Oppo UDP-203 4K UHD Blu-ray player | Brand new release today

[RBFC]

I have played over a dozen 4K Blu-ray UHD discs in my Oppo 203 and have yet to encounter any issues at all. It’s possible that some reviewers, who change equipment and ancillaries more frequently, might accidentally cause some problems by disrupting handshakes, etc. My theater is on its own subpanel, so I cannot comment on any possible power supply/usage issues that may be involved.

Lee

 

[BlueFox]

I was one of the first people to get a 203, and other than some audio issues with Lucy, fixed with a firmware update, I have had zero problems. The TV is a Sony XBR-75Z9D.

 

[NorthStar]

Lee, I've read owners of the 203 that played 40 to 50 4K discs with only couple glitches or so...sync issue and bad disc that needed or to be washed or replaced.
But it also happened with other 4K BR players.

It's true that many issues were resolved by getting certified 4K HDMI cables, and also by using the two HDMI outs because some AV receivers and SSPs have difficulties passing the signal intact. So depending of the other products used in the chain, including the display itself...TV or/and PJ, brand, year, ...the degree of issues from one owner to another can vary greatly.

This is a relatively new technology, and it is normal @ the beginning for manufacturers of all the 4K products to not have full compatibility.
It will get better as time passes, and engineers experimenting with many combinations and that HDMI cables get manufactured according to the better and latest standards of certification. Time is needed to play, time is on our side, it can only get better.

Yes, some people had almost no issue, only few, and others had several because of many reasons.
I have followed extensively the new 4K players as experienced by their owners, since December 2016.

Over one dozen 4K discs is not a lot; you are among the ones who have the proper HDMI cables, and with the other right components and the right settings.
You are on the latest pages and an avid audio/video technically inclined and knowledgeable person. You are part of an elite, not the majority.
It is also true that some 4K discs, like some BD100 containing three layers are sometimes problematic in their playback, plus you also have some defective ones, plus some brand new 4K discs that truly need to be washed because of a fuggy residue left from the manufacturing plant.

It is more complex than simple 1080p Blu-ray. But regular Blu-ray back in 2006 had also a bunch of issues for couple years.

It is getting much better, and the rewards are plenty worth it. This is the new tech with the big push for home.
Everyone loves simplicity, watching a 4K/UHD movie @ home without a single audio/video glitch.
There are thousands and thousands of people with 4K BR players, tens of thousands...
There is no scientific data to compile all the levels of successes and issues from them all.

Oppo is solid, very. Not perfect, but solid.
This thread that I started a while back is a good indicator. If I didn't think the 203 and 205 weren't solid players there wouldn't be fifteen pages, over 50% mine.

...And there are the firmware updates of course...tremendous help.

 

[NorthStar]

I like to post only the best and relevant and honest and beneficial info in the thread...like all the firmware updates since Dec. 2016, plus the best educational videos, like from my favorite video equipment reviewer of the last few youtube videos, Vincent Teoh.
• https://www.youtube.com/user/hdtvtest/feed

 

[NorthStar]

Reminds me of the early blue ray hassle
PITFA
No thank you.

Ron, you are a satisfied DVD man, like Carl. Do you play the occasional VHS tape, or perhaps Laser Disc?

 

[Ronm1]

Ron, you are a satisfied DVD man, like Carl. Do you play the occasional VHS tape, or perhaps Laser Disc?

I never owned a laser disc. Dumped my vcr and tapes, but had family stuff converted to DVD.

 

[NorthStar]

Same here, I have never owned a laser disc player because the timing wasn't propice in those years; I was always on the road dedicating all my time to the outdoors, fulltime extensively.
I did have few VCR machines though @ some point, the higher end type models, with full set of features for audio and video editing, etc.
I was into wide-screen movie tapes, with black bars on my cathode ray tube Sony Triniton and Panasonic GAOO TV.

One 19" Sony TV I paid $1,000, and one Akai VCR I paid $1,500
In comparison today a 65" UHD TV you can get for less than $900 and a 4K Blu-ray player for less than $200, on discount promotional sale, Thanksgiving day.
Plus they are smart too, with a billion of applications and streaming the entire World Wide Web.

Back in the VHS movie tape days we had zero apps, zero Internet streaming, zero voice recognition, zero fingerprint, zero downloading, zero youtube, zero Netflix, zero Vudu, ...etc.

We are living in a Blade Runner future, with androids, 3D tonearm and turntable replicants, electric cars, drones, laser screens, holography, AI through info robots in the malls of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, robocops, ...all the unimaginable stuff of past Jules Verne's fictive world. ...And we are only in the year 2017, thirty-two years ahead of 2049.

Tomorrow we'll be able to use the data of the Large Hadron Collider to reverse the universe and create a new one. The day will come, and when it does Oppo will still be there to provide us with beautiful pictures on our beautiful blue planet of beautiful Blu people...

What a ride it has been so far, from the very beginning and continuing.
The pyramid's architects would be proud of what has been accomplished since their days.
They lead us towards the conquest of space, and beyond. ...Higher, stronger, taller, bigger, wider and deeper.

It's a powerful thing, human evolution through time and space.
_____

Extra:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/s...aryon-quark-heavier-than-proton-a7828621.html

"Scientists have found an extra charming new subatomic particle that they hope will help further explain a key force that binds matter together."

 

[NorthStar]

• http://diversifiedvideosolutions.com/
•• https://www.oppodigital.com/proddetail.asp?prod=UHDHDR10TPS

___

? http://oppodigital.com/blu-ray-udp-203/UDP203-firmware-51-0922.aspx

 

[NorthStar]

New Beta test firmware update release:
http://oppodigital.com/blu-ray-udp-203/UDP203-firmware-54-1108B.aspx

The major changes included in this version are:

• Added support for MQA audio files on the UDP-205.
• Improved compatibility for recently released and upcoming Dolby Vision UHD Blu-ray discs and TV firmware.
• Improved compatibility for non-standard 4:3 aspect ratio media files.
• General fixes and disc compatibility improvements based on recent and upcoming UHD Blu-ray releases as well as user-submitted samples.

 

[NorthStar]

Today's latest Beta firmware update:

• http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-udp-203/UDP203-firmware-56-0124B.aspx

This release is for the OPPO UDP-203/205 4K UHD Blu-ray Disc Players.

Comparing to the current Official release version UDP20X-54-1127, the major changes included in this version are:

• Added four HDR to SDR modes to improve HDR to SDR conversion*
• Added a "Media Info Lookup" setting under Network Setup. This setting allows the user to toggle media file metadata retrieval on and off.
• Added support for slow motion playback in A-B repeat mode.
• Added a detailed info page for the HDMI In source.
• Improved HDMI In compatibility with HTPCs.
• Resolved a playback issue with UHD title "Blade Runner 2049".
• Resolved an color shift issue in the 21:9 AR mode.
• General fixes and disc compatibility improvements based on recent and upcoming UHD Blu-ray releases as well as user-submitted samples.

* New HDR to SDR Conversion Modes are as follows:

Mode 1: Optimized to preserve the most highlight details
Mode 2: Optimized to preserve a balance between highlight and shadow details
Mode 3: Optimized to preserve a balance between mid-tone and highlight details
Mode 4: Optimized to preserve the most shadow details.

 

[BlueFox]

The only problem I rarely experience with my Oppo 203 is that sometimes if I stop a movie, and resume it the next night (all gear has stayed on during that time) then sometimes the audio doesn't work. I have to power off/on the Oppo to restore it. Happened last weekend with Blade Runner 2048.

 

[NorthStar]

The only problem I rarely experience with my Oppo 203 is that sometimes if I stop a movie, and resume it the next night (all gear has stayed on during that time) then sometimes the audio doesn't work. I have to power off/on the Oppo to restore it. Happened last weekend with Blade Runner 2049.

When you stop the movie, do you leave the disc inside the player?
I always shut down everything after I stop a movie, in the middle or @ the end, and I always remove the disc from the tray, even if I did not terminate watching the film to the end. It is simply a [strike]hobbit[/strike] habbit I had since I was twelve years old. I was doing [strike]disc[/strike] this even with my LPs, from my turntable, and also with my 8-track tapes. ...Open-reel tapes no.

This firmware update is supposed to take care of Blade Runner 2049.
• Resolved a playback issue with UHD title "Blade Runner 2049".

? http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showt...-release-today&p=491454&viewfull=1#post491454

 

[BlueFox]

Disk stays in the player. It is on, but stopped. Other than that audio glitch, the movie played okay. It was the 4K UHD version.

 

[BlueFox]

LOL. I just watched that last weekend. Whenever the firmware is automatically upgraded then I will, sort of, pay attention for the rare glitch.

 

[NorthStar]

... Whenever the firmware is automatically upgraded then I will, sort of, pay attention for the rare glitch.

Smart; waiting for the Official firmware update to be released.
___

• http://www.avsforum.com/forum/149-b...-udp-203-owner-s-thread-812.html#post55584106

 

[NorthStar]

Latest Official Firmware Update/upgrade:

• https://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-udp-203/UDP203-firmware-56-0224.aspx

This one took a little more time than usual.

 

[BlueFox]

I just turned my HT on to warm up for the weekend, and the Oppo 203 picked up the new firmware.

 

[NorthStar]

Somewhere they were recommending to not upgrade for the people living on the East Coast, because of the bad weather and risk of blackouts during the upgrade, which could brick the Oppo players.
That's good advice. ...Wait till the storm is gone.

 

[AZWink]

Patience is a virtue, no doubt.

 

[NorthStar]

April 2, 2018

Farewell

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