Farewell to OPPO Digital

My son pointed out that they're making phones now. Got my customer service satisfaction survey the other day, and boy, was it fun to be able to praise them all over again. I said exactly what you just said, how to service something you no longer make just isn't done.

 

There are plenty of companies out there that can't even be bothered to properly service what they DO sell.

 

Well I said hello to a BDP-83 SE this week and absolutely love it.

As sad as this news is I am sure it makes sense to them from a business standpoint. Streaming is the future certainly for video and probably audio as well. No technology is seriously threatening the phone at the moment. If they could duplicate their secret sauce for phones (high quality - low cost) they will soon be challenging the big boys just as they did in AV market.

 

Netflix and these free streaming sites for movies like Cyberflix and Terrarium movies pretty much ended DVD and Bluray

 

Those that are perfectly happy with streaming, 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.

 

The Oppo that makes phones is not the same company as Oppo Digital, the company that made digital disc players and that is currently supporting them. The Oppo company that makes phones is a large company based outbid China (and that company is called BKK, with Oppo phones as one of the brands in its portfolio), while Oppo Digital is a very small company based in California (Oppo Digital is owned by BKK but is an entirely separate company from the large parent organization). So, it’s even more remarkable that all this great support is being run by a skeleton crew in California with minimal operations, rather than by the huge company in China.

 

Is that why they have the same logo ?

 

I’m not sure why those chose to have the same logo, but the operations are completely different. The “Oppo” that makes phones is a brand of BBK Electronics, a huge Chinese company. The “Oppo” that made disc players and continues to support them is Oppo Digital, a very small California company with completely separate operations from the parent company, BBK. Oppo Digital has nothing to do with phones.

 

Please in the name of all that is holy, not this argument again.

 

It's like Cambridge; a university and they make hifi...!

 

Why the overreaction ? It's not an argument. I'm asking a question, he's giving me an answer.
He said they're both owned by the same company, I ask is that why the same logo ? He doesn't know.

Why are people on the internet always expecting the worst ? Had a forum member go ballistic earlier, because I answered a question he had asked, and he immediately assumed I was trying to make him look foolish, so he launched a personal attack.

 

Prices remain shockingly high for the 203 and 205 players on the secondary market. It appears the 205 flippers made out like bandits.

 

In all fairness, I think this is actually a totally seperate division of the company. On one hand, yeah, it's Oppo since Oppo owns it. On the other hand it's not like the people in the A/V side are now making phones. I feel bad for the guys who worked on some of the great stuff and are now basically out of a job. BTW kudos to whatever corp. guy at Oppo made sure to keep firmware updates coming for devices not being made. When was the last time that happened? They are doing something right...

Oh, I see BillyBudapest said essentially the same thing. Sorry for the dupe. Yet, I'm leaving it in based on some of the reactions and I'm going to like his post right now.

Well not in all cases. In many European countries we had the privilege of paying post-flip prices and were lucky to find a shop with one unit. I was also on a waiting list for three months...and that began after the factory stopped making them and more than a year, maybe year and a half after guys in America were able to start buying them.

 

And cigarettes.

 

Actually, it ws a joke, not aimed at anyone in particular and not at you personally. No overreaction that I can see. YMMV.

 

[QUOTE="MYKE, post: 20717064, member: 24751"
Why are people on the internet always expecting the worst ?.[/QUOTE]

Probably because it’s a good way to manage expectations.

 

Hey Myke - sorry if my comment was too vague. I wasn't aiming it at you (or anyone in particular), no offense or criticism intended. Just commenting that the "is Oppo China and Oppo Digital California one company or two" question has been debated literally 5-6 times (or more) in the thread, often at length.

 

I wasn't aware of that, since I rarely looked into this thread, until mine went down last month. Still see no clear answer as some say it is, while others say it isn't, and no one has corrected Wikipedia, or Google, who both say they are the same.

 

Yeah, I figured you hadn't been frequenting this thread - I think those of us who have followed this thread closely for the past year have some PTSD from all the arguing about this question, which makes us break into hives when it's brought up again, however innocently.

I also think that the main reason the issue keeps coming up over and over is precisely because of what you say in your comment: "Still see no clear answer." I think that's true - the two entities are indeed separate in significant ways, and at the same time Oppo Digital is indeed owned by the larger parent company Oppo. So are they one in the same or two separate companies? The answer is... Yes!

 

Using the same logo sure doesn't go far towards clarification either.

 

Yep, you got it all right except for one thing. They aren’t basically out of a job, they are out of a job, period. I know some of the guys and gals and they have been hitting the pavement in the Bay Area looking for work. I hope they’ve found it. I’ll have to check out their LinkedIn pages to see their status.

 

Very true. Oppo cellphones didn't really have any brand cachet at the time Oppo Digital (the A/V company) was established in the U.S., so I don’t know why they used it. BBK has several other non-Oppo brands under their umbrella (Vivo, OnePlus, and others) so they obviously are not averse to the concept.

 

I think what most people don’t grasp is that while BBK Electronics (the parent) is a huge company, Oppo Digital is a tiny company.

 

Oh boy, it's like ground hog day all over again !

 

So that explains the foot of snow sitting in my yard!