Need a new BD player, region free
Hello jafreeman, I own an Oppo 105 player that has performed great for my system's 1080p video needs and for excellent performance on audio discs. It also serves as an excellent 5.1 surround sound processor with its analog unbalanced rca outputs (up to 7.1) that I connect directly to multiple amps in my system. I believe your Oppo 95 is very similar to the 105 in its combination of excellent video and audio performance. So, I have a similar interest as you in the Panasonic UB9000 4K player as a possible 4K replacement for my 105. I'm considering updating my 1080p Panasonic 65" VT60 series plasma hdtv to a 2019 LG 9C series 4K OLED 65" hdtv and understand I'll need to upgrade my Bluray player to 4K also. From what I've read, however, the UB9000 is excellent for video quality but doesn't quite equal the audio performance of either my 105 or your 95. There doesn't currently seem to be a 4K Bluray player available that both matches the video and audio quality of the 95/105 and has all their useful features. For example, both the up to 7.1 analog surround channel and balanced XLR L+R stereo outputs on the 95/105 are veryimportant to me but may not be for you. The UB9000 has both of these features/capabilities which is great but it supposedly lacks the separate and high quality audio sections and dac chips that results in superior audio performance on stereo and surround sound audio that I think are important to both of us. I'm currently looking into the Pioneer Elite BDP-88F, the Sony current and possible upcoming high end models, and any other available brands and models I may discover,to determine whether any of these 4K players are closer matches to the 95 and 105 in audio/video quality and beneficial features. I'll post again on any hopefully successful findings. Tim |
There really isn't an officially supported "region free" player because the manufacturers are restricted by DVD and bluray licensing to only be able to play discs in a certain region. You can buy hacks and modifications if you want. There's a region free plug-in kit on ebay for the Oppo 95 that allows you to switch the region for the player at any time. It's a manual process and will set the player to play from a specific region. https://www.ebay.com/itm/OPPO-DIGITAL-BDP-93-BDP-95-DIY-MULTI-CODE-REGION-FREE-USB-UPGRADE-CABLE-ABC... Not sure what other options you have. |
Hello auxinput, Good info but I think a lot of Oppo owners are interested in upgrading to a 4K universal disc player that has the high quality video/audio performance and features that the no longer produced Oppo 205 possesses at anywhere near its original $1400 price tag. Any auxinput on a high quality, currently or soon to be available 4K player that can come close to rivaling the 205? Thanks, Tim |
Thanks, Noble 100, I'm on about the same track as you are--still enjoying a 60" Kuro Elite plasma but would easily go to OLED when necessary. I would have bought that Panasonic UB9000, but really needed a region-free player just for a TV series finally issued on blu-ray, but from Europe. I ended up buying a Panasonic DMP T27OPS online for not a lot of money. It's a very little unit with only an HDMI output, but it works great out of the TV sound system. Factory box says unit was opened only for modification to region free. The OPPO 95 will remain as main for now--haven't been using it for CD playback, but I will if I replace it as a video player. Good luck hunting for a 4K player that has the platform and heft of an OPPO--other than the UB9000. You may have to have two units, UB9000 for your video, OPPO for your audio---best of both. Thanks, auxinput--I would have gone for that kit if I had seen it first. |
Hello jafreeman, Just another sign of quality that your excellent Kuro Elite plasma is still working well for you. It seems we’re both also using classic models of plasmas. you in Europe using the first generation of the excellent performing Pioneer plasmas and me in the U.S. using the last of the equally excellent 2nd generation of Panasonic plasmas. I’ve read that the engineers who developed the original Kuro plasmas at Pioneer were recruited by Panasonic and responsible for developing their fine plasmas. Maybe we should both just sell our plasmas to a local hdtv museums and move on to our new OLED 4K hdtvs, already. My Panasonic plasma has performed flawlessly for over 5 years now and is still going strong but also know my switch to OLEDs is inevitable. I’m thinking the significantly reduced energy costs of operating an OLED hdtv compared to a plasma are only realized, and begin to offset the price of the tv, once we actually own one. I also consider the self emissive OLEDs as just the latest manifestation of the self emissive plasma technology; with the same inky blacks, great contrast ratios, ultra- smooth motion rendition and even better picture quality. C’mon man, life’s short and we both should just take the plunge and start enjoying some OLED. I’m going to buy an LG 65" C9 as soon as I figure out which high quality 4K Bluray player to buy to pair it with. Cheers, Tim |
Hello jafreeman, As far as auxinput's comments on Region Free is concerned, he is partially correct. Here's a linked article that explains the details well, it's from 2016 but I believe it's still accurate: https://www.220-electronics.com/blog/region-free-4k-ultra-hd-blu-ray-players-fact-fiction/ Here's another good article from 2019: https://www.whathifi.com/us/advice/ultra-hd-blu-ray-everything-you-need-to-know Mattmiller, if the above articles are still correct, makes a good point. Tim |
I found and bought an Oppo 205 4K Universal player, region free, but I had to pay a premium at a total shipped price of $2,100 from the HiFi Boutique in Orlando, Fla. It's scheduled to arrive tomorrow. Weird, I still feel lucky since it fits my needs so well. I guess they're worth what we're willing to pay. Tim |
Hello jafreeman, Thanks for the congrats, it's well worth the extra $700 to me. All the current hi-end players I was considering and researching were missing one or more of the Oppo's features, such as analog surround outputs for up to 7.1 surround channels, they couldn't play SACD audio discs and they couldn't play DVD video discs. Lucky, I actually wasn't even searching for a 205, since I thought they'd all be asking $3K or more, and I just stumbled on the one I bought. I'm happy and relieved, Tim |
hello i have a Oppo BDP-103 i use this to connect to a 6tb external hard drive with movies and 24/192 flac. music files that the Oppo plays. the audio is sent via the coax output to a high quality separate DAC. recently i tried hooking the Oppo player up to the internet to access Tidal hi-res music service. i see the Tidal icon on the Oppo OSD. but it will not open to the browser. is their something else you can recommend? objectives are: 1. access to external hard drive for music and video files all formats via USB 2. access to internet hi-res music services 3. controllable via a iPhone or tablet 4. HDMI output to monitor 5. PCM coax output thank you |
Hello jag, For Tidal, I 'd suggest you go to their site online and signup for a subscription or a free limited trial period. I believe Tidal will then download their software to your computer and Oppo 103 to activate the service and you'll just need to click on your existing icon or a new one they'll download. If you have any problems, the site will direct you to their support team. It'd also be a good idea to read your manual to gain familiarity with the exact Oppo protocol. Good luck, Tim |
