Recommend me a multi-region Blu Ray player

[13 DJP]

Hot on the heels of my current Sky HD issues I feel the need to also update my Blu Ray player.

I currently have a Sony BDP S500, which was the daddy back in the day but must be getting on for 5-6 years old now and takes a while to load a disc and has no ethernet port or wireless.

New player must also be multi-region (for DVDs only) as I have a huge region 1 collection of DVDs plus region 2 DVDs and region 2 Blu Rays.

No particular budget as such, but somewhere around £300 max would be good, although I`m happy to pay more if I`m going to see a significant difference.

What do you all recommend then?

Cheers
Dave

[DavidY]

For stunning picture quality the Oppo BDP93 (at £500) is the one to have, but only if your display is up to it, otherwise generally any £300 spinner is much the same as any other £300 spinner. There are some deals to be had on end of line machines such as the Denon bdp2012UD, at half price, but given the funds I'd buy the Oppo (which is what I did!!)

[13 DJP]

Cheers for that, looks good. Never heard of Oppo before, what`s the quality like?

I`m not interested in 3D at all. Am I paying more for it in the Oppo player?

I`m easily persuaded to spend more but am I getting a significant difference over a £300 player?

With regard display, I`m running everything through a Sony STR DA-3300ES amplifier and then into a Panasonic Viera 50" 1080p Plasma (not sure of exact model, but approximately 4 years old, may only be 50hz). Will be upgraded at some point, but not for a while yet

[DavidY]

The Oppo is just a well engineered unit, doesn't have all the bells and whistles of it's Japanese opposition. Well supported as well, they have a good reputation with regard to support. They are good enough for retailers not to discount!!

Virtually all current players have 3D capability, so you won't be paying extra, they all have it. With a 50" Panasonic you should get a stunning 1080p picture.

[Digger]

Bear* in mind the Oppo is not multiregion by default. It will play dvd's from all regions though. An extra 100 notes will get you a bluray multiregion unit.

http://www.avforums.com/review/Oppo-BDP-93EU-3D-Bl...



or is it bare? . . . hmmm

ETA - just read the OP properly as regards MR requirements

Edited by Digger on Thursday 16th August 10:51

[DavidY]

But DVD Multi-Region is just a firmware hack, and done by most delaers before purchase. Yes BR multi-region is an extra £100

[page3]

Does anyone know of an alternative to the Oppo, for less money?

There seems nothing between the £100 plastic 'rubbish' and the expensive Oppo.

I want a basic player feature wise (couldn't care less about any 'value added' guff) but with multi-region DVD and I want it to be a well build sturdy metal enclosure.

[Digger]

page3 said:

Does anyone know of an alternative to the Oppo, for less money?

There seems nothing between the £100 plastic 'rubbish' and the expensive Oppo.

I want a basic player feature wise (couldn't care less about any 'value added' guff) but with multi-region DVD and I want it to be a well build sturdy metal enclosure.

You are probably a candidate for going second-hand tbh. Have a look on avforums.

For example

http://www.avforums.com/forums/dvd-blu-ray-player-...

Edited by Digger on Thursday 16th August 17:10

[13 DJP]

I`m tempted by the Sony BDP-S790 at £299, it`s winner of the What guide this month and looks good, BUT... is it going to be significantly different to the Oppo for the extra £200?

Might also be good for you chum:

page3 said:

Does anyone know of an alternative to the Oppo, for less money?

There seems nothing between the £100 plastic 'rubbish' and the expensive Oppo.

I want a basic player feature wise (couldn't care less about any 'value added' guff) but with multi-region DVD and I want it to be a well build sturdy metal enclosure.

[Hoover.]

< I hate PH, it always shows me things that I must now have and really need in my life.....

I've got a BlueRay Player a Sony BDP S550 which I've had for a few years now.... nothing really wrong with it... BUT I now want one of those OPPO's

[DavidY]

The Oppo is very good, had one for a few months now, amazing picture quality.

[Hoover.]

^^^^^ it's comments like that t, that make me spend money .

[DavidY]

[Hoover.]

be carefull with multi region...... with most this normally only applies to the DVD player and not the BR..... the BR is usually described as Code Free.

[gbbird]

page3 said:

Does anyone know of an alternative to the Oppo, for less money?

There seems nothing between the £100 plastic 'rubbish' and the expensive Oppo.

I want a basic player feature wise (couldn't care less about any 'value added' guff) but with multi-region DVD and I want it to be a well build sturdy metal enclosure.

Aren't the Cambridge audio Blu ray players from richer sounds based on the Oppo players?

[OldSkoolRS]

Hoover. said:

< I hate PH, it always shows me things that I must now have and really need in my life.....

I've got a BlueRay Player a Sony BDP S550 which I've had for a few years now.... nothing really wrong with it... BUT I now want one of those OPPO's

If it makes you feel better: I had a BDP-S350 (very similar to the 550 minus the internal HD sound decoder) then upgraded to an Oppo BDP93. Even on my projector screen (after calibration) the BluRay picture is no different. No 'better' colours, extra sharpness or smoother motion that some (and especially What Hifi reviews) claim.

Sure the DVD upscaling is better (though I use a Lumagen VP for up scaling anyway) and the main reason I bought the '93 was for the quality on board sound decoding/DVD-A & SACD features as I own an older Arcam processor (much cheaper to buy the Oppo than a newer Arcam AV processor ). The 93 also allows 'soruce direct' so my Lumagen can upscale and deinterlace rather than the player (funny that my first Sony player had this feature and they removed it on the '350). The '93 is quicker than the S350, but don't be expecting some fantastic difference in picture quality, as IMHO you'd get more improvement calibrating the display properly than upgrading a player, but that's not as glamorous.

Edited by OldSkoolRS on Sunday 26th August 10:01

[Alicatt1]

Have an Oppo BDP83 bluray player, it is multiregion on DVD and Bluray and has played just about everything I have thrown at it. It plays DVD Audio disks which was a requirement as I purchase HD tracks and then burn them to DVD-A for playback in the cinema.

It is quite a fast player and is up and playing a disk long before the Pioneer BR player in the lounge does, it is on a par with the PS3 for speed but has a lot more options on what it can play. I use mine with a Pioneer SC-LX90 Amp through PMC OB1i speakers and a Pioneer KR9000 PJ - No 3D here

[Hoover.]

OldSkoolRS said:

Hoover. said:

< I hate PH, it always shows me things that I must now have and really need in my life.....

I've got a BlueRay Player a Sony BDP S550 which I've had for a few years now.... nothing really wrong with it... BUT I now want one of those OPPO's

If it makes you feel better: I had a BDP-S350 (very similar to the 550 minus the internal HD sound decoder) then upgraded to an Oppo BDP93. Even on my projector screen (after calibration) the BluRay picture is no different. No 'better' colours, extra sharpness or smoother motion that some (and especially What Hifi reviews) claim.

Sure the DVD upscaling is better (though I use a Lumagen VP for up scaling anyway) and the main reason I bought the '93 was for the quality on board sound decoding/DVD-A & SACD features as I own an older Arcam processor (much cheaper to buy the Oppo than a newer Arcam AV processor ). The 93 also allows 'soruce direct' so my Lumagen can upscale and deinterlace rather than the player (funny that my first Sony player had this feature and they removed it on the '350). The '93 is quicker than the S350, but don't be expecting some fantastic difference in picture quality, as IMHO you'd get more improvement calibrating the display properly than upgrading a player, but that's not as glamorous.

Edited by OldSkoolRS on Sunday 26th August 10:01

Cheers for that OldSkool........ BUT I still must have one... maybe if I get the screen calibrated at the same time it will fool me into it being the nuts of a machine

[OldSkoolRS]

Can't beat a bit of 'retail therapy' can you Hoover?

[Digger]

13 DJP said:

I`m tempted by the Sony BDP-S790 at £299, it`s winner of the What guide this month and looks good, BUT... is it going to be significantly different to the Oppo for the extra £200?

Might also be good for you chum:

Hi there out of interest was that a multiregion bluray price for the Sony or just for dvd?