It's no secret that we're big fans of Oppo's line of universal players; in fact, we suggested last year that the company's BDP-93 would likely be the last disc player you'd ever need to buy.
Well, we were wrong. The just-announced BDP-103 ($499) and BDP-105 ($1,199) replace the BDP-93 and 95, and add enough new features to the enticing Oppo package that we just might have to rethink our position.
The BDP-103 maintains its predecessor's support for just about every optical disc format and audio file format (with high-rez support up to 192 kHz) known to humankind, and adds another HDMI input (with one of the pair doubling as an MHL connector for interfacing with mobile devices and other interesting new products), 4K upscaling on all video inputs, 2D to 3D conversion, and a brand new dual-core chip to run the whole shebang. And those features are all wrapped up in an improved user interface.
The BDP-105 has a few other tricks up its sleeve. Audiophiles will appreciate the inclusion of an asynchronous USB DAC (both new Oppos still offer support for high-res FLAC playback over DLNA/UPnP, of course); you'll also find high-zoot ESS Sabre32 DACs behind the balanced analog outputs on XLR connectors, and a headphone amp driven by the DAC.
Analog video outputs have gone the way of the dodo (so you might want to look out for the now-discontinued but still available BDP-93 if you really need those for some reason), but in their place you get a third USB connection,
Availability isn't yet confirmed, but the 103 should be available in October; the 105 by the end of 2012. If you cruise on over to Oppo's site, you can put your name on a list to be informed as soon as they've got dates.
This is poorly written. The word "another" in "The BDP-103 maintains its predecessor's support ..., and adds another HDMI input" makes no sense, as this implies that the BDP-93 has at least one HDMI input, which it does not. The penultimate paragraph ends in a comma instead of a period.
thanks sound and vision my bdp 103 has just arrived. Oppo has done it again.
Hi, anonymous person. This is a short piece talking about a new product announcement, posted at the time of the product's introduction, providing what information was available at the time. It's not a review. For future reference, the date of all articles on the site is right up at the top.