JVB Digital, Codefree OPPO UDP-203/205 External kit DVD modification kit It plugs into the RS-232 port on the back, making the Oppo region-free. The hardware mods are really for making Blu-ray region-free. There is a free software program you burn to CD-R that makes virtually any Oppo region-free for DVD.
A review of the Panny DP-UB820. Unless there’s a confirmation the UB9000 will be released in the US, this is Panny’s top model. Some interesting info on audio and comparisons to the 203. https://hdguru.com/review-panasonic...um-performance/comment-page-1/#comment-357279
Serious question: any of these companies dying out consider joining forces with other like minded labels/companies before bowing out?
Unless I missed something, they have a big section on sound quality but fail to mention whether they are using analogue or digital connections making the whole section pointless! It does bring home a truth on SACD/DVD-A..... "While it is true that these are now dead formats, they still exist in the libraries of millions of audiophiles around the world, and with the departure of Oppo from the universal player market, the lifespan of these discs is more limited than ever."
I didn't read the review but for a reviewer not to mention whether analog or digital was used is ridiculous ! Then to say regarding SACDs and DVD-As that "lifespan of these discs is more limited than ever" is an idiotic statement IMO. I have quite a few SACDs and DVD-As and have no fear that the lifespan of these discs are in jeopardy.
I got the email yesterday and ordered the 203 last night for $549, plus $18 shipping. Still have a UDP83 going strong, but I know it can’t last forever and I have a lot of multichannel music in various formats. Really going to miss having the Oppo option around.
He doesn't mean the discs that have already been made! He means as an ongoing format and I think he's right, especially for DVD-A.
Well then the reviewer should have said the "future of new releases" or something to that nature. DVD-A releases have been far and few between for quite sometime.
In context, I thought what he said about the two formats were fine. I would say, don't shoot the messenger. I think it is cool that another player is going to have multichannel outputs! It also looks to have the full UPnp/DLNA support like the Oppo's.
I don't think he was making a statement about the formats but about the likelihood of players becoming unavailable. All optical formats have been dying a slow death since the advent of MP3 and Napster, iTunes and Spotify. What he's saying is that the "go-to" universal player manufacturer for people interested in high res is now kaput, and he sees it as a sign that our libraries will only be playable as long as available stock of the players is functional.
Those that are perfectly happy with mp3s, Spotify, et al and who eschew physical media are not the niche market that SACD, 4K UHD, DVD-A are aimed at. The mass market doesn't use KT88 vacuum tubes, moving coil phono cartridges and speaker cables the size of garden hose, either. However, just because most don't want it is not the same as nobody wants it. We hope that, after Oppo, someone realizes that there is a crazed cult of audio- and videophiles that prefer DSD to mp3 and DTS Master Audio 7.1 to streamed DD+ and will produce a well-built, feature-rich player at a high but affordable price.
Oppo had that market cornered. And yet it proved to be not viable for them. I've learned to expect the worst. In everything. Some sort of player might come along, but I wouldn't take that to the betting window. Meanwhile, I've got all my hi-res and surround content ripped and archived, and will settle for somehow feeding that to an AV receiver that can handle them, at the time my 103 finally expires. We – and our silly preoccupation with quality – will soon be dead. And that will suit the Earbud-and-TVapps bunch just fine. Not to mention the oncoming MQA Monopoly.
And there's those of us that use, say, SACD or Blu-ray audio and use them side by side with Spotify or the like who make use of the range of services available but are no less discerning for it. Oppo bailed because either the returns weren't going to be enough, as the market was shrinking. The niche that you and I occupy is way too small to even register an interest long term .
Sony and Panasonic significantly undercut Oppo's pricing in the one main purpose of the player, playing UHD discs. Everyone here was more concerned about its universal ability to handle SACD and DVD-Audio, but that was always a fringe consideration for the mainstream market. When Panasonic's player got slightly better video reviews than the Oppo, that was the kiss of death.
I've noticed a great many AVR manufactures have dropped multi channel analogue. I'm sure Oppo could see that it's main purpose was becoming obsolete and that Sony etc could undercut them on price for a simple player with no dac.
Whenever the time comes, if it comes, that physical media goes away & the gear that plays it is dead, people are just going to have to change their playback method. There are a literally a ton of DACs & music servers\streamers on the market right now. Hopefully at some point Oppo would release service manuals for their players. There are several guys who rebuild old turntables it wouldn't be too far fetched to think the same couldn't happen with Oppo players. The biggest stumbling block I can think of is if the laser goes dead. It's very hard to predict what will happen. Things don't operate in a static manner, except in Gov't.
It's not hard to see what will happen. The trend is clearly for the death of physical media. I don't like it any more than you do, but it does not good to pretend otherwise. I agree that there will be a niche market for the formats and the disc players. But it's just to be a more esoteric, expensive hobby. I've come to the conclusion that the most important things we give up in losing physical formats is privacy and private property.
I haven’t seen any “slightly better video reviews” of Panasonic over Oppo. I’ve never heard anybody say that on the forums before, either. Could you please post links to these reviews? I am eager to read them. Thanks.
This review says the opposite—that the Oppo’s video quality outshines the Panasonic in every way. Or do you mean a different Panasonic player? Oppo UDP-203 vs Panasonic DMP-UB900 – which is better?
I have to disagree that the pricing of Sony and Panasonic UHD players had anything to do with Oppo stopping production of it's players. If you go back to when the BDP-83 was released in 2009 it was more expensive then quite a few Blu-ray only players. Then the 93/95 and 103/105 players were released with pricing much higher than bargain Blu-ray players. So I don't think Oppo was concerned with their competitors UHD players pricing. Or whether another player that isn't even a universal player might have received better reviews for video quality. In all honesty I wouldn't even guess why Oppo is stopping production as it'd be just that a guess . The other thing one needs to look at is the incredible demand for Oppo players. So much so that Oppo is taking online interest requests for both the 203 and the 205. I doubt Sony or Panasonic would see the same demand for their players if they announced that they were stopping production. So if Oppo continued producing players they would sell quite well no matter if there were other players that were less expensive IMO.
I never even heard about oppo till i stumbled upon this forum Been lurking &reading. Learning a lot Bought 203 from Amazon 559 + shipping + extended warranty couple weeks ago. Amazed its up to 900 now Sad physical media cds r dying Makes me wanna cry.....just found a don mclean american pie cd at a goodwill unopened sealed for 38 years got it for $1 ☺ 2018 the year the music died....since they declared rock no longer a genre
Bill, I'd repeat what I said the other day: insufficient returns on the costs. The DAC comes in at £38 trade according to HiFi World, even in bulk. Add in the rest of the gear, plus the fact that incredible demand in audiophile circles is pretty much nada in the wider retail scheme of things and that'd be a reasonable assumption. Throw in the growth of streaming video and you have the cherry on the icing on the cake. Great companies don't go out at the top of their game for no reason. Oppo looked into the distance and saw a limited future for their gear. This is just the latest cycle of things though. Ten years ago Denon, Arcam and NAD all made £800+ universal players. Built like tanks, I lusted after the Arcam DVD-139. I bought, later, a Denon DVD-3930 and that was a terrific player. These days, none of them gets great reviews for their universal players. It's cyclical. Sad for Oppo, but....signs of the times.
I am still using a Denon DVD-3910 and a Denon DVD-5910CI in my systems, and they are good players. They are one reason I never bought a quality Blu-Ray player such as an Oppo.
