OPPO BDP-93 Universal Network 3D Blu-ray Disc Player
December 12, 2011 by Cherry
Filed under Blu-ray Players
OPPO BDP-93 Universal Network 3D Blu-ray Disc Player
- Blu-ray 3D & Network Streaming
- Wireless N, eSATA & USB 2.0
- Dual HDMI, IR & RS232 Control
- 2nd Generation Qdeo Video Processing
- SACD & DVD-Audio/Video
Oppo’s BDP-93 gives you universal playback of Blu-ray, DVD, CD, SACD, DVD-Audio, and a wealth of digital files, with solid picture and sound quality no matter the format. With access to streaming content from Netflix or Blockbuster on Demand, USB and eSATA ports for your external drives, and wide connectivity including dual HDMI 1.4, this player defines versatility. (December 2011) Winner: PCMag Readers’ Choice Awards Best Blu-ray Player “Apple doesn’t make Blu-ray players, but if it did, we have a feeling that OPPO Digital would still beat it in customer satisfaction. The small Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of Blu-ray disc players earns a Readers’ Choice award, having received the highest satisfaction scores of any company in all of ou
List Price: $ 499.99
Price: $ 499.99
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Truly Impressive Video and Audio,
Oppo has created quite a name for itself with their Blu-ray players for home theater devotees. Priced between extraordinarily high end equipment and players that you can buy at warehouse clubs, the Oppo units have wowed users by truly being worth the extra dollars while providing a high-end experience. So here we have Oppo’s brand new BDP-93. There were some minor glitches that were solved with the first firmware upgrade, already included on the release units. Firmware upgrades take place wirelessly using the included wifi dongle, assuming, of course, that you have a wifi network at home. You can alternatively plug into your network using an ethernet cable.
First thoughts: This is a well packaged machine with subdued highlights on the front panel, clearly labeled inputs and outputs on the back panel, and an informative and useful display. Drop in a DVD-A disc, for instance, such as the one within the Lord Of The Rings complete soundtrack sets, and the front panel informs you that you’re listening to a DVD-A. There’s no confusion, as there can be with other components, as to whether you might be mistakenly listening to the standard stereo track and creating surround from that. The intuitive setup panels, accessed via the well designed and internally lit remote, quickly allow you to adjust your playback desires – you can listen to the multi-speaker output from the DVD-A or the mixed-down stereo version at the touch of a button.
And I’ve started out with audio discussion for a reason. Many of us with high end CD players still have an extra box in our audio stack; finding a DVD player, Bluray or otherwise, that can play back a standard CD with sufficient quality to allow removal of the CD player has been a difficult task. Most reviewers of DVD players seem to ignore the stereo audio component entirely. Here, you not only have the ability to listen to DVD-A versions of audio sources when available, but you have a real reason to disconnect your CD player for good. I have one of Sony’s wonderful ES models from years ago which until now has been unparalleled by any reasonably priced component. The staging of the audio, though, is really improved on the Oppo over other DVD players and is at least on a par with the Sony ES CD player, if not somewhat better. Taking, for example, “Blackbirds” from the new remastered Beatles White Album, Paul is clearly staged just to the left of my right speaker. His vocals are pure and clear to an exquisite extent (sometimes to a fault as you can now clearly hear a sibilant s in the lyric – a fault of the microphones of the era – that is somewhat muffled on other equipment). Orchestral and pop music alike are impressive and clear. Of course, now you can listen not only to standard commercial CD’s, but also to CD’s containing .mp3 or .flac libraries (among other alternatives). In those latter situations, your TV will function as a display, showing the titles of the entire disc’s content and allowing you to easily pick your desired track.
The Oppo’s front drawer operates smoothly, quickly, and quietly, and the entire unit itself is inaudible in operation unless you’re hovering a few inches above the component. Playback of DVD-A’s and CD’s are quick and straightforward. No delays in loading were apparent. Unlike many alternative models, the Oppo responds quickly. Turn it on by pushing the eject button and the unit will immediately come alive and open the drawer. There’s been no time when I found myself standing next to the component and waiting for a response – as I have with many earlier Bluray players.
After testing audio, I moved to streaming. Getting my Netflix account set up to stream to my BDP-93 took all of one minute. Seriously, this was far faster than I thought possible. Click the Home key on the remote, then move the cursor to select Netflix, click Select, and you’re given a code. Type the code in at the Netflix website and in a few seconds you’ll see your Netflix Instant Viewing menu loading. I quickly and easily watched the first few minutes of a movie and a TV series, both in HD. Mind you, Netflix doesn’t stream 5.1 or 7.1 audio nor is their HD of the same quality that you’re used to from Bluray. Streaming is NOT a replacement for Bluray discs (and isn’t really a replacement for DVD’s if it’s quality that you’re after), BUT it’s a great way to quickly watch a movie with the family that you don’t have available in your home library.
I didn’t test Blockbuster on Demand, but that’s available as well.
As we move to video, I should point out that I utilized a direct HDMI 1.4 connection between my Oppo and a 53″ Sony XBR6 (last year’s model, not 3D). 1080p Video was selected for my first test disc – the JJ Abrams Bluray of Star Trek. This disc was one of the tougher discs for my previous player (a Sony BDPS550) to handle, and I would wait and watch the Enterprise spin for quite some time while the…
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|A truly universal player that cuts no corners,
I was one of the early owners of the BDP-83. My only major disappointment in it was its lack of Netflix streaming. At one point, there were rumors that BluTV (included in a firmware upgrade) would add this feature, but after waiting for over a year I gave up on that.
Is it worth it to upgrade this player just to get the BDP-93′s streaming capabilities (which are limited to Netflix and Blockbuster now, but will be expanded shortly)? My answer is an unqualified yes. Why? Because you not only get streaming, but much more. The BDP-93′s video processing, including its upconversion of standard DVDs, is even better than that of the BDP-83. The BDP-93 also has built-in wireless, although I opted to connect through an Ethernet cable for better speed and stability. The BDP-93′s disc transport is more solid and stable than that of its older brother (although, to be honest, I never had problems with the 83′s transport). Support for SACD and DVD-Audio remain, to say nothing of numerous other formats like HDCD. Finally, there is its 3D capability — not something I’m interested in right now, but should I decide later to go this route, my Blu-Ray player is ready.
You can get a Blu-Ray player with network streaming for a lot less than the cost of the BDP-93. But this player delivers all the goods — it’s a high-end component at a price that won’t break the bank. It will play, with optimal results, almost anything you put into it. And it is ruggedly constructed, built to last. In the end, I bought it for both these reasons: flexibility and high quality. One last thing: Oppo is a company that really listens to its customers. It responds promptly and competently to feedback and questions.
I highly recommend this player. Like other reviewers, I strongly suggest buying it directly from Oppo or from Amazon, so you won’t get fleeced on the price.
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|Fantastic BD Player,
This is my first BD player and I have to say it is fantastic. I own an OPPO DVD player and know about their great build quality and performance. At a relatively bargain price of $499, you’d have to spend at least double/triple that amount to get a comparable BD player from Denon/Marantz/Onkyo/Yamaha/etc. Picture and audio quality are excellent, load times are well above average, and setup was very straight forward. It’s nice to have 3D capability, which will help keep this player from becoming obsolete in the near future. I use the 7.1 analog outs with my older Yamaha (RX-V3200) and the sound is amazing. Clear dialog, amazing bass management, transparent audio image, usually only obtained through a much more expensive AVR and/or BD player.
I would definitely recommend this player to anyone interested in a top notch BD player, but not at a top notch price.
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