Amazon Customer
- Comment
Admittedly, my audio and video equipment would be considered low end by most who might consider the OPPO BDP-103. That said, after 3 years of nothing but frustration with my highly rated "cheap" Samsung player ($80), using the OPPO has been a great joy. Perhaps my imagination, but I swear I hear a difference in the audio even on my modest system. Alas, the video is what it is ... no difference there, but I didnt really expect it on my system. My big caveat to anybody getting this unit is ... read the manual! Ive seen many reviews which claim something isnt working but, after my 2 hours of manual reading, found references where certain features will work only with a specific level of updates or specific choices in Settings. If youre not a manual reader, well, hopefully you have enough experience in modern equipment to just know what to do, or you have a friend who knows, or that you dont really need an advanced feature. For my purposes, the system was easily connected to my TV as well as my audio system. Everything works perfectly. The wifi connection was easy. So far, it has read every file format Ive thrown at it. I love that it has its own screen (my previous cheap player required the TV to be on to keep track of what was going on, which is silly for audio only). The remote: This is bitter-sweet for me. On the one hand, its BIG and HEAVY. On the other hand, its big and heavy. I love the heft, and the buttons are big enough my 60+-yr-old eyes can read the captions. But it is big and heavy. The reason for only 4-stars? As I stated earlier, for many features, it is essential to read the manual to verify everything is "right" to make it work. It would be better if the device was self-analyzing and would give messages through the TV with specific help, with selections to go directly to the appropriate setting to alter things when the player is asked to do something the current settings dont support. For any who might care ... this is my second OPPO, the first being purchased 12 years ago. It is still going strong at another home. I hope my 103 will give me similar longevity. One last item - I installed the OPPO media control app on my Android phone. I almost didnt after reading several reviews, but am glad I did. Most complaints seem to come from a lack of connection to their network (did they connect the wifi USB stick or a wired connector to the OPPO? Who knows), or the apparent incomplete set of buttons on the remote control function. Regarding the latter ... When selecting the remote control it defaults to the middle 1/3rd of the actual remote. This contains most of the moment to moment controls. If you want to have access to the other buttons, simply scroll up or down. While I have not done a button-by-button comparison, it appears to me that every button on the remote is replicated on the remote control portion of the media controller app. So, bottom line - if you can afford it, I highly recommend the OPPO BDP-103, even if the rest of your system components arent of the same caliber. After only a few days, Im glad I made this purchase.