Alternatives to the Oppo BDP-831

DodgeTheViper

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I'm just wondering if there are any possible alternatives to the Oppo BDP-831 ?

I dont need Analogue Out's or DVD-A or SACD. I appreciate they could be features that are part of a few units, but do those features push the price up somewhat ?

In most other respects i like what the Oppo has to offer i.e. Load/Read times, DVD upscaling, Noise levels, Video processing, Onboard recode of HD Audio to LPCM over HDMI (because of my current amp), Audio quality, Build, Internal components, BR MR mod, etc etc.

Given all of the above, would there be any alternatives to consider ?


Cheers
Kev
 
I'm just wondering if there are any possible alternatives to the Oppo BDP-831 ?

I dont need Analogue Out's or DVD-A or SACD. I appreciate they could be features that are part of a few units, but do those features push the price up somewhat ?

In most other respects i like what the Oppo has to offer i.e. Load/Read times, DVD upscaling, Noise levels, Video processing, Onboard recode of HD Audio to LPCM over HDMI (because of my current amp), Audio quality, Build, Internal components, BR MR mod, etc etc.

Given all of the above, would there be any alternatives to consider ?


Cheers
Kev

Don't you like the Oppo? Why look for an alternative when you have it all in the Oppo, I'm wondering.

You don't have to use the analogues, I don't, but it's nice to know that I could if I needed/wanted to.
 
Don't you like the Oppo? Why look for an alternative when you have it all in the Oppo, I'm wondering.

You don't have to use the analogues, I don't, but it's nice to know that I could if I needed/wanted to.

I know i don't have to use the analogue out's, that wasn't my point. The point was would i pay for something that i dont need, or are they fitted into a high spec machine regardless.

The question isn't about wether i like the Oppo or not, i've already said that i do.

The question was on price ;)
 
The point was would i pay for something that i dont need, or are they fitted into a high spec machine regardless.

Look at machines with similar specs , such as the Pioneer LX91 and the Denon , these machines are around the £2000 mark , the oppo is £500 or so, it is by far the cheapest " high spec" BD player around.

Sure there are cheaper blu ray players around , and if you dont need DVD Audio or SACD and the high quality Audio outputs then dont buy one , but the Oppo is a top quality universal player , and I doubt very much you'd find a model with those features for less.
 
Sure there are cheaper blu ray players around , and if you dont need DVD Audio or SACD and the high quality Audio outputs then dont buy one , but the Oppo is a top quality universal player , and I doubt very much you'd find a model with those features for less.

So, if i dont need these, then dont buy the Oppo ?
 
What you get below that price range with similar functionality (and even more gadgets in the BD390) are the LGs 370 & 390, but, even though the great lil machines, they still are budget units and do not offer the same processing power as the Oppo.

For Blu ray they are fine as are most of the others players out there, they're quick loading discs and as flexible as you'd want them to be. The BD390 even offers DNLA media streaming and NTFS compatibility for the USB port.

They're easily made region free for SD DVD and I have heard that there are a few out there that are MR for BD too, but haven't investigated, so couldn't comment on that aspect.

When it comes to SD DVD processing the Oppo is in a different league all together though, there are not many players out there that come near it even at many times the Oppo's price.

Apart from that I have it from Oppo that they are looking at implementing DNLA media streaming support in future firmware releases and Large File compatible file system support (EXT2/3 and/or EXFAT).

The Oppo also plays SACD and DVD-A with astounding quality at the price...

It truly is a well rounded machine and hard to beat, I love it. I also enjoy my LG BD370 in the bedroom as it gives me great flexibility for file format compatibility (I have a lot of MKVs), but it's no Oppo.

Prior to the Oppo I had a Pioneer BD-51FD which is also a great machine, but it was soooooo slooooow that it took the joy out of it at times. I've had Panasonics, Samsungs & Pioneers, all decent (apart from the Samsungs), but none as complete as the Oppo, in my view well worth the price. :)

In the end, though, it really depends on what you want/need.
 
So, if i dont need these, then dont buy the Oppo ?

There are other players that offer reasonable load times if your only requirement is 1080p/24 Blu-ray.

If SD DVD/interlaced Blu-ray performance is also important then this is were you may run in to issues.

AVI
 
On looking into alternatives myself, I couldn't find another player that offered the same ps3-level loading times, a/v quality on both HD & SD, features and upgradability as the Oppo for anywhere near the price they sell it for, with or without analogue out's & sacd/dvd-a etc.

Given I spent £900 on a denon dvd player 5 years ago, I think £450 for this is a bit of a bargain, the SD performance is amazing and BD appears flawless.

Two months on, i'm still very happy with it (and i'm watching on a projector/listening on a Krell cinema system).

M
 
Hi,
I have to run BD audio through the Arcam AVR280 7.1 Analogues and picture via a projector. Is the Oppo sound brilliant/great or average via the analogues.
or would investing in the Sony 5000 improve things?

Cheers in advance.:thumbsup:
 
Hi,
I have to run BD audio through the Arcam AVR280 7.1 Analogues and picture via a projector. Is the Oppo sound brilliant/great or average via the analogues.
or would investing in the Sony 5000 improve things?

Cheers in advance.:thumbsup:

Through a £20K Martin Logan/Krell system it sounds excellent to me; make sure you use some decent interconnects though!

M
 
Thanks.
I am thinking of getting the Chord Crimson RCA connects.
Any suggestions?
 
I used to spend loads of money on cables, until I came across bettercables, they are v reasonably priced and sound great to me, I used to have to import them, but I believe there is a uk distributor now. I've also tried blue jeans cable - but just for video so far - and have been equally impressed.

M
 
I know i don't have to use the analogue out's, that wasn't my point. The point was would i pay for something that i dont need, or are they fitted into a high spec machine regardless.

The question isn't about wether i like the Oppo or not, i've already said that i do.

The question was on price ;)



I liked the Oppo as well, But it was going to cost me 600+ quid buy the time I had it shipped to Muscat so I went for the 2010.

Start up time of the 2010 is the same as my projector so it works fine in my setup.
 
Alternative are Denon 3800, Pioneer 91, Sony 5000. All much more money. Personally I prefer the Oppo as a better alround balanced package for my needs.
 
I'm still toying with this :rolleyes:

From everything that i'm reading BR playback seems to be much of a muchness across brands/models.

For me, i dont require DVD-A or SACD or analogue out's, which appear to be two main talking points.

What i do require is, excellent BR playback ( which any player will seemingly have anyway )
MR DVD and quality upscaling abilities to cater for my DVD catalogue that i wont be replicating on BluRay.
MR BR playback, so that i can buy any disc i like without worrying about region's, and benefit from the different qualities of discs from different region's.
On board decoding of HD audio, as my amp can't do it.

So, is the Oppo BDP-831 still a viable option ?
 
Have a look here: Blu-Ray Players - Multiregionmagic The Home Of Multiregion DVD & Blu-Ray

the cheapest MR player for BR/DVD is the Panasonic BDP 60 at £329, if that does what you want it to, then go for it. DVD upscaling is reasonable and it'll play NTSC DVDs at 1080p24Hz, but as I said before when I recommended the LGs, it's no Oppo.

I bought the Oppo with the view that I won't be replacing it for a long while, look at it as a long term investment. If you end up buying it, opening the box alone you'll see what a great quality product it really is.
 
I'm just wondering if there are any possible alternatives to the Oppo BDP-831 ?

I dont need Analogue Out's or DVD-A or SACD. I appreciate they could be features that are part of a few units, but do those features push the price up somewhat ?

In most other respects i like what the Oppo has to offer i.e. Load/Read times, DVD upscaling, Noise levels, Video processing, Onboard recode of HD Audio to LPCM over HDMI (because of my current amp), Audio quality, Build, Internal components, BR MR mod, etc etc.

Given all of the above, would there be any alternatives to consider ?


Cheers
Kev
If you exclude DVD-A & SACD, then Panasonic BD80 is the one which will be alternate to Oppo in Blu ray and very good on upscaling of SD DVDs. One thing we can have from BD80 which oppo does'nt provide is online content through Viera Cast.
 
If you exclude DVD-A & SACD, then Panasonic BD80 is the one which will be alternate to Oppo in Blu ray and very good on upscaling of SD DVDs. One thing we can have from BD80 which oppo does'nt provide is online content through Viera Cast.

The scaling of the BD60 and BD80 are the same (same chip) and Kevo doesn't need the analogue outs... so he can save the extra outlay
 
Bearing in mind the following

my processor can only handle LPCM no 7.1 inputs
I dont really have any DVDA or SA discs
I have a good DVD player that outputs 576i
I have an Edge Video Processor running V1.4 firmware ( Beta)
DVDs can be had for a couple of quid

After thinking long and hard about the Oppo I went for a second hand BD35
 
The scaling of the BD60 and BD80 are the same (same chip) and Kevo doesn't need the analogue outs... so he can save the extra outlay

You are right regarding analogue outs, but this BD80 gives some options like High clarity sound which is fantastic, Pop up menu and importantly it can play Divx and HD Divx files even of size more than 3GB without any issues. where BD60 lacks above. If these kind of small things can be ignored, BD60 will be best bet.
 
Well, as it happens i need 2 players :eek:

One for the Lounge / TV room, and the other for the movie room :rolleyes:


Flammin 'ell ......... :rolleyes:
 
...but this BD80 gives some options like High clarity sound which is fantastic, ...

OK, I'll ask, just what is "high clarity sound"?
Is this some weird overprocessing above and beyond normal sound, or does the player have a default setting of "naff sound"?
 
My second one could well be the Panasonic DMP-BD60, especially with the movie offer that's running and getting it for £169. At least it can be MR for DVD. MR BR is not so important for me for use on the TV.

Then i'll probably succumb to the Oppo BDP-831 :rolleyes: ;)
 
My second one could well be the Panasonic DMP-BD60, especially with the movie offer that's running and getting it for £169. At least it can be MR for DVD. MR BR is not so important for me for use on the TV.

Then i'll probably succumb to the Oppo BDP-831 :rolleyes: ;)

Wise choice :D
 

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