We watched a ton of disc material to evaluate the playback quality of the Oppo Blu-ray player. We checked out various aspects, including color, deinterlacing (of mostly standard definition titles) and black level reproduction and dynamic range. In all scenarios, the Oppo seemed to really perform well and positioned itself as an excellent video playback device for both high definition and standard definition material.

Blu-ray: The Fifth Element
This movie has been one of my reference discs for some time. The revised Blu-ray edition is an excellent disc for testing color reproduction and detail. We checked several scenes, including the one where Zorg delivers weapons to the Mangalores - a scene with particularly difficult detail and a breeding ground for moiré.

The BDP-83 did exceptionally well on this movie and we noticed no artifacting, moiré or jaggie effects on any of the scenes. Colors were vibrant and black levels were rendered correctly, with lots of dynamic range.

Blu-ray: Underworld - Rise of the Lycans
This movie is about as colorful as a Tim Burton film… but we were using it to check out black level detail and look for gradations in patches of grays, determining whether or not the Oppo BDP-83 was truly capable of delivering top notch dynamic range. We really enjoyed the level of detail the player produced as well as its ability to accurately portray subtleties in the darkest scenes without crushing blacks.

Blu-ray: The Departed

While not one of my favorite films, The Departed at least delivers a decent picture quality and provided some excellent opportunities to observe facial detail. This movie also lent itself as a great way to observe scene detail and how well the BDP-83 showed off scene motion and dealt with fast pans.

Blu-ray: 300

300 is such an excellent film. While highly stylized, I just had to include it in the line-up, plus it helped me to see how well the player's BD-Live! features worked. The Oppo portrayed the fast-action and high-motion shots with ease, never failing in terms of its ability to produce smooth lines and excellent detail - even when the camera was moving at the speed of light.

BD-Live! Content
One of the things I wanted to check out was the implementation of the new BD Live! Content which seems to be one of the new features consumers demand from Blu-ray players. This is essentially a Java-based part of the disc which downloads content from the Internet in order to extend the content available to consumers beyond what was placed on the disc initially during manufacturer. This could equate to downloadable trailers, additional video tracks, behind the scene footage and more. It can also include applications that allow for real-time chatting between consumers as they watch the movie or interviews with the cast and crew. To test, we used Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, which has several BD-Live! features including instant chat and some additional downloadable content. The Oppo took almost two minutes to get from the main menu into the BD-Live! menu and nearly a minute to exit BD-Live back to the main menu (55 seconds to be precise). We measured it multiple times so as to defeat any "first-time" caching issues that may be involved in getting to a menu or content. To compare, the Sony Playstation took just forty seconds to get into BD-Live! and just 20 seconds to return to the main menu. This means that the Oppo is a bit slow when it comes to BD-Live! - possibly an indicator that their implementation of BD-J (Blu-ray Disc Java) could be improved.

Listening Evaluation

Listening tests on Blu-ray players are always difficult without performing a full blind listening test - which we were unfortunately unable to do at this time. In the near future we're hoping to follow up with a comparison of the Oppo player against a premium-priced model from another manufacturer. It will be interesting to see if there is any discernable difference in either audio or video quality - especially when it is delivered via HDMI.

SACD: Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of the War of the Worlds
I returned to this classic SACD to listen to the extensive arrangement of instrumentation and vocals present in the mix. In the opening track, the overlying dialogue was thick and rich, with powerfully textured "gravel" that came through our reference RBH Sound CinemaSITE speakers with the utmost clarity and power. When the horns came in and the synthesized effects popped into the surrounds, it was a purely joyful experience. The dynamic range was extremely wide and both bass and treble content rang through clearly and with pristine detail. There's a lot to say about this disc, but vocal power, mid-bass content and excellent low frequency content pretty much sum it up. The Oppo BDP-83 seemed to portray each track as it was intended - leaving nothing out and doing nothing to disturb the quality of the digital content.

DVD-Audio: Seal IV
This disc remains one of my favorite multi-channel albums in the DVD-audio format. Seal's voice is so up front and defined that it really shows off both your system's imaging (whether he's plopped dead center in your room or not) and there is a well-balanced mix of instrumentation and bass that gives this album a full sound. "Love's Divine" really pounded home the bass and Seal's raw vocal led off the track with a firm, authoritative tone. "Let Me Roll" had a punchy bass line with fast transient response. I really liked the ambient reverb that filled the room and the surrounds held a pair of background vocals (doubled Seal vocals) which enveloped the room with incredibly dense sound. The periodic downward bass sweep literally rocked the room and kept me and my kids (who like to sit in on my listening tests) groovin' to the beat.

Conclusion

Oppo has a winner on their hands with the new BDP-83. It's a well-rounded player and is priced more than competitively for one of the first universal Blu-ray players to hit the market (as soon as they release it into full production, that is). For those looking to consolidate their disc players, this is a no-brainer. The BDP-83 combines excellent video quality, advanced features and pristine audio performance into one slick package that is coming out at exactly the right time. At just $100 over their former flagship universal disc player, the BDP-83 is a steal.

Oppo BDP-83
MSRP: $499
http://www.oppodigital.com

About Oppo Digital
Based in the heart of Silicon Valley, OPPO Digital designs and markets high quality digital electronics that deliver style, performance, innovation, and value to A/V enthusiasts and savvy consumers alike. The company's attention to core product performance and strong customer focus distinguishes it from traditional consumer-electronics brands. With products that speak for themselves and relying on word-of-mouth, OPPO Digital does not have any dedicated Marketing and Sales personnel. We have spent most of all energy on product design and customer service.