OPPO BDP-83

[Icarium]

Huh so it does do HDCD? I wonder what its using for that.

[Dusty Chalk]

I never intended to use it with analog inputs, so it doesn't bother me. And the compensation is that the digital side is excellent.

I thought you meant the analog outputs, since the context was HDMI -- I assumed you meant digital transmission from the Oppo to the Integra. So what am I missing?

[Hopstretch]

I thought you meant the analog outputs, since the context was HDMI -- I assumed you meant digital transmission from the Oppo to the Integra. So what am I missing?

Sorry, I just meant the 9.8 doesn't do very well as a pure pre-amp with analog inputs and pass-through. But used as you describe it's very creditable. Particularly taking DSD straight from the OPPO.

[Eric5676]

I had an early invite email to buy this player and I took the plunge.

Long/short: Excellent quality on all fronts at a $500 price point and possibly even a little bit past that. If I never use this unit for anything than BD and DVD I'll feel like I easily got my $500 worth.

It's fast...in some ways even faster than the PS3. It's smooth. It's quiet. It doesn't put out a lot of heat.

My Pioneer 111FD is a 36bit display so I'm able to set the Oppo to Deep Color 36 bit mode and receive some "refinement" benefit from that...nothing earth shattering but there is some benefit and down the road this will see more support especially as more displays can come out that can display 4:4:4 36 bits and even past that. You have to all HDMI 1.3 in the food chain to be able to do this and obviously a display that actually show it, which mine can.

OPPO BDP-83 Blu-ray Disc Player

If you have any interest, you can register there. I've heard of people getting early invites still anyways so you might just luck out.

You have 30 days to test drive it, no questions asked, and you'd only be down shipping costs if you decided to send it back. I think it's well worth it.

It's not a super giant killing ultra hi-fi piece of audio equipment masquerading as a $500 player but it is very solid for what it is at this price point easily. I do think it's the best bargain out there at this price point easily, pound for pound.

I'm also seeing talk of folks like ModWright getting ready to have a field day doing mods for this thing so that's another avenue that's open to people if they decide they want to get adventerous down the road.

[Dusty Chalk]

Anyone know what transport is in there?

[Eric5676]

Official OPPO BDP-83 Early Adoption Program Owner's Thread [technical talk only] - AVS Forum

Might be somewhere in the very first post.

Or

Unofficial OPPO BDP-83 Frequently Asked Questions

[Dusty Chalk]

I looked before, I didn't see it in there (under "specs", I presume).

Jesus christ, I'm not looking through 435 pages for that (even though it can be reduced to 218 pages).

[soloz2]

it's a custom transport... I can't recall who makes it though.

[Eric5676]

I looked before, I didn't see it in there (under "specs", I presume).

Jesus christ, I'm not looking through 435 pages for that (even though it can be reduced to 218 pages).

I was hoping it was in the first post. I could try and ask them in the thread.

I know that a lot of the hardware comes from a Chinese OEM named BBK, if that means anything to you.

[Dusty Chalk]

It might help me narrow down my search, yes, thanks.

Actually, it looks like "Oppo" is English for "BBK" (I.E. the American branch of said company).

[swt61]

I received the early invite email as well, and fully intend to take advantage of it.

I plan on finally joining the new millenium and buying my firtt flatscreen HDTV very, very soon.

I think a 47" Vizio is in my immediate future.

The Oppo looks very impressive, and $499.00 is a no brainer for me.

[Eric5676]

I received the early invite email as well, and fully intend to take advantage of it.

I plan on finally joining the new millenium and buying my first flatscreen HDTV very, very soon.

I think a 47" Vizio is in my immediate future.

I would recommend Samsung over Vizio easily if you intend to buy an LCD.

The Oppo looks very impressive, and $499.00 is a no brainer for me.

It really is especially with the 30 days "no questions asked" return policy. You lose the shipping costs and nothing else. No restock fees.

http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-83/

I'd say if anyone even has a casual interest they should register at the link I posted and don't be surprised if they get one of those early invite emails.

The "official" mass street release for this unit is rumored to be anywhere from June to all the way in sometime in August.

[swt61]

I would recommend Samsung over Vizio easily if you intend to buy an LCD.

Based on?

Which Samsung would you say competes best with the Vizio SV470XVT1A 47" LCD for $1049.00?

[Eric5676]

Based on?

A serious difference in overall quality and reputation. You get what you pay for.

I know that Vizio is number two in sales behind Samsung now but there's only two reason for that: They're cheap and Sony dropped the ball on themselves.

Normally I'd be recommending Samsung and Sony depending on who has what but Sony really dropped the ball with LCDs this past year. We'll see if they get their act together with the next batch.

Which Samsung would you say competes best with the Vizio SV470XVT1A 47" LCD for $1049.00?

Depends on your criteria.

If all you care about is "I want the biggest screen I can get for as cheaply as I can get" with no other considerations whatsoever then buy the Vizio. No one is going to beat them on cheap.

I'd caution you that there's a reason it's that cheap, but it's up to you.

Vizio SV470XVT review - TVs

Reviews like these should make you at least take pause.

Vizio SV470XVT Flat-panel TV reviews - CNET Reviews

^^ They were a little nicer but there's some things they mention that I personally would never tolerate in any TV at any price.

If you're willing to spend a little extra for much improved quality across the boards then I'd recommend something to you like the Samsung LN46B650 or LN46B750 easily. Or even the B550 series.

Look these sets up and read some reviews. You should also go to a store where the TVs you are interested in are sold and demo them as best you can. Take the TV out of torch mode when you do it. If a sales person doesn't let you do at least this, walk out of that store immediately.

Here are the owner's thread on AVS about the Samsungs and the Vizio you are interested in. It won't take you long to skim these threads and get a real feel for these TVs. The owners of a given product will give you a nice feel for what you're in for. Very useful.

Official Samsung LNXXB650 Thread - AVS Forum

Samsung B650 series

Official Samsung LNxxB750 Owners Thread - AVS Forum

Samsung B750 series

If the budget really is tight you could even go down to this series:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1126988

Samsung B550 series

And so on. You get the idea.

Vizio XVT Series (SV470XVT & SV420XVT) - AVS Forum

The Vizio series you cited.

Vizio SV470XVT1A

There's some things mentioned in that thread that, again, would make me take pause but that's up to you.

Before you have a heart attack over the price difference...yes, it's worth it and depending on where you shop there's usually some pretty incredible deep discounts on most Samsung products.

If you can't afford it...save up until you can. You'll be a lot happier in the long run.

These new Samsungs are way ahead of the Vizio and technology and will give you a much better picture quality across the boards.

Again, it's really up to you and your criteria and your budget.

Personally, you couldn't pay me to take a Vizio product. They're not "Made in the USA" either, so don't fall for that lie.

I would recommend you do some research and consider raising your budget so you can jump past Vizio and do right by yourself. Wait and save if you have to. It will be well worth it to you in the long run.

[Looser101]

I would recommend you do some research and consider raising your budget so you can jump past Vizio and do right by yourself. Wait and save if you have to. It will be well worth it to you in the long run.

Then go out and buy a Panasonic Plasma and never look back.

[Eric5676]

Then go out and buy a Panasonic Plasma and never look back.

A nice choice but I actually bought a Pioneer 111FD back in November.

[Looser101]

A nice choice but I actually bought a Pioneer 111FD back in November.

[n_maher]

Eh, some of us just watch our TV's and don't analyze the hell out of them. My in-laws have a Vizio, it's fine and has never had a picture so bad that it caused me to notice. Not every purchase needs to be taken to the nth degree of scrutinization or have its budget expanded to get something better. And maybe it's just me but I have neither the time nor inclination to read an 88 page thread about a TV.

[Eric5676]

Eh, some of us just watch our TV's and don't analyze the hell out of them. My in-laws have a Vizio, it's fine and has never had a picture so bad that it caused me to notice. Not every purchase needs to be taken to the nth degree of scrutinization or have its budget expanded to get something better. And maybe it's just me but I have neither the time nor inclination to read an 88 page thread about a TV.

You don't have to read the whole thread and some of the things that happen with a lot of TVs out there are readily apparent.

I linked to those threads for quick skim reference. They're the closest thing to "man on the street" that I know of.

[Eric5676]

Eh, some of us just watch our TV's and don't analyze the hell out of them. My in-laws have a Vizio, it's fine and has never had a picture so bad that it caused me to notice.

Good for you! I hope that streak of satisfaction never comes to an end.

Not every purchase needs to be taken to the nth degree of scrutinization or have its budget expanded to get something better.

Just the audio and the headphone stuff, right? I can tell by looking at your sig that you certainly do not take that attitude when it comes to audio.

Unfortunately for my wallet...I'm both a bit of an audiophile and videophile. D'oh!

Anyways swt61: At the end of the day, if you know the budget you want and your eyes like what they see and your confident in the purchase you want to do? More power to you.

Hopefully I gave you a little something to chew on before finally pulling the trigger. Best of luck!

P.S. Buy the Oppo.

[grawk]

I bought 2 vizio 37" tvs when I moved into my house. Total cost was $1000. I've been pleased as punch with both, and have had 2 decent tvs for what 1 slightly better than decent tv would have cost me. The way the pricing on tvs go, you can buy last year's model for half price, use it for 2 years, then buy last year's model for half price. Or you can buy this year's model for full price, and in 4 years you've got the same tv, but you don't have the one for the game room.

[n_maher]

Just the audio and the headphone stuff, right? I can tell by looking at your sig that you certainly do not take that attitude when it comes to audio.

Nope, I don't spend much time worrying about the audio stuff either. The largest difference of course being that I can't build my own TV. But most would dismiss a lot of the gear in my sig from a technical standpoint. Oh nos, my DAC uses opamps and my transport uses some cheap drawer thingy! My amp has a highish output impedance, NOT THAT!!?!?! And my primary dynamic headphones cost $200. I'm clearly missing out on just about everything when you look at it like that. The stat rig, well, the amount of wheeling and dealing it took to put that list together is not insignificant. And it's not exactly set in stone yet.

Unfortunately for my wallet...I'm both a bit of an audiophile and videophile. D'oh!

That's fine, but not everyone is to the same degree. You make it sound like the Vizio is throwing money away, I'm not sure it's quite to that level of inadequate.

[Eric5676]

Nope, I don't spend much time worrying about the audio stuff either. The largest difference of course being that I can't build my own TV. But most would dismiss a lot of the gear in my sig from a technical standpoint. Oh nos, my DAC uses opamps and my transport uses some cheap drawer thingy! My amp has a highish output impedance, NOT THAT!!?!?! And my primary dynamic headphones cost $200. I'm clearly missing out on just about everything when you look at it like that. The stat rig, well, the amount of wheeling and dealing it took to put that list together is not insignificant. And it's not exactly set in stone yet.

That's fine, but not everyone is to the same degree. You make it sound like the Vizio is throwing money away, I'm not sure it's quite to that level of inadequate.

[swt61]

I'm all for getting the best bang for my buck.

I've done some research thus far, and to my eye the Vizio seems to be a pretty nice unit for the money. However if there's something near that price range that I ought to look at I'm all ears.

I can't see myself spending much more than a grand though, as I'm not a real big TV watcher in the first place.

We all have to scale down somewhere, and my music system will always prevail over video, simply because I listen to music far more often than watching the tube.

That said I have decided to join the ranks of the BFTV croud. But if anyone wants to steer me elsewhere for similar $ by all means I'm open minded.

[Dusty Chalk]

I prefered the Samsung (and Sharp) to pretty much every other LCD out there. Just based on in-store auditions. The Sharps never go on sale, and therefore don't have the same market presence that the Samsungs do, but I prefer them, so that's what I'll end up getting if I end up getting a LCD. I'm pretty much sold on a Samsung plasma, though. Also looking at the LED's that just came out.