OPPO BDP-83 Blu-ray Player Update - 12/10/08

Thank you for signing up to receive information about our upcoming OPPO BDP-83 Blu-ray Disc Player.  We appreciate your interest, and would like to update you on the current development status of this exciting new product.

One of the major design goals for the BDP-83 is to deliver first-class video quality for both Blu-ray and DVD. We based and expanded upon our top-of-the-line DV-983H up-converting DVD player and fully utilize the unparalleled performance of the VRS by Anchor Bay video processing solution.  You can expect all the high-end video features including Source Direct for DVD and Blu-ray, high definition HDMI scaling, Edge and Detail Enhancement options, and 1080p24Hz output for both Blu-ray and DVD.

We did not stop at just video performance. We further refined the audio stage, including the addition of discrete stereo outputs and increasing the power and efficiency of the power supply. For SACD playback, the BDP-83 supports direct DSD over HDMI and DSD-to-analog without any PCM conversion, a very unique feature.

With the BDP-83, we intend to release a full-featured universal Blu-ray Disc player that supports BD Profile 2.0 (BD-Live), DVD, SACD, DVD-Audio, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD Master Audio. As of this writing, the BDP-83 supports BD Profile 1.1 (BONUSVIEW), DVD-Video, SACD, and bitstreaming of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. Progress is being made on a daily basis as our engineers work diligently around the clock to further enable DVD-Audio, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio onboard decoding, and BD Profile 2.0.

The BDP-83 is currently undergoing an extensive and thorough Beta Test Program. We greatly appreciate all the feedback from our beta testers, as without their hard work and extraordinary attention to detail, the BDP-83 would not be the high quality product that our customers have come to expect from us.

As many of our customers eagerly anticipate the release of the BDP83, we are contemplating a "BDP-83 Early Adoption Program" in late December or early January. This program will make available a limited number of units so you can purchase and experience the current implementation of the BDP-83's feature set, with the ability to download firmware as new features become available.  The estimated price for the BDP-83 is around $499 to $599.

I've been very pleased with my 981 since I got it shortly after release and held off on upgrading to the 983 hoping they might put that killer unit together with their first Blu-ray offering and that appears to be exactly what their doing. I wonder how OPPO is going to handle firmware updates, download only?. I also have a Sony BDPS300 and they mail me discs to upgrade. I don't have an internet connection on the same floor as my HT and no interest what so ever in any of the "enhancements" hooking up provides, and for those that burn ISO's, well, it doesn't seem bullet proof enough. I don't know if it's so but I've read if it doesn't go on correctly for whatever reason it may require sending the unit back to Sony for servicing (reformatting?). There have been too many times where I've bought a Blu-ray movie and come to find out it won't play on my S300 without a firmware update, so it sits for a few weeks while I wait for a firmware update disc. It's happened 4 times to me in 18 months.