Pros: Wireless and wired Internet, Top-quality video playback with Blu-ray and DVD, DLNA-compatible for streaming from a PC, 2GB on-board memory
Cons: Costly, Inadequate Internet streaming options
As and when the high definition format war ended, a constant resident on F.A.Q. has been some variation of, "Which Blu-ray Disc player to buy?" As different models come and go, answer changes from time to time. However, as it was with their exceptional DVD players, the Recommends list is always occupied by the latest disc spinner from OPPO Digital. They don't sell their players at retail, so you won't see them at Best Buy or Walmart. To keep costs down, OPPO only sells direct through their website and through Amazon.com. Are their players really that good? Let me put it this way: they don't get much better.
The Oppo BDP-93 sports an eye-catching brushed-metal faceplate with suitable control buttons and dual information displays. Scrumptiously, said control buttons are not touch sensitive. Said another way, they behave as expected every time. In addition to the usual front panel buttons, you also get a front USB port tucked in the lower right corner. The BDP-93 features a brilliant tray design, slightly narrower than the disc thus allowing for easy removal. Out back you'll find a few more deviations from the norm, raising the BDP-93 a step above what you'll see on a run of the mill Blu-ray player. First off, you get 7.1 channel analog audio outputs, a desirable option for users who haven't upgraded to an HDMI-switching receiver or pre/pro. These also represent another option for outputting high resolution audio from SACD and DVD-Audio, both of which the BDP-93 supports, hence its "Universal Disc Player" designation. Also out back you'll find dual HDMI outputs, and they both can deliver audio and video simultaneously. Only one benefits from the Marvell QDEO video processor employed by the OPPO, but still, the ability to output to two displays, or to one display and one A/V receiver simultaneously is a welcome feature, and particularly useful if your otherwise excellent receiver or preamp/processor does not happen to support 3D passthrough.
Unlike its forerunner, the BDP-83, which featured Anchor Bay's VRS chipset, OPPO's BDP-93 utilitzes Marvell's QDEO video processor to handle scaling and noise reduction duties on the primary HDMI output. It should be noted that neither the secondary HDMI output, nor the component video output, take advantage of the QDEO's processing. While it's hard to find fault with the QDEO's performance, OPPO has kindly given users the ability to bypass the QDEO processing entirely, if desired. If you're using an external video scaler or processor, simply set the OPPO's output resolution to "Source Direct" which will bypass the QDEO sending over the HDMI output a raw video signal that matches the format and resolution of the specific media you're playing. In other words, DVDs are sent out at 480i/60 and Blu-rays are sent out at 1080/24p, 1080/60i or 720/60p depending on the actual content.
Running through several generations of the HQV Benchmark test discs, the BDP-93 performed quite well. Unlike a few other players on the market, the BDP-93 does not support 24p output from DVDs. This feature is useful if you want to be able to view DVDs, sourced from 24 fps film content, on a TV that supports a native 24p mode. This capability helps to preserve that film-specific look to motion without introducing motion artifacts. The QDEO processor actually has the ability to do this, but OPPO says that they felt that enabling the 24p output from DVDs on this particular chipset would have produced inferior results. So that feature is disabled. One additional advantage of that QDEO video processor is that it also benefits the appearance of streamed content, such as that from Netflix and personal content found on your home network. Powering the unit on using the Power button results in an 8-second wait before the OPPO logo page appears. More impressive is that by using the Open/Close button to power the unit on, you need wait only 4.2 seconds before the disc tray is fully extended.
The quality of the 3D presentation seems more dependent on the display and on the content than anything else. This observation coupled with the OPPO's 2D performance may lead to believe that if 3D playback is something you enjoy, the OPPO is well equipped to serve up your favorite Blu-ray 3D content. But there is no 2D to 3D conversion on board yet.
The BDP-93 is easily OPPO's most impressive disc player to date. And while the spit and polish on the OPPO's user interface isn't quite on a par with that of an LG or a Sony, the player makes up for this with its top shelf video performance. The selection of streaming services is weak, but it has Netflix and that may be enough for many people. In the end, the highest compliment I can give the OPPO is to share this one simple fact: the BDP-93 has taken up permanent residency in my A/V cabinet as my new reference Blu-ray Disc player to which other players shall be compared.
Cons: Costly, Inadequate Internet streaming options
As and when the high definition format war ended, a constant resident on F.A.Q. has been some variation of, "Which Blu-ray Disc player to buy?" As different models come and go, answer changes from time to time. However, as it was with their exceptional DVD players, the Recommends list is always occupied by the latest disc spinner from OPPO Digital. They don't sell their players at retail, so you won't see them at Best Buy or Walmart. To keep costs down, OPPO only sells direct through their website and through Amazon.com. Are their players really that good? Let me put it this way: they don't get much better.
The Oppo BDP-93 sports an eye-catching brushed-metal faceplate with suitable control buttons and dual information displays. Scrumptiously, said control buttons are not touch sensitive. Said another way, they behave as expected every time. In addition to the usual front panel buttons, you also get a front USB port tucked in the lower right corner. The BDP-93 features a brilliant tray design, slightly narrower than the disc thus allowing for easy removal. Out back you'll find a few more deviations from the norm, raising the BDP-93 a step above what you'll see on a run of the mill Blu-ray player. First off, you get 7.1 channel analog audio outputs, a desirable option for users who haven't upgraded to an HDMI-switching receiver or pre/pro. These also represent another option for outputting high resolution audio from SACD and DVD-Audio, both of which the BDP-93 supports, hence its "Universal Disc Player" designation. Also out back you'll find dual HDMI outputs, and they both can deliver audio and video simultaneously. Only one benefits from the Marvell QDEO video processor employed by the OPPO, but still, the ability to output to two displays, or to one display and one A/V receiver simultaneously is a welcome feature, and particularly useful if your otherwise excellent receiver or preamp/processor does not happen to support 3D passthrough.
Unlike its forerunner, the BDP-83, which featured Anchor Bay's VRS chipset, OPPO's BDP-93 utilitzes Marvell's QDEO video processor to handle scaling and noise reduction duties on the primary HDMI output. It should be noted that neither the secondary HDMI output, nor the component video output, take advantage of the QDEO's processing. While it's hard to find fault with the QDEO's performance, OPPO has kindly given users the ability to bypass the QDEO processing entirely, if desired. If you're using an external video scaler or processor, simply set the OPPO's output resolution to "Source Direct" which will bypass the QDEO sending over the HDMI output a raw video signal that matches the format and resolution of the specific media you're playing. In other words, DVDs are sent out at 480i/60 and Blu-rays are sent out at 1080/24p, 1080/60i or 720/60p depending on the actual content.
Running through several generations of the HQV Benchmark test discs, the BDP-93 performed quite well. Unlike a few other players on the market, the BDP-93 does not support 24p output from DVDs. This feature is useful if you want to be able to view DVDs, sourced from 24 fps film content, on a TV that supports a native 24p mode. This capability helps to preserve that film-specific look to motion without introducing motion artifacts. The QDEO processor actually has the ability to do this, but OPPO says that they felt that enabling the 24p output from DVDs on this particular chipset would have produced inferior results. So that feature is disabled. One additional advantage of that QDEO video processor is that it also benefits the appearance of streamed content, such as that from Netflix and personal content found on your home network. Powering the unit on using the Power button results in an 8-second wait before the OPPO logo page appears. More impressive is that by using the Open/Close button to power the unit on, you need wait only 4.2 seconds before the disc tray is fully extended.
The quality of the 3D presentation seems more dependent on the display and on the content than anything else. This observation coupled with the OPPO's 2D performance may lead to believe that if 3D playback is something you enjoy, the OPPO is well equipped to serve up your favorite Blu-ray 3D content. But there is no 2D to 3D conversion on board yet.
The BDP-93 is easily OPPO's most impressive disc player to date. And while the spit and polish on the OPPO's user interface isn't quite on a par with that of an LG or a Sony, the player makes up for this with its top shelf video performance. The selection of streaming services is weak, but it has Netflix and that may be enough for many people. In the end, the highest compliment I can give the OPPO is to share this one simple fact: the BDP-93 has taken up permanent residency in my A/V cabinet as my new reference Blu-ray Disc player to which other players shall be compared.
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