Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 16th, 2017
They know who you are. They know how you think. They have mastered the nuances of your language. Most important, they know exactly what it is you like to do in that little dark room you have tucked away in a corner of your home. They know all about that private little collection, and they know how you use it. It's not the NSA. They're an electronics company called Oppo, and if you are an audio-videophile like me, they know you cold. And the reason they pay so much attention to what you want is because they are committed to giving you the best home video player of any kind, hands down. I'm talking about the Oppo UDP-205. It's been only months since Oppo entered the world of UHD Blu-ray and they quickly dominated it. Now Oppo is already delivering what I consider a second generation (but not really) player before most companies have figured out their first players.
We use our players hard here at Upcomingdiscs. I dare say few people put a player through the kind of use that we do. I average over 2000 television episodes a year and a little over 300 films. I have worn out plenty of equipment before its time. But no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to wear down any of our Oppo players. Three of Upcomingdiscs staff members rely on them to deliver our reviews. We are able to provide the kind of audio and video detail with confidence that we are seeing the best any particular disc is going to look. Sometimes I get an email from one of our readers who complains that they didn't experience some of the results I've described in a review. I always tell them the same thing. That's because you're not using an Oppo player. Every now and again, said writer picks one up and thanks me for the advice. As my favorite comic book writer is fond of saying: "'Nuff said".
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 16th, 2017
The young Ultra High Definition Blu-ray market has pretty much been a limited competition between a couple of players. Upcomingdiscs obtained an early version of the Samsung player in order to get UHD 4K reviews to our readers. The player allowed me to do that but had so many limitations that those reviews certainly suffered. The most obvious was an inability to provide codec bitrates. All of that changes now that Oppo has entered the UHD market. Oppo is no stranger to 4K. Previous models that we've reviewed here already provided rather sweet 4K upconvert options to early adopters of 4K televisions. We received our unit during the holidays, and I have been putting it through some serious paces. Needless to say this will be our go-to unit going forward. However long you think the UHD market has been out there, it truly begins with the release of the Oppo UDP-203.
Again, you get the most impressive packaging in the business. That may not seem so important to some, but I like the comfort of knowing that there was little chance my unit was damaged during the shipping process. Instead of cheap styrofoam, the unit is protected by pressure-formed solid foam. Forget that silly tissue plastic that usually covers a unit in the box. This baby comes nestled inside a canvas bag. Of course, it’s also a great advertising idea. You’ll have the handy bag to tote stuff around later. Your unit isn't going to be scratched in transport, that's for certain. The accessories come in a solid hard shell box. Inside you get: a remote + batteries and a solid HDMI cable. What does this really tell me? It tells me the company just doesn't cut corners.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 23rd, 2013
Anyone who reads these pages on a regular basis knows that I'm a huge fan of the Oppo line of 3D players. All of the reviews you read that are written by me have been viewed on an Oppo player. They have been our official Blu-ray machines for a few years now. I also want to reiterate that Oppo does not pay me to say that or to publish reviews of their products. They are not advertisers here, and we've never gotten a single dime from them. But if you're as serious about your audio and video quality as I am, and you wouldn't be here if you weren't, you owe it to yourself to check out the latest in Oppo players. I'm talking about the Oppo BDP-103. It's fully 3D capable and runs all of the current audio and video codecs.
We write often about the audio and video quality of Blu-ray releases in our reviews. It's important to know just what kind of quality to expect out of a new release. Still, any videophile knows that these specs are only as good as the equipment that you're using. That includes the monitor, receiver/amp and, of course, the player itself. There are a ton of cheap Blu-ray players out there. Some even run 3D, and most now handle all of your BD Live needs. So why not just go out there and pick one up from a big box store and be done with it? Because the insides are not all equal. Let's take a look at the Oppo BDP-103 and see if it's worth the upgrade to your system it will most certainly provide.
Posted in: Blu-ray/3D Blu-ray, Holiday Gift Guides, Oppo by Gino Sassani on December 17th, 2012
There are still plenty of folks out there who have not yet joined the Blu-ray family. I'll bet there's at least one on your Christmas list. It's up to you to open their eyes to high-definition home video. Now, I'm sure you're tempted by those cheap machines hitting the market at the department and big box stores. And sure, you can get someone on board for a hundred bucks or less. I'm here to tell you not to do it. Sure you can give them a basic machine, but you're also going to give them a future of headache and frustration as they discover more and more things that they cannot do. What if I told you that you can get a high-end player with everything on board for under $500? Get ready to scratch a name or two off that Christmas list, because Oppo's BDP-103 has tons that even the best players in the big box stores don't.
We'll be writing a full review as we put the unit through our rigorous paces, but you can't wait that long to pick one up. I can already tell you with no hesitation this is the best Blu-ray player I've seen. Oppo IS NOT paying us to say this. We will not get a penny from the company. This baby does full-on 3D like nobody's business. When I compare it to my excellent PS3 3D, this one offers a brighter and sharper image. That's because the guys at Oppo have put nothing but the best chips inside of this unit. This unit will also convert 2D to a simulated 3D, and there are parameters you can adjust to get the best results. Honestly, this stuff doesn't compare to the real deal, but it's a nice effect at times. If you have a 4k monitor capability, this unit will even upconvert to 4k. No other unit for anywhere near this price can do that.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 6th, 2010
Last year it was my pronounced pleasure to receive and review Oppo's first entry into the Blu-ray player market. The company was already known for quality DVD, particularly Upconvert DVD, players. The BDP-83 was everything I expected from the company, and much more. But there was one possible trouble with that unit. It was not intended to be an entry level machine, so that cost was a bit prohibitive for many of you thinking about getting your first Blu-ray player. It carried a hefty price tag, but was well worth the cost.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 8th, 2009
Welcome to the first of what I hope to be many hardware reviews. When I first heard that Oppo Digital was breaking into the Blu-ray player market with their new model BDP-83 I was immediately intrigued. The company had almost singlehandedly set the standard for upconvert DVD players just a short time ago. To say I was eager to get my hands on one of these units was an understatement.
Posted in: Hardware Reviews by Archive Authors on April 12th, 2007
Aperion 4-Series: Part One
Aperion Audio 4 Series: 422 Harmony HD, inlcuding:
Posted in: Hardware Reviews by Archive Authors on May 22nd, 2006
Have you ever given any thought to the influence that dirty power has on the output quality of your home theater system? How does it negatively affect the picture and sound quality of all that gear that you bought to be able to better enjoy your movies? We spend money on new TV's, higher end DVD players and lets not forget cables, sometimes the cables are worth more then the new piece of gear we just bought. Well the guys (and girls) at Monster Cable have spent some time thinking about it and maybe it's time we all d...d the same.
Monster Cable offers a number of different solutions to help you clean up the power that creates the images and sounds we enjoy when watching movies on our home theater systems and we are going to have a look at the best that they make, the Signature Series HTPS 7000. Feature wise this 44lb beast is loaded to the hilt. It uses a Monsters Power Clean Power Stage 5 v2.0, has 12 outlets, 3 coax connections and a phone loop. It uses sequential turn on and off for all the 12 outlets and exclusive Monster Dual Balanced Pure Power circuity to isolate audio and video electrical paths from each other. Did I also mention that it has built in circuity's that will turn it self off when large power spikes or drops (brown outs) are detected.
Posted in: Hardware Reviews by Archive Authors on April 11th, 2004
Introduction
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Harman/Kardon name they are one of the preeminent audio manufacturers. The company is owned by Harman International who also owns well known brand such as JBL and Infinity as well as ultra high-end brands Mark Levinson, Lexicon and Revel (never mind the professional audio companies that they own as well). As a matter of fact any time you watch a movie or listen to a CD at one point in time a Harman company product was used in the production of i.... Suffice it to say that when it comes to audio Harmon/Kardon probably knows what they are doing.
Posted in: Hardware Reviews by Archive Authors on March 3rd, 2004
Introduction
River Cables is another one of the new breed of online only, high quality lower cost cable manufacturers that have started popping up over the last few years. A huge difference between River Cables and the other guys is that they are the only company to individually certify all of their cables before they ship them out and they even include nifty “birth certificates”, pretty cool. Lets not also forget that they offer a 30 day Home Trial, if you are not happy with the product then send it...back, sounds pretty good to me.
