Home Theatre/TV: Oppo BDP-80 Blu-Ray disc player – Review
Who cares if this Blu-ray player is any good or not? I’d buy it just for the packaging. Exquisite is the word that comes to mind when opening the box. The unit is cosseted by its own classy looking tote bag made of recycled materials; the accessories are contained in a separate box that – hallelujah! – includes an HDMI cable. Factor in a well-presented 70-page manual and the overall effect is one of worth and luxury. I’ve sometimes seen packaging this good on items costing thousands, but rarely at this price level.
So, wow, what a first impression. Oppo is a relatively new company that’s been around since 2004 and has rapidly made a name for its up-converting DVD and Blu-ray players. Based in China, where the BDP-80 was assembled, it has divisions in the US, Europe, and Korea.
Out of the box and onto the review table, the BDP-80 continues to impress with superb finish and solid feel. The remote is large with some of the boldest bloke-sized buttons we’ve seen. Too bad, then, about the odd dull lime colour of most of the buttons. But wait, there’s a reason: they glow in the dark!
The BDP-80 supports BD Profile 2.0 (BD-Live and BonusView), DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, Super Audio CD (SACD), HDCD, CD and such popular media formats as AVCHD, MKV video files, music and even digital photos. There’s 1GB of internal storage, primarily for BD-Live features.
It shares the same decoder as Oppo’s BDP-83 that has picked up various international awards and that has helped cement the company’s name as a manufacturer of quality equipment. But while the BDP-83 uses an onboard VRS by Anchor Bay video processor, the BDP-80 has been optimised as a digital audio/video transport with emphasis on the accuracy of its digital audio/video outputs.
Other strong points include internal decoding and bitstream output of such formats as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master audio, DSD and DVD-Audio, subtitle shift and vertical stretch zoom mode for constant image height front projection, and a configurable 7.1-channel analogue output.
In the back are an HDMI 1.3 port, component, S-Video and composite video connections.
The BDP-80 is region-free for DVD, although a specific region can be set if for some obscure reason you prefer to do so. The BD zone, however, has to be set to B for New Zealand and Australia.
Configuration is dead easy using the wizard that includes network setup, and with reference to the manual if needed.
The player has fast disc load times and responds quickly to user commands, so much so it makes some Blu-ray players we’ve used recently seem steam-powered by comparison.
As for the picture, it just rocks. If you’re serious about sucking the best from your Blu-ray discs, this Oppo is more than up to the task, delivering near stellar sound as part of the package. Having said that, those with a giant panel and who demand the very best upconversion of standard DVDs might find further advantage in the BDP-83.
I’m glad to have had this oppo to try the Oppo because it is a bit of an eye opener. It really is, you might say, one to watch.
Phil Hanson
Oppo BDP-80 Blu-Ray disc player – Specifications
Playable media: BD-Video, DVD-Video, AVCHD, DVD-Audio, SACD, CD, HDCD, Kodak Picture CD, CD-R/RW, DVD+/-R/RW, DVD+/-R DL, BD-R/RE
BD Profile: BD-ROM Version 2 Profile 2 (compatible with Profile 1 Version 1.0 and 1.1)
Internal Storage: 1GB
Frequency response: 20Hz-20kHz (+/-0.3dB)
Signal-to-Noise ratio: >115dB (A-weighted) THD+N: < 0.008% (1kHz at 0dBFS, 20kHz LPF)
Dimensions: 430 x 53 x 281mm (W/H/D)
Weight: 3.5kg
PROS
- Great build quality
- One of the best manuals around
- First class picture and sound quality
CONS
- Maybe the price point?
VERDICT
All that stuff they’re saying about Oppo overseas seems to be true. It’s well built and delivers the goods. Bravo!
CONTACT
This article is from Tone 82. Click here to check it out.
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