Blu Ray Player
Posted by: IanG on 16 September 2016
Currently my home cinema 5.1 system comprises a cheap Sony blu ray player into a surround sound receiver (Rotel RSX 1550) via HDMI. The front left/right channels are run via my Naim 252/300 with the 252 in AV bypass mode. All other channels are run by the Rotel.
My question is this, in the above set up, would replacing the Sony blu ray with a premium player (e.g. Oppo etc) would I benefit with improved picture and audio or are these processed in the Rotel and hence would be the same quality regardless of which blu ray player I use ?
Apologies if this is a very basic question but I'm not sure which part of the chain is responsible for what as far as the audio and image processing is concerned.
Posted on: 24 January 2017 by Adam Zielinski
Well - 203 should give you 4K playback - so future-proof.
As to considering anthing less.... would you consider Yamaha amp vs your Naim? Thought so 
Posted on: 24 January 2017 by nickpeacock
As to considering anthing less.... would you consider Yamaha amp vs your Naim? Thought so
Ha! Thanks, Adam.
Posted on: 24 January 2017 by Adam Zielinski
Nick - I've just checked your system profile.
Oppo 203 wpuld be a good choice. If you decide to go down the 5.1 route, have a look at Classe processor and one of their 3 channel amps. You ahould be able to actually build a very good surround sound system - some BlyRay audio or SACD discs do sound amazing in surround.
Posted on: 25 January 2017 by nickpeacock
Got an Oppo 203 today.
Probably using only a fraction of its capabilities at the moment, but build quality is reassuring at least.
Posted on: 25 January 2017 by Adam Zielinski
Nick - good choice. I use my Oppo 105 for only few things, but it does them impressively well (movies, surround sound music and as a digital transport into my nDAC).
Posted on: 26 January 2017 by Guy007
Well after Tony and others glowing reviews, I pulled the trigger on a 203 - but I still have to wait a bit as the Canadian reseller will hopefully ship on the 30th Jan. My Pioneer bit the dust and the kid friendly Samsung isn't doing things justice.
Looks like What Hifi like it too - http://www.whathifi.com/oppo/udp-203/review
Posted on: 29 January 2017 by rackkit
Well after Tony and others glowing reviews, I pulled the trigger on a 203 - but I still have to wait a bit as the Canadian reseller will hopefully ship on the 30th Jan. My Pioneer bit the dust and the kid friendly Samsung isn't doing things justice.
Looks like What Hifi like it too - http://www.whathifi.com/oppo/udp-203/review
Was just about to post that review. Looks a bargain for the performance & features on offer.
I'm still slummmg it with 1080p but keeping an eye on all things 4K too.
Posted on: 30 January 2017 by nickpeacock
Very pleased with Oppo 203 and new flat move in two weeks' time means I might just treat myself to a cheeky 4k TV...
Posted on: 30 January 2017 by Adam Zielinski
Posted on: 30 January 2017 by Finkfan
What tv [@mention:1566878603997807]?
Posted on: 30 January 2017 by nickpeacock
A question I was about to post in this very place - I'll start a new thread!
Posted on: 30 January 2017 by Finkfan
Posted on: 30 January 2017 by Ravenswood10
Likewise here - very pleased with the 203. I kept my 105 Darbee as I feel it has the edge in the audio department. I was going to sell it but will keep both even if it means another shelf on the rack. Oppo certainly builds excellent machines
Posted on: 30 January 2017 by rackkit
Likewise here - very pleased with the 203. I kept my 105 Darbee as I feel it has the edge in the audio department. I was going to sell it but will keep both even if it means another shelf on the rack. Oppo certainly builds excellent machines
Betting that Oppo will do an higher end 203 with the extra audio performance at some point.
Posted on: 30 January 2017 by Ravenswood10
In a couple of of months I think.....
Posted on: 30 January 2017 by Guy007
Posted on: 30 January 2017 by Bert Schurink
Very pleased with Oppo 203 and new flat move in two weeks' time means I might just treat myself to a cheeky 4k TV...
While I do belief in the quality of the Oppo stuff, I am a happy owner myself, does the benefit also pay out for the non 4K content, which is the most right now....?
Posted on: 31 January 2017 by Ravenswood10
Upscaling standard blu ray discs is very good and is very close to what few UHD discs I have - which are variable in quality and not always better than the standard item. Also more than passable are good old DVDs which seem to survive upscaling very well.
The BDP105 also does a passable job at streaming although not in the league of my NDS but then you wouldn't expect it too. It's also good to have DVD-A compatibility as I still have a few of those gathering dust.
Posted on: 05 February 2017 by Guy007
Well, having had my 203 for a few days and played, CD, SACD, DVD and Blu-ray through my Denon 4308 amp, I'm suitably impressed. My main player before was a Pioneer BDP-51FD, but the Blu-ray laser had an issue and could only read 60 mins (or one of the layers) before stopping, so it got changed to a kid friendly Samsung Blu-ray (which is just what you need for poorly treated kids library DVD and Blu-rays) for the last year, and the Pioneer was relegated to kid friendly CD duty on another system - which it handles very well.
But back now is the audio clarity and impressive, picture definition. Even watching the Swordfish DVD from 2001, I thought it could have been a Blu-ray picture.
Two thumbs up.
Posted on: 06 February 2017 by Ravenswood10
For those of us who have been experiencing lip sync issues with our 203s, OPPO UK have informed me that a firmware update to address is due very soon. Mine was fine until the last update so let's hope the next one fixes things......the lights of being an early odopter
Posted on: 06 February 2017 by IanG
I believe (reading the forums) there have been all sorts of teething problems with the 203. Personally the only problem I seem to get is an occasional stuttering picture when I'm watching my Sky Q box (which is routed via the 203 HDMI in). Not sure if this if the 203, sky box or TV !!
Posted on: 07 February 2017 by MDS
My new Oppo 203 was installed this evening. Haven't yet had the chance for a proper play but the most noticeable thing so far is a big lift in sound quality.
Posted on: 10 February 2017 by Ravenswood10
My 203 is sitting on a shelf not doing very much until the new FW upgrade arrives, hopefully early next week. The last upgrade caused awful lipsync issues so I've gone back to my 105D. Oppo UK technical support wrote this morning to say that the beta fix is riddled with bugs and US owners who have asked for it have ended up in a worse place! Not good. Count yourself lucky if your machine isn't impacted! Such a shame and not what I was expecting after my 105D - I'm glad I didn't sell it! I do have to wonder if Oppo rushed the 203 out prematurely. We need an Oppo Phil Harris on the job
Posted on: 10 February 2017 by tonym
Mmm. That's odd. When I got my 203 I installed the latest beta firmware & my machine performs fine, certainly no lipsync. issues on any disc so far.
Posted on: 10 February 2017 by Ravenswood10
Strange but true. Oppo technical has confirmed that there is an issue which they are urgently working on. Even stranger is that this that this doesn't seem to beimpacting all machines. I'm hoping it's not hardware related but there are an awful lot of people out there with the same problem. My issue happened after the last FW upgrade and seems particularly pronounced with UHD discs.
