The End Of Oppo

Posted by: tonym on 03 April 2018

Shocked to read that Oppo Digital have decided to stop making A/V products. This is a bolt out of the blue, and a real shame. I've owned various Oppo disc players over the years, still got three of them, and they've always been a cut above the competition, in both audio and video quality, plus the excellent service they've provided in the past. Oppo will continue in the mobile phone market (news to me, I didn't realise they were even selling phones).

I guess this is a reflection of the increasing move to streaming, but even for those of us with decent broadband, the quality obtainable by this route isn't a patch on a good BluRay disc, let alone a 4K version. Sad days...

Posted on: 03 April 2018 by Kevin-W

That's sad news Tony.

A couple of weeks ago I was round someone's house and they were using a UDP205 as a CD player, DAC and streamer as well as a 4K Blu-ray machine. I was so impressed with the sound of CDs on this unit (it was really stunning) that I have been seriously contemplating buying one and using in the same way.

Looks like I won't be able to save up in time before they cease production now...

Seems a strange decision, especially given that Oppo's machines have received near-universal rave reviews over the years.

Posted on: 03 April 2018 by Mario

yes Tony, a real shock, I can never understand when a company that makes the best products of its kind gives up the ghost, a bit like nakamichi I suppose. I have a UDP-205 and its truly is excellent, hope support continues for a long while longer.

 

Mario.

Posted on: 03 April 2018 by GregWPGibbs

Reminds me of when Pioneer stopped making Plasma  TVs. Hopefully by the time my 203 gives up the ghost, streaming will have surpassed physical media in terms of sound and picture quality ??

Posted on: 03 April 2018 by Eloise

I wonder if Oppo (Oppo Digital’s “parent” company) feel there is more profit in selling OEM devices to companies such as Cambridge Audio and Primare than branding themselves.  Of course might just be the profit it in phones (rather than ‘phones) now...

Despite Oppo Digital’s “US” nomenclature they were at heart a Chinese company.

Posted on: 03 April 2018 by charlesphoto

I’ve got a region free BDP-83 still going strong. Was shocked a few years back when Oppo actually fixed the stuck tray for free, including return shipping on their own dime, despite the fact the player was way out of warranty (and purchased second hand) and had been modded to be region free. Now that’s service! 

Posted on: 03 April 2018 by Mr Underhill

Eloise,

I have read that CA are stopping their production of their Oppo based player.

--

This will be awkward for me in due course as I use my 105 for AV decoding. For me the issue with streaming is the quality of the audio, although if bandwidth increases this might not be such an issue - of course the Trumpian government is paving the way for charging for bandwidth, so watch those prices.

Time to start thinking about building my own HTPC again.

M

Posted on: 03 April 2018 by Eloise
Mr Underhill posted:

I have read that CA are stopping their production of their Oppo based player.

Can I ask where you read that? The Forbes article I read stated they had contacted CA for comment without response. 

Posted on: 03 April 2018 by charlesphoto

Oppo themselves:

https://www.oppodigital.com/farewell.aspx

Posted on: 03 April 2018 by count.d

That is sad and strange. The two best players seem to be the Oppo and Cambridge CXUHD, with Cambridge apparently having the edge (having a little more neutral tones). I had already decided on the Cambridge, but this now made my decision 100%. 

Posted on: 03 April 2018 by Bert Schurink

Indeed very sad - I very much enjoy my blu ray player and would have blindly upgraded to the new version if needed.

Posted on: 03 April 2018 by Ravenswood10

Equally sad although I'm glad I got my 205 a few months ago. This should last a while until the spinning disc goes out for fashion. Real shame though, the best player in the business but I expect there's more to be made from OEM stuff and mobile phones. 

Posted on: 03 April 2018 by MDS

Sad news. I've been an Oppo fan for a few years now and have two of their players, both quality products and packaged as professionally as Apple.

Posted on: 03 April 2018 by Alley Cat

Gobsmacked, got my UDP-203 last year and it's a lovely machine even though I've not really put it through its paces with my full blown AV system.

The announcement seems odd if they are at the 'pinnacle' of their game, but I have to surmise it's down to economics and simply not viable to produce these high-end machines anymore.

The mass market has such a knock on effect for those of us interested in quality of audio and video, but streaming services have come on significantly in the last 2 years or so.

I used to be highly critical of Itunes movie quality on AppleTV but must confess it's improved considerably, same goes for Amazon Prime video which used to be dire, thoug hNetflix has always performed well even with limited bandwidth.

Posted on: 03 April 2018 by Hook

Have had my Oppo BDP-83, modded region-free, for quite a few years. Has worked very well, but I can’t recall the last time I actually played a DVD or Blu Ray.

My ten year old Pioneer Kuro is still going strong, so have not yet experienced 4K streaming. I agree with Tony that my current Apple TV streaming is not as good as Blu Ray. But the convenience and selection of Netflix, Amazon Prime, and my cable company’s on-demand services, are pretty amazing. Am sure if I dug through my collection of discs, I could find something to watch...again. But for us, the volume of new releases easily fills the 2-3 hours we have most evenings for watching.

Posted on: 03 April 2018 by MangoMonkey

April fool's?

And then they forgot to take the message down?

Posted on: 04 April 2018 by MDS
MangoMonkey posted:

April fool's?

And then they forgot to take the message down?

Unfortunately the message is dated 2nd April.

Posted on: 04 April 2018 by tonym
Hook posted:

...But the convenience and selection of Netflix, Amazon Prime, and my cable company’s on-demand services, are pretty amazing. Am sure if I dug through my collection of discs, I could find something to watch...again. But for us, the volume of new releases easily fills the 2-3 hours we have most evenings for watching.

I think you've hit the nail on the head there Hook. The sheer convenience, and the increasing quality of programs, pus the enormous volume of material, of the streaming services is increasingly dominating folks' viewing time. There are only so many hours in the day. 

Posted on: 04 April 2018 by blythe

Sad indeed but, like when CD's came out, the death of LP's seemed to be on the horizon.
The likes of Garrard and BSR went and only a very few makers remained.
Things "move on" but, I sincerely hope I can still play my DVD's and BluRays for some time to come or, at the very least, rip them, at full quality, for playback.

Posted on: 04 April 2018 by Mr Underhill
Eloise posted:
Mr Underhill posted:

I have read that CA are stopping their production of their Oppo based player.

Can I ask where you read that? The Forbes article I read stated they had contacted CA for comment without response. 

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/...-3.html#post55964446

Posted on: 04 April 2018 by Mr Underhill
tonym posted:
Hook posted:

...But the convenience and selection of Netflix, Amazon Prime, and my cable company’s on-demand services, are pretty amazing. Am sure if I dug through my collection of discs, I could find something to watch...again. But for us, the volume of new releases easily fills the 2-3 hours we have most evenings for watching.

I think you've hit the nail on the head there Hook. The sheer convenience, and the increasing quality of programs, pus the enormous volume of material, of the streaming services is increasingly dominating folks' viewing time. There are only so many hours in the day. 

True, but I still prefer the SQ from DVD/BR over streaming ....but, if you are reading this then we are part of the 1%.

Posted on: 06 April 2018 by fernar

Five reasons why I got my Oppo 205:

1) Very good picture - not only on 4K, but also Blu Ray (including 3D) and standard DVD

2) Excelent sound quality

3) Ability to get a 5.1 feed directly (which were processed by the one of the best DAC in the market)

4) The ability to play SACD and DVD-A (yes I have a few of those disks as well) in full munlti channel

5) The very good support they provide (firmware updates etc)

I believe that these set of unique features are offered by very few other vendors - and in my view the 4K image from the Oppo is a lot better than the 4K available via streaming.... maybe the quality of streaming 4K will improve as internet bandwidths increase.... 

Also a lot of the new multi media players are dropping the analogue out in favour of just HDMI - which means that in order to listen to full SACD/DVD-A resolution in multi channel, one need to channel via a AV box of some sort... 

Hopefully other vendors will see the opportunity to fill this requirement... in the past Marantz and others did with their multi media players... 

Posted on: 15 April 2018 by Ravenswood10

Agree on all counts plus like it’s built like a proverbial tank and will probably outlast me. Somehow I think this will be my last disc spinner. All this reminds me of my Pioneer Kuro which as good as it was simply wasn’t economical to produce.