[Semp1]

That's super old news and has been on the OPPO players for almost 3 months now.

[jomari]

Originally Posted by solarrdadd

yep, i've got that app. i borrowed a friends spl from radio shack and the iphone app was dead on with the meter. i is called "spl meter" don't remember how much it was, but it was under $5 and you can't beat that if you own an iphone or a itouch (check on itouch compatability)

you cant use it on an itouch, because it doesnt have a microphone built in, just for those who are interested. dont wanna waste that 5 clams on it without being able to use it.

[eatbear]

Is the OPPO BDP-83 REGION FREE?

If not, is there a way to make it Region free?

I am looking for a Region free player with subtitle shift to accomodate my 2.35:1 CIH screen. Thanks in advance.

[nametag]

Originally Posted by eatbear

Is the OPPO BDP-83 REGION FREE?

If not, is there a way to make it Region free?

I am looking for a Region free player with subtitle shift to accomodate my 2.35:1 CIH screen. Thanks in advance.

No it is not. But it can be modified. I live in the UK and used crtprojectors.co.uk DIY modification kit to modify my BDP80 and it worked great, no soldering required. There are probably other places you can get mod kits (ebay, perhaps) but the Oppo players can definitely be modified relatively easily. They will then play pretty much anything you throw at them

[gonk]

You will need a third-party hardware mod to make the BDP-83 region-free for both DVD and Blu-ray. The mod can be found several places online, including eBay, Audiogon, and Blu-rayChip.dk. Installation is quick and straightforward, and the part can be had for $80 or less.

[Trogdor2010]

Originally Posted by nametag

No it is not. But it can be modified. I live in the UK and used crtprojectors.co.uk DIY modification kit to modify my BDP80 and it worked great, no soldering required. There are probably other places you can get mod kits (ebay, perhaps) but the Oppo players can definitely be modified relatively easily. They will then play pretty much anything you throw at them

Wouldn't modifying the Oppo could void the warranty, if it does, I would be cautious when modifying the machine, especially if you spend $500 for it and another $80 for the mod kit.

[nametag]

Originally Posted by Trogdor2010

Wouldn't modifying the Oppo could void the warranty, if it does, I would be cautious when modifying the machine, especially if you spend $500 for it and another $80 for the mod kit.

Yes, I would think it is a risk. BUT I think I heard that Oppo are quite good about that, I'm sure I've seen people on forums say that whilst it's not strictly allowed that Oppo have great customer service and normally turn a blind eye and have never denied anyone service when they're in the warranty period. Besides, mine is in the UK which means I'll be pretty screwed if I need to take advantage of the warranty anyway, but (with the BDP-80, anyway) it was the cheapest, easiest, and best product with a region free option, and region free is quite a high priority for me.

[Trogdor2010]

Originally Posted by nametag

Yes, I would think it is a risk. BUT I think I heard that Oppo are quite good about that, I'm sure I've seen people on forums say that whilst it's not strictly allowed that Oppo have great customer service and normally turn a blind eye and have never denied anyone service when they're in the warranty period. Besides, mine is in the UK which means I'll be pretty screwed if I need to take advantage of the warranty anyway, but (with the BDP-80, anyway) it was the cheapest, easiest, and best product with a region free option, and region free is quite a high priority for me.

When you crack the oppo (I know you mean the BDP-80, but to give me an idea) where did they put the warranty seal in? I'm just curious .

[nametag]

Originally Posted by Trogdor2010

When you crack the oppo (I know you mean the BDP-80, but to give me an idea) where did they put the warranty seal in? I'm just curious .

Is the 'warranty seal' something that, if broken, voids the warranty? (and so if it were returned, Oppo would know that the player had been tampered with and thus deny coverage?). If that is the case, I never noticed one (or knew such things existed, evidently.) You just unscrew the outer metal casing and remov it... as far as I can tell as it is now there is no evidence that it has ever been removed, apart from the mod inside, of course.

As for the mod I got (for the BDP80)... essentially there is a wire that goes from the front panel and plugs into a circuit board a few inches away. All I had to do was unplug it, and instead plug it into a new circuit board thing, and then plug the circuit board into the original plug... you're basically just putting a new component in between an existing connection. removing the plugs was a bit fiddly, but I'm pretty sure I could also 'undo' the mod and there wouldn't be any evidence that it had been tampered as well. As I say, crtprojectors.co.uk is where I got mine, and you can download the installation instructions from the site (without buying the component) to see how it's done, though if you're in the US there are probably cheaper options such as those listed by gonk above...