Oppo UDP-203 4K UHD Blueray player

BlueFox

Just received an email from Oppo saying it is available for pre-order. So, I ordered it. Granted, first gen product will have lots of firmware bugs, but Oppo is usually quick to resolve issues.

Now to get some 4K disks to enjoy over the Xmas break.

https://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-udp-203/

Nightfall

They're using an AKM DAC this time around, never heard of them.

tonyb

I believe that's the same dac chip in my Cary Xciter dac, possibly a different iteration though. If so....Fox is going to love the sound.

gudnoyez

When is the ship date? No waiting list I assume, would like to hear your impressions once you get it up and running. I will either get this or the one Sony is releasing soon.

tonyb

You sure Steve ? Last I recall, you brought home so much as a Snickers bar and you were pitching a tent in the yard.

BlueFox

Hopefully, I will have it by Friday. The site said 2-3 day to ship. I guess I should get on Amazon to find a 4K DVD, preferably one I do not own in BR, or have seen. But that is very unlikely. It's rebuy time.

I don't use the audio in my Oppo players, and I probably won't with this one either. I suspect that they will come out with a 205 that handles the audio part. Like my previous, 83, 93, and 103, I just want the video capability.

vmaxer

Is the price a misprint??

BlueFox

That's what I paid. $600 after tax and $11 shipping.

Emlyn

Very reasonable price for what it is. $50 cheaper than a 103D model.

Madmax Fury Road or The Martian (Extended Edition) are good choices in the format. The Revenant is also good, although I have only watched that once since it started to seem to be a three hour long torture movie.

BlueFox

Ordered Mad Max since I have only watched it once when it first was released on BR.

Thorton

You guys are killing me. Nice price!!! Let us know when you get it and how you like it.

afterburnt

Can't wait for your review to see if I need one

honestaquarian

Oh to H E Double hockey sticks with waiting for a review.
JUST GET ONE!!

afterburnt

I am sort of broke, I have to want it really bad for it to go to the top of the "get" list

Danny Tse

As much as I like to get the 203, I wonder what the 205 will be like.

BlueFox

If it follows past models then it will be the same video, but with a better audio section.

Nightfall

I think you'll be more impressed by the improvements that HDR brings than 4k. Most movies are 2k in post production no matter what they were shot at so you'll be getting upscaled content for the most part.

http://www.highdefdigest.com/blog/ultra-hd-not-always-4k/

While it’s true that some movies are indeed starting to be photographed with 4k cameras (and movies shot on film may get scanned at 4k resolution), most of them still get downgraded to 2k for the post-production workflow. The higher pixel resolution of 4k requires a big increase in bandwidth resources that most post houses can’t handle. And, ultimately, most viewers can’t tell the difference between 2k and 4k anyway.

Here are the titles that Warner Home Video has announced:

‘The Lego Movie’ – Animated on a 2k DI
‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ – Shot in 2k, with a 2k DI
‘Man of Steel’ – Shot on 35mm, with a 2k DI
‘Pacific Rim’ – Shot in 5k, but only a 2k DI
‘Pan’ – Shot in 3k, with a 2k DI
‘San Andreas’ – Shot in 3k, DI is not listed but probably 2k

Yes, every single film that Warner plans to release on the 4k Ultra HD format is a 2k movie.

The 20th Century Fox release titles are only marginally better:

‘Exodus: Gods and Kings’ – Shot in 5k, with a 2k DI
‘Fantastic Four’ – Shot in 2k, with a 2k DI
‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ – Shot mostly in 2k, with a 2k DI
‘Life of Pi’ – Shot in 2k, with a 2k DI
‘The Martian’ – Shot in 5k, with a 2k DI
‘The Maze Runner’ – Shot mostly in 2k mixed with some 5k, with a 4k DI
‘Wild’ – Shot in 2k, with a 2k DI
‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ – Shot in 2k, with a 2k DI

ZLTFUL

This will most likely be my Christmas present.

pitdogg2

I'm holding out for 5K...4K is so yesterday

gudnoyez

Danny Tse wrote: »

As much as I like to get the 203, I wonder what the 205 will be like.

I read somewhere that analog outs won't be available on the 205 HDMI only.

adabro

Interesting - I don't have a 4K TV, but would be interested in the new interface, I find navigating around the BDP-93 to be a bit clunky and mine tends to hang on occasion.

tonyb

gudnoyez wrote: »

Danny Tse wrote: »

As much as I like to get the 203, I wonder what the 205 will be like.

I read somewhere that analog outs won't be available on the 205 HDMI only.

Which would make it a not so great improvement over the 203. If they stick with the higher version being better for audio related things, you would not be able to take advantage of the dac in the 205 without analog outputs.

honestaquarian

Aaaahhhhh the very common early,unsubstantiated rumor mill has begun!

pitdogg2

Analog is going to sunset gentleman. Hollywood is making sure of it. That is the reason you no longer see RBG component video outputs on the players. Keeping it in the digital realm is not so bad. My Denon 3805 had the Denon-link which I much preferred to the analog inputs/outputs between the 3805/3910. One of these days the DAC's will all have HDMI it's just the way it is like it of not. Heck the Pioneer BD-51 i bought from Dan(enders) I bought for one reason it still have RGB but the update he had put on it before it shipped Disabled them so I had to send analog to the 3805 with HDMI to the TV. The next update I did disabled the analog so it was a good thing I bought the Yamaha AVR with HDMI/BR codecs from one of our members here. Rooftop59 i believe

rooftop59

pitdogg2 wrote: »

Analog is going to sunset gentleman. Hollywood is making sure of it. That is the reason you no longer see RBG component video outputs on the players. Keeping it in the digital realm is not so bad. My Denon 3805 had the Denon-link which I much preferred to the analog inputs/outputs between the 3805/3910. One of these days the DAC's will all have HDMI it's just the way it is like it of not. Heck the Pioneer BD-51 i bought from Dan(enders) I bought for one reason it still have RGB but the update he had put on it before it shipped Disabled them so I had to send analog to the 3805 with HDMI to the TV. The next update I did disabled the analog so it was a good thing I bought the Yamaha AVR with HDMI/BR codecs from one of our members here. Rooftop59 i believe

Hope ur still liking that Yamaha! Pretty sweet receiver.

I'm not sure Hollywood matters here. You can only hear and see analog, not digital, so somewhere in the chain it has to be converted. That can be in the player, the external dac, or receiver, or a tv, but it has to be converted. If oppo wants to continue to be a coveted brand among audiophiles, they will continue to offer a high quality analog section. Just my two cents of course...

pitdogg2

rooftop59 wrote: »

pitdogg2 wrote: »

Analog is going to sunset gentleman. Hollywood is making sure of it. That is the reason you no longer see RBG component video outputs on the players. Keeping it in the digital realm is not so bad. My Denon 3805 had the Denon-link which I much preferred to the analog inputs/outputs between the 3805/3910. One of these days the DAC's will all have HDMI it's just the way it is like it of not. Heck the Pioneer BD-51 i bought from Dan(enders) I bought for one reason it still have RGB but the update he had put on it before it shipped Disabled them so I had to send analog to the 3805 with HDMI to the TV. The next update I did disabled the analog so it was a good thing I bought the Yamaha AVR with HDMI/BR codecs from one of our members here. Rooftop59 i believe

Hope ur still liking that Yamaha! Pretty sweet receiver.

I'm not sure Hollywood matters here. You can only hear and see analog, not digital, so somewhere in the chain it has to be converted. That can be in the player, the external dac, or receiver, or a tv, but it has to be converted. If oppo wants to continue to be a coveted brand among audiophiles, they will continue to offer a high quality analog section. Just my two cents of course...

I agree with this but would this not all be taken care of in the end of the chain at the speaker outputs? and digital all the way to those? I believe Hollywood would matter as you are playing movies in the machine and they are all about that copy protection thing. I have just been reading in all the rags about all the inputs/outputs that are going away or soon to go away. HDMI will be replaced at some point as the saturation of the cable is getting close and those wires they use are getting much thinner to get as much as they want to go through the cable and still be able to use the HDMI ends.

yes the yammy is wonderful

tonyb

Agreed....whats the point of a great dac chip in a spinner if you can't use it ? Like already stated, the signal has to be converted somewhere in the chain.....would you trust a 500 buck receiver for those duties....audio wise ? Your TV ? I think not.

Nope, analog outputs will be around a very long time.

BlueFox

Looks like Friday will be a good Fryday night.



My 4K Mad Max DVD should be here today.

Upstatemax

I seriously doubt they would remove analog out on the 205...

One of the BIG selling points of the Oppo players is that they can function as a pre-amp if you want.

Remove analog out and that's gone.

If you do have a pre-amp, almost none of them have HDMI right now. That will seriously handicap SACD and DSD for the 205 without analog outputs. DSD is not allowed to pass through optical or coax...

I CAN see them dropping the full 7.1 analog output and only doing 2 or 2.1 output for the 205. But again, this would eliminate the 205 form being used as a preamp in a HT system.

Oppo is not known for limiting what their players can do...

Upstatemax

BlueFox wrote: »

Looks like Friday will be a good Fryday night.

rooftop59

tonyb wrote: »

Agreed....whats the point of a great dac chip in a spinner if you can't use it ? Like already stated, the signal has to be converted somewhere in the chain.....would you trust a 500 buck receiver for those duties....audio wise ? Your TV ? I think not.

Nope, analog outputs will be around a very long time.

looking back I think @pitdogg2s comments might be referring more to the analog VIDEO outputs, which indeed are going the way of the dodo bird. But definitely not audio. If the only place I could convert audio was in my TV, I would no longer buy or rent BDs, something Hollywood definitely does not want happening...