Oppo's Facebook page announces UHD 4K player: UDP-203*

The hardware manufacturers have to wait for the streaming companies (Netflix, VUDU, ...) to update the apps. They usually have no ability to update or support the apps themselves. Copy protection paranoia being a big part of this. And I suspect that the streaming companies may be tiring of maintaining their apps on hundreds of different devices, and would prefer to focus on a smaller number of platforms. Which may lead to more TVs and Blu-ray players dropping built-in streaming apps, and recommending the use of separate streaming players.

 

Depends on how you define classic, eh? I got the Independence Day disc. Not only does it look fabulous, but the audio in either DTS-X or DTS-M, 7.1 is about as good as movie audio gets. There's lots of new movies that have been put on UHD this year. I'm getting Sully and Magnificent Seven next week.

I didn't get a shipping notice today. They must have beaucoups of first day orders to get out the door.

 

Bummed about not having apps like netflix or youtube

 

Well, that film is not a classic. I saw it at the Darryl Zanuck theater on the Fox lot in Century City in the best possible presentation available at the time. Once was enough...
It's summertime fodder.

 

I am glad they didn't waste any time on that stuff. If you want to send that stuff through the dac's for some reason, the player has hdmi inputs.

 

Bummer about no HDCD.
Makes me wish I'd grabbed a 103.
All I need is a player/transport so video stuff like Darby or 4K mean nothing to me.
But I have no doubt I'm in the minority

 

Well I reckon there's gonna be a stack of bargain used ones for sale in the very near future!!!!

I wouldn't think you are in a "minority"
As OPPO offers a couple of models that do so many things everyone gets something different out of them.

 

FOR ALL THE HDCD FANBOYS (and Girls) OUT THERE


Here's a transcript of my email contacts with OPPO re the 203's INABILTY to decode HDCD's..............


Note: Hi,

Been an OPPO fan for years and have owned almost every model.

Please tell me that you have NOT dropped HDCD playback ability with your UDP 203.

If you have.........why?...... Myself and many others have extensive collections.

Will the upcoming 105D replacement model.....(UDP 205?). have HDCD capability?........

Please tell me you haven't just entirely dropped this important feature out of the blue!!!!

Regards,

John



John,

We have dropped the support of decoding HDCD, but the player can still output HDCD to an external receiver for decoding and expanding.

The lack of HDCD decoding will also apply to the UDP-205 as it uses the same decoder hardware as the UDP-203.

Best Regards,
Customer Service
OPPO Digital, Inc.



Hi,


Why do think people would want to send a higher quality HDCD signal to a low quality external receiver?

Until now people that take music quality seriously could use either an external stereo DAC with their OPPO……… or use its internal decoder.

You have now taken away BOTH options!!!!!

99% of people use receivers for multi channel sound…………NOT good quality HDCD stereo.

I am VERY surprised that such a professional and highly respected Company could make such a glaring mistake.

You have always purported to offer a complete MULTI FORMAT disc playing platform and have now actually GONE BACKWARDS.

Extremely disappointed as you have now FORCED me (and many others with HDCD collections) to look at different brands in future that WILL meet our requirements.

I have ALWAYS had an OPPO in my system since the BDP 83 and ALWAYS recommended them in Forums…………..

You have really let a LOT of people down with this shocking lack of foresight.


Yours sadly,

John

 

I might get a 203 for my video setup, but keep the 105 in my audio system (which is separate) - partly because of this HDCD function elimination in the new models. I don't know if the 205 will offer any important audio advances beyond the 105. I expect probably not, though it reportedly will have a different DAC chip.

 

I'm still using my Oppo DV-980H from 2007. Great deck!

 

So here's a question that has probably been asked and answered but I can not find a firm answer anywhere.

Will the 203 convert SACDs to PCM and then output it or can it convert them to analog and output it without the PCM conversion that so many players use now?

 

It can do straight DSD to analog conversion, just like their older/other Blu-ray players. Assuming you don't adjust any distance (MCH) or bass management settings.

 

I know quoting my own post is weird but........... what the heck!!

Anyway .......(as most of you probably already knew)........a bit perfect rip and the right decode program can pretty much negate the 203's (and upcoming 205's) HDCD shortcomings so I guess I went off a little half cocked.

Probably lost my spot on OPPO's Christmas card list!!!..........LOL

 

I'm in your camp! And I have a 103.

 

Gee. Epic.

I expect nothing less than a 3d hologram presentation when the 205 rolls out.

Hmmm.

Between that and the SACD ripping, maybe my 103 will become valuable enough to fund a new 205.

Which might number somewhere around zero. I sympathize, with a few dozen titles here. But that's one sub-format that I wish never existed at all. Haven't kept a log, but I don't think I've ever heard a (barely) audible improvement on more than one or two HDCD discs. All it's done is cost me money.

 

My unit ships today and is scheduled to arrive Dec 21, 2016.

 

Is it really that hard to implement the SetNextAVTransportURI command on a decoder chip? Especially when your audience has been asking for it for years?

 

Maybe you could contact Oppo to ask them that question. Maybe the implementation of "the SetNextAVTransportURI command on a decoder chip" is not as easy as it sounds. Possibly adding that feature causes other issues with the decoder chip.

 

A question probably best asked to MediaTek. Seriously. MediaTek | Everyday Genius »

 

It's probably less of a case of "how hard is it?" than one of "how many (few) of our hardware partners are asking for this feature?"

 

The OPPO engineers tell them.

 

FINAL INSTALMENT OF OPPO EMAILS RE HDCD...............

Further to my earlier post #358............

This was OPPO's reply to my .........


The change is not something that we made in the player. This was a hardware change from MediaTek who longer wanted to support HDCD decoding. They can always re-enable this in their SDK in the future, but at this time they have no real desire to support HDCD decoding internally in the decoder.

Best Regards,

Customer Service
OPPO Digital, Inc.


I emailed them back thanking them for the quick reply and apologising for any misdirected "energetic criticism".....

 

Should be a standard feature by now.

 

Message sent; we'll see what they say.

 

HDCD or gapless? Or both?