Audio Video News

Between Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, online shoppers in the U.S. shelled out close to $8 billion ($7.9 billion), representing an 18 percent increase over sales during the same period last year, according to Adobe Analytics, which tracks online transactions at the largest 100 online retailers.

A majority of viewers who watch video outside traditional TV distribution prefer professionally generated content to amateur fodder, according to a recent survey. That, in a nutshell, is why the Writers Guild of America went on strike. They want compensation for the use of their work in new-media applications.

Support for the Dolby Vision high dynamic range (HDR) format is now available for Oppo’s new UDP-205 and Top Pick-designated UDP-203 4K/Ultra HD Blu-ray players.

Oppo is well known for making superb DVD players, and it looks like the company is about to do it again with the introduction of its first Blu-ray player, the BDP-83. Slated to be a truly universal player with the ability to play Blu-ray, DVD, CD, DVD-Audio, and SACD, the BDP-83 has been in beta testing for many months, and it's finally close to shipping.

When Oppo introduced the BDP-83 universal Blu-ray player for $500 (<A href="http://www.ultimateavmag.com/hddiscplayers/oppo_bdp-83_universal_disc_pl... <I>UAV</I>'s review here</A>), it set the price/performance standard&#151;in fact, many consider it to be the benchmark against which all other Blu-ray players should be judged. After upgrading the BDP-83's analog-audio outputs late last year, resulting in the BDP-83SE for $900 (<A href="http://blog.ultimateavmag.com/ultimate-gear/audiophile_oppo/">profiled here</A>), the company today adds a third model to its lineup, the BDP-80, which will carry a retail price tag of only $289.

Oppo Digital today announced an audiophile version of the S&V Top Pick-designated UDP-203 Ultra HD Blu-ray player introduced last December.

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.