OPPO BDP-103D Universal 3D Blu-ray Player (Darbee Edition)

I've owned a lot of high end DVD players during the SD era, several $3,000 plus models from the likes of Denon, Panasonic, and EAD. So, I feel confident in the assertion that the quality that Oppo delivers with the 103D is nothing shy of reference. Easily the most value priced, high end featured player I've seen. While I've owned a number of Blu-ray players too, including a Panasonic that originally went for over $1k, I've since been content with using a PS3 for BD playback, as most discs are properly encoded at 1080p24 requiring no extraneous processing, unlike the DVD era, where so many discs were improperly flagged as video or film based content, etc etc. Meaning our BD playback doesn't demand all the bells and whistles as the previous generation to optimize PQ. But I was genuinely surprised, if not a little elated to see the impact Darbee has on image depth. I've always been an early adopter when it comes to home theater. But with most UHD discs being 2k upscales (effectively the same resolution as 1080p - which is the UHD equivalent of watching a DVD upscaled to BD resolution as opposed to a genuine 1080p transfer) and laser projectors that might actually be capable of rendering HDR for front projection still in the "don't buy me" price ranges, we continue to use a 1080p Mitsubishi DLP projector in our HT. As once you've gone to projection screen sizes, there's no going back to conventional tvs. Even 75" screens seem relatively small compared to just 92-100" home projection, much more so compared to 120" or larger. And the introduction of the 103D may cause us to hold out even longer. I've experienced $50,000 systems and literally never experienced a more satisfying video presentation in a home environment. If you have a projector, you will want this player. It doesn't have some of the bells and whistles of our former $3500 Denon DVD player. But the features it does offer are far more satisfying than advanced gamma. At one time the PS3 was THE most reliable BD player to have, as just about every BD was tested on it. But that's not the case anymore. The Oppo will play Sony's botched Total Recall remake perfectly. Something that neither the PS3 nor PS4 can do. That said, while it's video playback and collection of highly functional, well designed video adjustments and other features (like dual HDMI output and input so other devices can benefit from Darbee) are second to none, it's not quite perfect. We miss the customizable home screen interface of the PS3/PS4, the 15sec jump feature on the PS3 remote, and a few other little things. But the biggest and only real drawback to getting this player now, is that it's been discontinued by the manufacturer and is no longer supported by updates, should any aspect of Blu-ray spec be changed. So, there is a possibility of some newer releases not playing properly in the future. In fact we've already experienced one such issue with the extended cut of Baywatch going badly out of sync with the audio for several minutes before correcting itself, along with a number of related dropouts, presumably at branching points. Though the problem is not exclusive to Oppo and may have more to do with the discs Dolby Atmos track than anything, as our Marantz AVR doesn't support Atmos and there are always learning pains us consumers have to endure, related to inexperienced or just plain delinquent disc authoring with new audio formats. Remember all the playback problems when DTS ES came out on DVD? No other Atmos track has caused problems, so I suspect it has a lot to do with the discs complicated branching too. This player does everything we wanted and then some. It's build quality is better than the $3000 EAD we once owned. Even the remote feels very well made. It's deinterlacing and scaling (pivotal for low res DVD) appear to be as good as any player we've ever owned. And it's BD playback is even better than expected thanks to Darbee. Bearing in mind that I have never been one to condone extraneous video processing, but Darbee definitely offers a positive impact and so far I haven't found any negatives. The 103D also features a newish sharpness enhancement that supposedly doesn't come with a side of ringing. But we haven't found need to experiment with that feature yet, as most of what we watch is BD, which doesn't need any help in sharpness. In terms of detail-defined resolution, at screens sizes of 100" and smaller, 1080p looks about just as detailed as even genuine 4K, much less the 2K upscales that are currently being passed off as UHD. It takes cinema size venues to fully appreciate the detail that even 1080p can produce. So that's another reason we're in no rush to upgrade to UHD until laser projectors, more capable of rendering some of the UHD formats other perks, hit affordable prices.

This device works very well and you can stream Netflix and Vudu directly onto it. If you want Amazon you must get a Roku streaming stick that is very easy to set up. The stick looks a bit silly sticking out the front, but works very well. You can upscale your picture that you are getting from your cable from 1080i or 720p to 1080p. The remote is fine but I would like if it could be coded to operate the TV and channels on the box. I would greatly appreciate the option for a RF remote versus a IR remote. It would cost more, but who would care? In addition to being the finest Blu-Ray player, If this could be used as an HDMI router with a universal RF remote, the price would matter little to me. The picture in fantastic and the sound as for as I can tell is excellent too. It as packed very well when shipped and weighs many lbs so it is not a cheap piece of junk. If you truly appreciate the finest picture and sounds you can get, this is the machine for you. The Darbee edition is subtle but very effective. I haven't made the move to the what I consider a bump in the road to the 4k tv's yet, but it has made the picture in my older Sony KDL-40XBR3 look even better. There are many in and out connections so you can set up what you want. They are very nice when you call and I updated the firmware while wired directly to the internet. You can be wireless but I have a router so I can be wired. Get the calibration disk to assist in getting the colors and picture as fine as you can. If you aren't a gadget geek, find one that can calibrate you items. One of my favorite features is the ability to zoom into the picture in the disc to fill the screen better than the disc was cut in. I prefer zoom 1.2x that cuts out almost all of the black line of a film cut in the 2.35x1 aspect ratio. Tough to beat this BDP.

So in general this is really a great machine. But if you have a 2D tv or 70" or smaller don't waste the extra $100 for the Darbee. From what I understand the Darbee part is great for large projector screens? So I really like that it will play any type of normal DVD/BR. BR's in 7.1 sound. It will also play just about any type of music formats. And the best thing is I have a portable hard drive (2 TB) that I plug in with the USB and I can play my music or look at photos and videos from the internet. So I have thousands of songs and photos at my finger tips to watch on my 70" screen. Great addition to a home theater.

The picture and sound are probably no better than what I got from the Oppo BDP-80 that this is replacing... until I kick in the Darbee effect. It's subtle but it definitely adds detail and dimensionality. It's good enough that I'm routing my satellite receiver and media player through it to use the Darbee effect on those as well. It also adds the ability to handle 3D Blu-rays, which I'm enjoying to a degree. And it plays all kinds of other video formats like AVI, MP4 and MKV, which are great for the video files that fall off the back of the Internet. It also plays about every musical format I throw at it. In addition to CDs, HDCDs, SACDs & DVD-Audios, it can read music files of all kinds from an attached hard-drive (also allegedly from networked drives but I happen not to have used that yet). I've ripped most of my CD collection to 44.1 kHz, 16-bit FLAC files, my HDCD collection to 44.1 kHz, 24 bit (actually 20 bit, but my conversion program only likes 16-bit or 24-bit) files, my DVD-Audios to 48 kHz or 96 kHz, 24-bit stereo or multi-channel FLAC files and my SACDs to DSD 64 stereo or multi-channel files and it plays them all flawlessly and without having to mess with discs. Of course, it plays all the high-def (44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4 or 192 kHz, 24-bit) FLAC files as well. I also have a handful of DTS CDs that I've converted to FLAC files and it plays them. It even plays my MP3 files, though I tend to only play those on my iPod. It handles audio files so well that I'm feeding them into it rather than my media player (a NetGear NeoTV 550), which can't handle the DSD files anyway. So where does it fall short? Well, it doesn't play DSD files "gaplessly" which it does for everything else. However, Oppo seems good about firmware updates so I have hopes for the future on this. It doesn't show a cover art "wall" to select music from (it just uses text-based folder structures) like the NetGear did and that might be nice. On the other hand, the cover art "wall" took a 45-minute indexing each time I added another album on the NetGear and I can bypass that hassle with the Oppo. Hmmm... there's got to be something else to nit-pick about. Nope, sorry. This, like the other two Oppo players I've owned, it top-quality gear, built like a tank, full of features and worth every penny I paid for it. Yes, you CAN by basic Blu-ray players for $50 now and so it seems freaky to pay $600 for one. But then, you can buy a Kia and Hyundai cheapie cars and you can buy a luxury car from Bentley or Rolls Royce or a high performance car from Ferraris or Lamborghinis and spend a LOT more. An Oppo player is a high performance player that is also a luxury player and is something that, while expensive, really doesn't break the bank for most folks.

I really wanted to love this player. I did a ton of research, read amazing reviews, and paid $650 for it, so I expected a lot from it. Pros: -Beautiful looking -Plays almost every format I've thrown at it -Darbee is pretty cool, adds some depth -Cons: -Old, slow UI -Video and Audio are no better than regular player -Only a few built in apps, and they aren't good -Broke after less than a year -TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE. I really don't know where the glowing reviews come from on this. I have spent weeks emailing OPPO for warranty repairs, they talk down to me, assume that I am doing something wrong, disregard what I tell them about the OPPO freezing every few minutes and tell me to use ethernet to fix it or different cables. And they got my name wrong, which is also my email address, and is at the bottom of every email I write. Even when it worked it wasn't very good. Slower than my old walmart bluray player, worse UI, more finicky and needing settings messed with and restarts often. Basically $500 more for the ability to play MKV and MP4.

I have the BDP103 player. This player is about on the same level. The Darby adds a lot on a large tv. Anything less than 60" and the effect is greatly reduced imho. Notes: Player is lighter than 103 Power Cord is less robust Remote better than 103 I tried this on a 70" 1080P tv and the result is top notch processing and sound. Enuf said. I would buy the marketing for a large 1080p tv to a point. Players are getting much better. For instance my Samsung flagship F-7500 blu ray player has better 4k scaling and the wireless is much faster. I A and B both units with my router in the same place. I can acheive a 1080 signal for super hd titles but can't with the Oppo. The Samsung player also connects much faster. And yes the OPPO has the latest firmware. On a 4k tv the result is much worse. The scaling is not as good as my Toshiba 58L9300U. Forcing 4k output causes ringing and artifacts. Best to leave on 1080P. I use Dish for HD cable. I would say HD cable tv looks like 1080p as do 1080p movies. I saw very little added detail for a 4k tv. If you are buying this for upscaling for a 4k tv pass on it. I also have a Sammy 65" 4k tv. The Sammy does much better at upscaling. I tried all combinations of processing on the OPPO as well as off. I do not see much effect with the video adjustments. The Darby is best left under 40% for blu ray and around 50-55% for cable tv. If a Blu Ray movie has noise in the transfer the Darby effect magnifies it. Same goes with DVD disks. It is best used on Cable tv and a good blu ray transfer. For instace older seasons of Dexter on blu ray have noise in the transfer. If you use the Darby even on the low settings (it recognizes the noise as part of the picture and magnifies the effect) - not good. Especially in darker scenes. You can google it as reviewers have noted it. In summary, it is a huge disappointment for me for 4k. For 1080P it is a reference player. Hopefully a future firmware update will greatly improve the 4k scaling/algorhythyms. With the cost of players dropping to almost nothing, the differnces in 1080P video are becoming so small the returns are diminishing. I would recommend waiting for CES to see what Technicolor certified players or receivers are coming. Apparently their certification ensures excellent 4k upscaling quality. For sound Oppo can't be beat. It just depands on what is important to you.

I have wanted an Oppo BluRay player for the past 5 years. At the time I couldn't afford one and my current player was still running strong. To echo what everyone has previously said, the packaging is top notch, the player is overbuilt and exudes quality from the power cable to the remote. Hands down this is a quality piece of electronics. Setup was simple enough. As far as the 103D goes, it is everything I hoped for. I debated between the regular unit and the Darbee edition and am glad I went with the Darbee. I have a 60" Panasonic ST plasma and it looks great. I currently have Darbee set at 50 which is higher than what most people have theirs set at but this is what works for me. The picture is phenomenal and the sound has never been clearer. Day 2, however, the player died on me while watching a movie and wouldn't turn back on. Now I am a customer service supervisor for a company that is known for its customer service. I know what good service is and have a high level of expectation. I also know that most manufacture defects typically happen in the beginning so I wasn't going to be a jerk about the issue either. I called Oppo, got a CS rep that spoke English, let him know what the issue was and he gave me a couple things to try. Did them and still no power. Called them back and they said they would send a new player out, and I could send the defective unit back after I received the new one. They shipped the replacement the same day and I received it the following day (I live close by). That was the easiest, most pleasant customer service experience I have ever dealt with. These guys know how to keep a customer for life! I have watched a few movies on it so far and I am blown away every time. Its great to know that I have a high end (for me) blu ray player from a company that stands behind it's products. Buy with confidence.

Well I bought this just to get a great quality BD player with 4K capabilities. I got that and a lot more! First off, this system comes packaged like a high end watch. The remote and accessories are as nice as I have ever seen, and it came with not only a ROKU adaptor, but a wireless USB dongle to boot. The picture is where this unit really shines. My DVD's upscale to challenge a large percentage of BD discs, the BD discs play with absolute clarity, and using the Samsung 65" 4K TV and 4K Mastered discs, the picture is astounding. ("Total Recall" on 4K is a must-see) The upscaling in this unit at 1080 or 4K is just fantastic! On the down side, the ROKU stick will not work with a hardwired network connection, you must use WiFi for it to function. Once connected to your network, it can access any computer to play audio, movies, or pictures in any format imaginable. Netflix, and a host of other streaming services are built right in as well. To make video purists shudder, the zoom feature allows you to eliminate those black horizontal bars at the top and bottom of widescreen offerings, giving (me at least) a more immersive experience. Amazingly. it does this without any visible loss of resolution. This is probably due to the player doing the upscaling to a zoomed format itself with access to the raw disc data - a TV performing the same function would get only the upscaled 1080P and have to "crop" the pre-upscaled data to get full screen zoom. The Darbee enhancer is a real plus, you can see it work in a split screen mode to help you find the optimum level of enhancement. To tell you the truth, this unit got me so re-engaged in video, it got me to finally purchase a 4K TV.