[Mr Peabody]

I've been looking at what players are out there now, in the back of my mind thinking of maybe replacing an old Samsung BDP 1200 which I hang onto because of the excellent upconversion of standard DVD and it's not in a home theater where audio decoding is an issue.  I do run across an occasional Blu disc that won't play and I'd love Wy-fi if for nothing else ease of firmware updating.

So that's the background, here's what I've found, I still want good standard DVD upconversion, I looked at the Sony 790 because it has been reviewed to have excellent picture quality, one review saying it was even better than the Oppo 93, but user reviews say this machine has issues with connecting wireless until firmware update and other quirks, the reviews put me in a mind not to mess with it, I don't like having to deal with issues, especially on something that's new.  In this day there's no excuse for putting out a BDP that won't work flawlessly out of the box, I mean the race is over so why not just get it right.  For the purpose I'm going to use this for I hate to spend $499.00 on an Oppo 93 but it looks like my best option.

Any other BDP's out there any one can know does good DVD upconversion and work as it should?

[Bob in St. Louis]

The PS3 is still a viable option I assume? I still love mine.

[kenreau]

The PS3 is still a viable option I assume? I still love mine.

I have been considering something similar. 

I have a 4 year old Sony PS3 that has been suffering from ever increasing video drop outs.  It is now nearly impossible to use (watch) without several video dropouts during the course of a movie.  After some investigation, I've learned of the "lead free solder" fatigue issue and am now convinced my machine is suffering from that.  I am contemplating taking it appart and reflowing the solder connections to see if that fixes it.  Or, just replace it with an Oppo 93, or something similar.

Can anyone comment if the Oppo 93 would provide significantly better video quality over a 4 year old PS3?  My TV is a 5 year old Panny plasma 720p commercial moniter.  I rarely use the PS3 for gaming and all my music is on an Apple mac2mini music server and I never use the PS3 for CD playback.  I use the PS3 strictly for DVD/BR playback and Amazon/Netflix streaming.

Thanks
Kenreau

[kingdeezie]

I have been considering something similar. 

I have a 4 year old Sony PS3 that has been suffering from ever increasing video drop outs.  It is now nearly impossible to use (watch) without several video dropouts during the course of a movie.  After some investigation, I've learned of the "lead free solder" fatigue issue and am now convinced my machine is suffering from that.  I am contemplating taking it appart and reflowing the solder connections to see if that fixes it.  Or, just replace it with an Oppo 93, or something similar.

Can anyone comment if the Oppo 93 would provide significantly better video quality over a 4 year old PS3?  My TV is a 5 year old Panny plasma 720p commercial moniter.  I rarely use the PS3 for gaming and all my music is on an Apple mac2mini music server and I never use the PS3 for CD playback.  I use the PS3 strictly for DVD/BR playback and Amazon/Netflix streaming.

Thanks
Kenreau

I don't think that an Oppo would provide a significant enough picture upgrade over the PS3, but I could be wrong.

I still use my launch PS3 for watching movies and playing games. Love it.

[Mr Peabody]

The 93 is still my front runner.  Just looking around Amazon the 93 has a 4.(8 or 9) rating  based on 249 reviews, that's pretty good.  I was also looking at the Panny's and man people slammed them.  I'm almost afraid to buy anything but the 93.

The PS3 is a decent suggestion but I don't need the gaming and I've heard just playing movies is more of an ordeal versus a play only unit.

[kingdeezie]

The 93 is still my front runner.  Just looking around Amazon the 93 has a 4.(8 or 9) rating  based on 249 reviews, that's pretty good.  I was also looking at the Panny's and man people slammed them.  I'm almost afraid to buy anything but the 93.

The PS3 is a decent suggestion but I don't need the gaming and I've heard just playing movies is more of an ordeal versus a play only unit.

I don't think that playing a movie on the PS3 is any more of an ordeal then a regular player, minus the fact that you have to use the controller as a remote.

I do think however, that if you are into streaming at all, the PS3 would offer a lot of benefit there over the Oppo. So far, out of all the devices I have used to stream netflix and Hulu, the PS3 has been one of the easiest to navigate.

Honestly speaking as well, the PS3 has been the most upgradable player on the market, ensuring that it has yet to become obsolete as a player.

I wouldn't be surprised that if 4K content ever becomes available on bluray, that the PS3 became compatible with the proper firmware update just like it did for bdlive, dts and Dolby upgrades, and 3D processing.

I would confidently bet no current standalone player could offer that potential future proofing.

[Mr Peabody]

Good point on the PS3, it's amazing other manufacturers haven't followed suit with the upgradability but maybe it has something to do with the PS3 being designed as a gaming console.

How does the PS3 do on upscaling standard DVD?

[Bob in St. Louis]

There is a "normal" remote for the PS3, you just have to buy it seperately from the console itself.
It's possible to use the controller, but there is a learning curve. I'd highly recommend the optional remote.

The PS3 DVD gives a pretty wicked looking image. I'll leaving it to the videophiles to explain how it works, and the specs behind it, but the unit is almost completely free from video artifacts. And I say this while sitting 15' back from a 140" screen, so if there's an artifact, you can be sure I'd see it. 

The PS3 Bluray is nothing short of jawdropping. Watching Avatar on the PS3 with the big screen when somebody wants to see the HT rig fired up is fun to watch.

Bob

[Rooster19]

I've been looking at what players are out there now, in the back of my mind thinking of maybe replacing an old Samsung BDP 1200 which I hang onto because of the excellent upconversion of standard DVD and it's not in a home theater where audio decoding is an issue.  I do run across an occasional Blu disc that won't play and I'd love Wy-fi if for nothing else ease of firmware updating.

So that's the background, here's what I've found, I still want good standard DVD upconversion, I looked at the Sony 790 because it has been reviewed to have excellent picture quality, one review saying it was even better than the Oppo 93, but user reviews say this machine has issues with connecting wireless until firmware update and other quirks, the reviews put me in a mind not to mess with it, I don't like having to deal with issues, especially on something that's new.  In this day there's no excuse for putting out a BDP that won't work flawlessly out of the box, I mean the race is over so why not just get it right.  For the purpose I'm going to use this for I hate to spend $499.00 on an Oppo 93 but it looks like my best option.

Any other BDP's out there any one can know does good DVD upconversion and work as it should?

I have owned the Panasonic BDT 210 and OPPO 93 in the past year. Honestly, I couldnt tell a difference in DVD quality between the two. The main reason I switched is that I needed a "IR line in" jack for my system, which very few players have

[django11]

You guys have me interested but I am not clear as to whether the PS3 does upscaling of standard dvd.  Someone?

What use is the hard disk on the PS3?

[Bemopti123]

You guys have me interested but I am not clear as to whether the PS3 does upscaling of standard dvd.  Someone?

What use is the hard disk on the PS3?

PS3 visually with regular DVD it does upscale.  Furthermore, the HD space can be used to download games and other goodies from the Playstation store. 

[2gumby2]

I have the Sony 770 and I am VERY happy with it. I wouldn't rule out the Sony 790 because it might need a firmware update. I did a firmware update on my Sony 770 and it was really easy and worked great. The Sony Blu-Ray players are highly recommended.

[django11]

PS3 visually with regular DVD it does upscale.  Furthermore, the HD space can be used to download games and other goodies from the Playstation store.

Thanks!

[newzooreview]

There's a massive BDP-93 owners thread on AVS Forum: http://www.avsforum.com/t/1291855/official-oppo-bdp-93-owners-thread/22380

I've never compared it to another Blu-Ray player, but I'm very happy with it. Oppo is constantly improving it with firmware updates.

[roymail]

I do not own the Oppo or Sony players under discussion.  But, I'd be interested just how you go about installing a firmware update when necessary.  Thanks.

[saeyedoc]

I do not own the Oppo or Sony players under discussion.  But, I'd be interested just how you go about installing a firmware update when necessary.  Thanks.

For the Oppo, there are multiple ways. I just did one the other night using direct download, my Oppo is connected with ethernet to my router. You can also download onto a USB stick or burn it onto a CD.
I think firmware upgrades are an important feature. I tried playing a rental disc on an older Sony Blu-ray player and it wouldn't work, no problem on my Oppo.

[Early B.]

I'm interested in upgrading to the Oppo, as well, and I was wondering if anyone here runs their HT surround system from their DVD player? I currently have the Emotiva UMC-1 and wanted to know if there would be a significant difference in sound quality between the Emotiva and the Oppo. I have a very simple HT setup, so I don't need all of the extra stuff that comes with an AV receiver or processor.

Thanks.
 

[newzooreview]

I do not own the Oppo or Sony players under discussion.  But, I'd be interested just how you go about installing a firmware update when necessary.  Thanks.

On the Oppo you can update by wifi, ethernet, or by USB (after downloading the files on your computer). No registration or login required. Not sure about PS3--do you have to create an account on Sony's online game system before it lets you update firmware?

[roymail]

newzooreview, many thanks for the information and for answering my question.

[Bob in St. Louis]

On the PS3, I get a message periodically that tells me they've got an update ready for me.
I click [ok], the download begins, and that's all it takes.
To date, none of the updates have caused any glitches or aggravation.

I *think* you have to have an account??? 
The updates are free, and happen about twice a year from what I can remember.

Bob