AUDIO VIDEO NEWS

Oppo Unveils 4K Successor to BDP-103 BD Player

SV Staff  |  Dec 12, 2016

Oppo Digital today announced the Ultra HD successor to its award-winning BDP-103 universal Blu-ray player.

The UDP-203 4K Ultra HD (UHD) player, now available at oppodigital.com for $549, supports HDR10 high dynamic range (HDR) playback out of the box and is upgradable to Dolby Vision via a firmware update slated for early 2017 in addition to supporting high-resolution audio with lossless decoding for PCM and DSD.

The player sports a 7.1-channel analog audio output fed by a 32-bit “Velvet Sound” digital-to-analog converter from AKM, an HDMI 2.0 output for connecting to UHD-ready TVs, projectors, and AV receivers, an HDMI 1.4 port for older AV receivers, and two USB 3.0 ports for media playback.

Following a purist approach, the player has no onboard streaming apps. Instead, there’s an HDMI 2.0 input to accommodate an external streaming device or set-top box.

In addition to UHD Blu-ray, the player handles Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, DVD-Audio, SACD, and CD and features a precision disc loader to ensure “smooth and reliable playback.”

Other highlights include a custom quad-core video decoder/processor, built-in 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Gigabit Ethernet for connecting to a home network, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding, and a bitstream output for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X playback.

The player has a brushed-aluminum front panel, steel chassis, gold-plated connectors, and is integration-friendly with RS-232 and third-party IP control and a back-panel IR sensor.

Oppo said a successor to the BDP-105/105D featuring upgraded audio performance—the UPD-205—is in the works and expected to be available in early 2017.

For more information, visit oppodigital.com.

COMMENTS
tjsage's picture
Submitted by tjsage on December 12, 2016 - 7:11pm

I have really enjoyed my Oppo BD-103D and use the Netflix and VUDU streaming services often. I have those in my Panasonic 60" ZT plasma but they look better on the Oppo device. I would upgrade in a flash, if I the same streamers were on the new device.

chebner's picture
Submitted by chebner on December 12, 2016 - 9:50pm

I have a BDP 93, I used Vudu quite often with it. I was always very happy with the streaming capability, but the interface seemed kinda slow. About 16 months ago I got a Roku 3. I was immediately impressed at how much speedier the VUDU interface was on the Roku 3, and the quality (picture and sound) was just as good. I finally jumped on the Netflix bandwagon at that time and was also impressed at how good Netflix looked with such starved bandwidth that it uses. Hulu was good for streaming but picture quality wasn't up there with VUDU and Netflix. Over time the Roku 3 did seem to slow down, but I'm beginning to think it was my router needing a reboot.

A week ago I got a new Sony 4K HDR TV along with a Roku 4 Ultimate. I am literally blown away at how impressed I am with the Roku 4. The responsiveness of the interface is like a (brand new high end) smart phone. Haven't watched much on Netflix except to experiment to see what the 4k looks like (freaking awesome). VUDU looks as good as ever in HDX, I can't bring myself to spend $10 on a 4k rental. I started watching Designated Survivor on Hulu last week. I honestly thought they were streaming 4k. I checked and Hulu just announced and released 4k streaming last week, but in limited content, which didn't seem to include any broadcast TV shows. It is crazy how good it looks. I highly recommend the Roku 4 as a replacement streamer to your BDP 103.

tjsage's picture
Submitted by tjsage on December 13, 2016 - 11:58am

I have heard great things about Tivo Bolt+ with 4k there and up to a 1tb hard drive. The only thing I don't like about that is it doesn't work with any satellite items but I could put up and HDTV antenna and just stream the rest. I am researching that now. For cable, I would be stuck with cox and just get a cable card item. I would only buy a Tivo Bolt+4k in the cable card modem type. One never knows where I will move someday.

mikem's picture
Submitted by mikem on December 13, 2016 - 11:38am

I have the 103D and does anyone know if Oppo is keeping the Darbee software?

Deus02's picture
Submitted by Deus02 on December 13, 2016 - 12:09pm

After checking with a couple of dealers and over the last year, sending a couple of notes directly to Darbee about this issue, despite the LG Oled display they had at CES 2016 with an apparent 4K Darbee processor on the monitor, for some reason they have made no commitment or even a timetable for the release of a new 4K Darbee unit, hence, since the current Darbee units only can handle up to 1080p, Oppo has eliminated it from this new Ultra HD player.

What is even more puzzling is, as of June 2016, they have also gone to the trouble of officially joining the UHD consortium, yet, they have announced no plans about any 4K unit forthcoming in the near future. Hopefully, that will change.

mikem's picture
Submitted by mikem on December 13, 2016 - 3:22pm

WOW! that is strange. Looks like Darbee missed the boat on this one. I have the original 'Darblet' going through my tv and receiver so I can testify that Darbee does all that it says. Thanks for the info.

mikem's picture
Submitted by mikem on December 15, 2016 - 1:12pm

This from Oppo re:my question if Darbee will be available on their new UHD player:"It will not, no. Darbee does not have a solution that supports native UHD media sources, so we will not have a player that supports Darbee processing for likely 18 to 24 months from now, if even at all." Bummer.

snorene's picture
Submitted by snorene on December 13, 2016 - 5:03am

What I love about OPPO players is that they are one of the few high-end audio/video devices, always award-winning, superior benchmark-setting performance, that I can actually afford.

tjsage's picture
Submitted by tjsage on December 13, 2016 - 6:54am

I already have the Roku 3 and it is great. I just like not using multiple remotes all the time. Back in the day when I worked and had tons of $ I consolidated everything down to Crestron remote(s). One screen remote for the entire system. I'm not there yet and not 4k yet. Waiting a bit for prices to settle.

chebner's picture
Submitted by chebner on December 13, 2016 - 6:30pm

The Harmony Ultimate Home is the second Harmony remote I've had. Couldn't be happier. For the price it really is a great remote, and super easy to program.

David Vaughn's picture
Submitted by David Vaughn on December 13, 2016 - 3:39pm
The BDP-203 won't have any streaming services, but I received a player today and it blows away the Samsung player (not even close) as far as the UI and its handling of discs. I knew the Samsung had some red push issues, but that's not the case with the BDP-203. Frankly, if you want a streaming device, then buy the Roku 4...that's what it was made for.