Audio Video News

Oppo Shocks AV World With Plans to Exit CE Business

SV Staff  |  Apr 3, 2018

Oppo Digital, the Silicon Valley-based maker of award-winning Blu-ray players AV enthusiasts have relied on as the gold standard for more than a decade, announced late yesterday that it is winding down operations.

In a farewell message posted on oppodigital.com, the company said it will gradually stop manufacturing new products but continue to support existing products for an unspecified period of time with in- and out-of-warranty repair services, occasional firmware updates, and the “high quality service and support [customers] have come to expect from Oppo Digital.”

Here’s the official statement in its entirety:

It has been 14 years since we established Oppo Digital in the United States, and with the support of our customers, technical partners, and movie/music studios, we produced many award-winning Hi-Fi audio products and universal disc players, spanning three generations from DVD, Blu-ray, to 4K UHD.

As our latest 4K UHD players reach the pinnacle of their performance, it is time to say goodbye. We are proud to have made such well-regarded products and to have served the enthusiast community. Without our customers' suggestions, encouragement, and support, we could not have accomplished these achievements.

Though Oppo Digital will gradually stop manufacturing new products, existing products will continue to be supported, warranties will still be valid, and both in-warranty and out-of-warranty repair services will continue to be available. Firmware will continue to be maintained and updates released from time to time. Customers can rest assured that they will continue to receive the high quality service and support that they have come to expect from Oppo Digital.

We greatly appreciate the opportunity to have developed such exciting products for our customers. It has been an honor.

Best regards,

All of us at OPPO Digital

The company also posted a FAQ to answer common questions it expects from its customers/fan base.

In the FAQ, Oppo says “self-guided” technical support will continue to be available through the Product Support page on the company website and points customers to a service request form.

On the question of future firmware upgrades, Oppo said “products will continue to receive firmware upgrades from time to time when new features or bug fixes warrant such an upgrade. Newer products such as the UDP-203 and UDP-205 will likely receive more frequent upgrades while mature products such as the BDP-103 and earlier models will only get firmware upgrades if there are critical fixes.

“If your player is connected to the Internet, you can check for firmware upgrades by going to the Setup Menu / Device Setup / Firmware Upgrade / Via Network. New firmware will also be posted on the support pages of the corresponding products (oppodigital.com/Support.aspx)

Oppo said it will honor its 30-day money back guarantee for products purchased directly from Oppo Digital within the last 30 days and noted that Oppo products are still available through the company’s website, authorized resellers, and overseas distributors. “As we gradually stop manufacturing new products, certain models may go out of stock and no longer be available sooner than other models,” the company said.

Related:

Oppo Aces Longterm Reliability Test

COMMENTS
brenro's picture
Submitted by brenro on April 3, 2018 - 9:06am

Does this mean my UDP-205 won't ever get MQA through the USB input now?

pw's picture
Submitted by pw on April 3, 2018 - 2:52pm

Oppo made a poor decision installing less able chipsets in all their equip..

brenro's picture
Submitted by brenro on April 3, 2018 - 3:18pm

The UDP-205 has dual ESS 9038Pro DAC's, about the tip top of the heap right now. It can decode MQA through music files and MQA CD's. The one way it can't decode MQA is through its USB in port, which was the way I wanted to use it. Are you confusing this with the Sonica maybe?

dmusoke's picture
Submitted by dmusoke on April 11, 2018 - 6:09pm

The 205 supports MQA via file playback using their music app

Tommy Lee's picture
Submitted by Tommy Lee on April 3, 2018 - 12:10pm

The statement says nothing about their reasons for going out of business. I wonder what happened...

Rob Sabin's picture
Submitted by Rob Sabin on April 4, 2018 - 4:55am
I have no further info myself on what's happening behind the scenes at Oppo beyond what's been publicly released. But putting aside any inside intrigue we're not privy to, it's not hard to deduce that the world around them has changed in a manner that attacks their basic business model. Regardless of quality, the market for high end disc players priced at $550 and $1,300 has to be small to begin with, and with streaming continuing to come on strong in delivering 4K content, including the benefits of HDR and wide color gamut (albeit truncated compared to disc), that market has shrunk even further. Even many custom home theaters now are built with a Roku or similar device as the primary source; if there's a disc player it's a cheap one or it's built into the game console. I am reminded of when Pioneer left the plasma TV market at the top of its game with the last Kuro, despite it being by far the best television on the market. That was largely the result of a product with comparatively high production costs that could not reasonably be brought up to the next-gen 4K standard for a price, even a premium price, that would allow it to compete with the onslaught wrought by punch-em-out LCD manufacturing techniques.

We might get a reprieve at some point with Oppo. The brand's reputation for enthusiast products is so solid that it has value for someone else who wants to license the brand and continue to play in these niche markets. But for now, they're gone, and it's the end of an era. I sent a personal note to our longtime marketing/PR contact at Oppo yesterday thanking him and his colleagues for dedicating themselves to giving us gold-standard products and customer service for these years, and wishing them well. Sigh...

mars2k's picture
Submitted by mars2k on April 3, 2018 - 12:20pm

I own so much gear from Oppo its my favorite brand. Please do't go baby I'll change I promise. ...oh yeah....not about me.

paw's picture
Submitted by paw on April 3, 2018 - 12:34pm

Do we need to buy more products? Now where is my credit card?

Rodolfo's picture
Submitted by Rodolfo on April 3, 2018 - 1:40pm

This is the only revealing statement on their web site of a possible real reason they might have to stop manufacturing further:

"we will not have the resources to develop and release new generations of products”

I am not sure how much the Chinese may still have some leverage over the company after Oppo exhausted the first batch of Chinese-made non-complaint players (outputting HD over component analog connections), and how the recent Trump / China tariff games may have anything to do with this but the timing is too coincident.

Traveler's picture
Submitted by Traveler on April 3, 2018 - 2:47pm

Well I'll keep using my 105D until it stops working. Guess I'll switch to a UHD Sony player to match my display (assuming Netflix keeps renting disks that long because I'm sure not buying them).

pw's picture
Submitted by pw on April 3, 2018 - 2:49pm

Oppo's streaming Dac the Musica(?) was manufactured with a substandard chip set that could never be upgraded to MQA..
This helped doom them..

pw's picture
Submitted by pw on April 3, 2018 - 3:20pm

The Sonica Dac is Oppos crabby Dac that was almost useless on Day #1.

Jonasandezekiel's picture
Submitted by Jonasandezekiel on April 4, 2018 - 4:05am

Please, enough with MQA. I'm so sick of this audio garbage being held up as the next big thing, when just a low-res lie to control the masses.

NoHoR56's picture
Submitted by NoHoR56 on April 6, 2018 - 7:43pm

The notion that Oppo was doomed - in any degree - because it didn't incorporate MQA is lunacy.

Jonasandezekiel's picture
Submitted by Jonasandezekiel on April 3, 2018 - 8:13pm

Sort of a punch in the solar plexus.

PeterC's picture
Submitted by PeterC on April 4, 2018 - 5:51am

I was just ready to buy the UDP-203!
Would you still buy one if they were available?
If not, what would be your next choice?

msardo's picture
Submitted by msardo on April 4, 2018 - 6:47am

I have an Oppo 93. I am seriously considering the 203 - so I have the same questions as posted here and appreciate any response.

dnoonie's picture
Submitted by dnoonie on April 7, 2018 - 10:44pm

Hi,

If you can use one it's best to get one while you can. The 205s can still be purchased at Best Buy Magnolia, as of 4p PST on 4/7 (when I ordered they still had some in their warehouse but most places are sold out. The 203 still seems pretty available and more are on their way from the factory. The 205 on the other hand is in very short supply and a new factory order is uncertain. Sign up for notification if you want a 205 on OPPOs web site.

Cheers,

Deus02's picture
Submitted by Deus02 on April 4, 2018 - 7:19am

To say the least, this is quite shocking. Other than my most current player(Panasonic UB900) I have owned several Oppo players over the years and have always been very happy with them, especially their aftermarket service, however, one can only assume, given the nature of the market and their pricing, sales were down significantly, especially when they did not offer any streaming services on the most current models and that is why I switched to the Panasonic.

It is rather ironic to note than in addition to introducing their latest models at NAMM it was rumored and ultimately verified by a show in Europe that Panasonic was going to introduce an audiophile 4K model that seemed to be designed to compete with the Oppo 205. I wonder if they will still move forward with that now?

Billy's picture
Submitted by Billy on April 4, 2018 - 11:38am

If I recall correctly, didn't Oppo start out making direct internet sales of inexpensive high quality gear ( amps, receivers, etc), or am I mistaking it for another company? We are fighting a win less battle here kids. The younger generations were brought up with low res music and video (much of it illegal) and see no need for better quality. Maybe my generation (the Boomers) should have spent more time with our kids showing them the lure of quality audio and video. I know I did and our son listens to his music on a rebuilt top of the line mid 1970s Pioneer receiver with hand made speakers to go with it, but then again, our daughters are satisfied with their phones.

mikem's picture
Submitted by mikem on April 4, 2018 - 3:56pm

I have 2 Oppo's. The 103D (Darbee) and the 203. I use the 103D for TV due to the Darbee processor. The 203 is for music, until I can fork out cash for a 4K upgrade. I'll never forget the thrill when I un-boxed my 103D. Classy and built like a rock.

uavcorey583's picture
Submitted by uavcorey583 on April 4, 2018 - 5:32pm

Until recently I owned a bdp 103. Had it for four years. Then sold it last year for a new Samsung uhd player. That lasted a few months, then sold it towards a new uhd 203. I’ve had it a month. As usual, excellent oppo quality. Will be very sad to see them pull out of the market. I do hope someone will pick up the business. There are enough devoted customers.

fowlermat1's picture
Submitted by fowlermat1 on April 5, 2018 - 1:28pm

As soon as I read the news I immediately ordered a UDP-203....it's only $549 on Oppo's website, and is trending at $749 on (popular online auction site) and as the supply begins to dwindle the price will go up and up. High quality gear is always a good investment in my book.

dmineard's picture
Submitted by dmineard on April 6, 2018 - 7:35pm

Nice comments by Rob Sabin. As a proud owner of a BDP 103 looks like my upgrade won't be to the UDP-203. Fantastic equipment. Too many people only want to spend $150 for a Blu-ray or Ultra player. How sad.

dmoor's picture
Submitted by dmoor on April 6, 2018 - 10:32pm

The UDP-205 is sold out. However Oppo is considering one last production run if enough people express interest. To do so go to

https://oppodigital.com/blu-ray-udp-205/lastbatch.aspx

and express your interest by giving them your email address. I've got my fingers crossed!

utopianemo's picture
Submitted by utopianemo on April 9, 2018 - 9:20am

I've owned three Oppo players, including the 203, and after hearing this about the company, I'd still buy one. They're worth it.

barfle's picture
Submitted by barfle on April 28, 2018 - 3:40pm

I've had two Oppo players over the years, and I'm still very, very happy with my BDP105D. Their commitment to quality products is obvious, and although I paid a premium for both players, they were well worth the investment. I was hoping they would come out with a preamp-processor, but it looks like I'm stuck without one. Alas.

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