BDP-93 Video Processing and Setup

OK, here's the "problem" with this player... In terms of standard definition video upconversion, both the onboard Mediatek processor and the Marvel QDEO DE2750 system are fantastic. I really mean it. You're going to pass standard definition tests like HQV with flying colors with either processor (including most/all of the cadences, detail, and fast lock-on tests). So the greatest advantage gained by the Marvel processor is its finesse with HD content and its ability to deliver more in the area of noise reduction (including that of the motion adaptive variety) and tweaking. Is that enough to select HDMI 1 in the settings menu when you have the option? Of course - you paid for it, use it all. But for those who don't have an eagle eye for quality and detail, especially in terms of noise reduction (for which HD video is particularly undemanding) you're going to do well with both outputs, even if you send them to different rooms.

Oppo BDP-95 vs. Oppo BDP-93 Blu-ray Players

For double the price, the BDP-95 still comes in at far below the price of most high end Blu-ray flagship models (to their utter shame and ceaseless torment). What you get for all that extra dough is a completely reworked player that is more than just some upgraded parts. Oppo, really went to town and modified the chassis, power supply, and just about everything else about the player to beef up its analogue audio performance. They even placed a high-end Rotel-designed toroidal transformer in there to drive the discrete audio board. There are a couple of XLR outputs that benefit from a SABRE32 Reference ES9018 DAC and a similar unbalanced pair of RCA outputs as well. So why is this starting to sound like a review for the BDP-95 Blu-ray player? Because if you intend to use the HDMI outputs, there is absolutely no reason to buy the BDP-95 and I just want to make sure that is extremely clear to anyone shopping both units. The BDP-95 is a monster for analogue audio output - but if you're going digital, save the $500. Below is a brief feature comparison - note that the only differences affect the analogue audio of the player:

Oppo BDP-93 or Sony Playstation 3 (PS3)?

We've been big on the PS3 as a Blu-ray player for quite some time. Are we still all for it? Sure, provided you don't need a universal Blu-ray player. The PS3 doesn't do SACD or DVD-Audio, so if that's part of what you want, the Oppo is still the way to go. I think another big question is going to be whether or not the Oppo will faithfully continue to negotiate online streaming services. A fun one we stumbled upon was VUDU. Oppo is VUDU-enabled, but as of the time of this writing it hadn't yet been downloaded to the player. Checking on VUDU's website, however, you can see that the Oppo BDP-93 is listed and so users can expect this service to appear shortly:

Now, having landed VUDU, we can only hope that Hulu Plus would be on the horizon, being the other big player in the streaming media game. I can't tell you how many of my friends have completely ditched cableTV in favor of a $10/month Netflix account and Hulu Plus for $7.99. It's like a new trend around here. If you want the best universal player on the market, the Oppo is for you. If you want all the features you can get, plus a gaming system and Internet browser - then you may still hedge towards the PS3.

Player Set-Up & Use

In our review of the BDP-83 we covered the Setup menu in depth, so I won't rehash that here (it hasn't changed very much and is still an exceptional, updated and responsive system for configuring settings). The 6-step Setup Wizard is a gem and will get anyone up and going in less time than it takes for Charlie Sheen to embarrass himself on Twitter... again. What I would like to point out is that the system has some new 3D-specific settings:

You can set the Color Space for each output as well as control Deep Color and whether HDMI will operate as video-only (good for when you are looking to avoid having to mute a TV when you have a separate legacy audio device receiving audio.)

HDMI CEC is also configurable to be configured for either of the HDMI ports and you can set it to be fully enabled (responding to power commands as well as navigation) or just "Limited" playback controls only. As with all CEC-enabled products, good luck with getting it to work consistently on purpose with products not made by the same manufacturer. Great idea, but poor implementation by the folks at HDMI Licensing.

There is also a setting to enable or disable the 3D mode. This will keep the player form even "going there" when you put in a 3D-compatible disc and don't have a 3D display. Also, the system lets you enter the size of your 3D display (diagonally) up to 999 inches. This number is passed directly to the BD-Java code on any 3D Blu-ray Discs so that the navigation program can adjust the display depth of pop-up menus and subtitles etc. The player does not use this information directly to control any video decoding or processing functions.

I actually found the BDP-93 to be pretty fast. The former BDP-83 took just 3 seconds to start up and open the tray to load a disc. The BDP-93 takes roughly 4 seconds. But, where the BDP-83 had a 16 second trip from that point to playing back a disc, the BDP-93 came in at just 12 seconds. That's fast - and continues to embarrass most of the expensive flagship players on the market.