Oppo BDP-83 vs Panny DMP-BD-605, Video Test

[RoadRunner6]

I helped a friend pick out his new Blu-Ray player at Costco, a Panasonic DMP-BD605 ($250) and he said I could borrow it for a test (this is the same as the Panny BD60). I've had my new Oppo BDP-83 ($499) universal player for two weeks and I was curious to compare the two in video picture quality.

I rented several Blu-Ray movies that I already owned so that I would have a duplicate copy to compare side by side. I also had a SD DVD copy of each.

Master and Commander, Blu-Ray and DVD
Kung Fu Panda, Blu-Ray and DVD

I hooked each player up to my Panasonic TH-C50FD18, 1080p, Panny plasma via HDMI, with 1080p/24 output and all settings at neutral. I did not have the time to do an audio comparison or the help to do a blind test. My Panny takes about 5 seconds to switch between HDMI inputs so I cued up the players about 10 seconds apart. This allowed me to compare the same 5 second clip for PQ. I started both movies and made numerous 5 second checks. I looked for minute details such as facial close ups and very fine scene details.

This was much harder than it might sound. Finding suitable scenes that stay consistent for 5 seconds and have lots of detail for a close comparison of definition and clarity was tiring and took intense concentration.

First let me comment that the build quality and appearance of the Oppo were several steps above the Panny. However, I actually preferred the clear markings on the Panny remote. The Opp looked like 1 2 3 ON OFF < > ENTER instead of like this on the Panny 1 2 3 ON OFF < > ENTER. The manual and ODS menu's were very nice on the Opp.

Load times were a strength of the Oppo. I put a disc in the tray and then hit play. I would start the stopwatch when the tray was completely closed and then stop it when I saw script or a picture on the screen, the same for each player.

Master and Commander, Blu-Ray ... Oppo 29 sec. Panny 65 sec.
Master and Commander, SD DVD ... Oppo 12 sec. Panny 19 sec.
Kung Fu Panda, Blu-Ray ... Oppo 24 sec. Panny 56 sec.
Kung Fu Panda, SD DVD ... Oppo 17 sec. Panny 24 sec.
Chapter Changes, average ... Oppo 2 sec. Panny 3.5 sec.

After I finished comparing the two players with identical Blu-Ray discs, I loaded the Blu-Ray version in one player and the SD DVD version in the other and then visa versa. This allowed me to see how much difference there was between the BD and DVD discs and compare the relative upconversion performance of each player. There was less difference when the Oppo was playing the SD DVD and the Panny was playing the Blu-Ray than the other way around.

My conclusions were that the Oppo had the better PQ in both Blu-Ray and SD DVD's. However, I must emphasize that the difference especially in the Blu-Ray playback was very slight and subtle. I had to strain to see the differences which were always in favor of the Oppo. The upconversion of the Oppo was slightly more apparent but again quite subtle. I would say the Oppo was a hair better in Blu-Ray and two or three hairs better in SD DVD.

What if I left the room and had a friend load a Blu-Ray disc in one of the players and then returned. Would I be able to tell which player was which? Probably not. I would have a better chance if it was an SD DVD.

The Panasonic seems like an excellent player for the price. The Oppo during my two weeks with it seems to be an outstanding player both in video and audio. I have found several audio glitches which I presume will be fixed in future firmware upgrades.

The Oppo DMP-BD83 is definitely a keeper for me.

RR6

[Mr Peabody]

Good review. I have to wonder how much quality is being lost as the prices drop on the BD players. It would be interesting to compare the 605 to one of the earlier generations of Panasonic. I know the Samsung 1500 pales in comparison to the old 1200.

[Jack in Wilmington]

Yes great job with the review. That is the kind of comparisons that are more helpful to the everyday guy in the real world. There are two very good players that most of us can afford. Maybe an audio faceoff will be coming in the future. I got too anxious waiting for the Oppo and bought a Panny when I got my new plasma at Christmas. Looks like the Oppo was worth the wait for RR6.

[RoadRunner6]

Please understand I was being super critical here. I think the Panny at $250 is a great buy. Althought the reviews are not out yet on the 60/605/80, from the reviews last year on the 35/55 Panny at least is improving with each generation. I in fact tested out the model 30 and found the PQ excellent at that time.

I think we are at the top of the heap for Blu-Ray playback here and IMO these two players are only a tiny hairs difference in PQ. I think they are both no-brainers for the prices.

RR6

[Woochifer]

Wow, excellent info RR6! :thumbsup:

I think that the ace card for the Oppo is simply the format support and all-around flexibility they've built into that player (like being able to choose between DSD and PCM digital output for SACD playback). Outside of Blu-ray support, that Denon DVD player I got a couple of weeks ago supports more formats than any BD player. The Oppo is the only BD player that matches what universal DVD players have already provided. The Oppo will even create a 1080p24 output with DVDs.

My understanding is that the new Panny BD players are a much more significant change than the updates from the DMP-BD30 to the 35, and DMP-BD50 to the 55. This is because they are moving from a third party video processor to a new Panasonic chip. The previous round of upgrades primarily brought the players up to Profile 2.0 compliance.

I don't know if this is the same one that they put into their TVs, but I know that the previous generation Panasonic video chipsets used on their TVs had issues with 3:2 pulldown, which affected 1080i playback with film-based sources. The third generation chipsets used on the newer TVs supposedly improved the 3:2 pulldown performance, so I would presume that this is the processor used on their latest BD players.

If you want to do one more round of evaluation, you might want to try it using a regular 1080p60 output. This would give you an idea of how well both BD players handle the 3:2 pulldown, which has to be applied by either the player or the TV since all film-based BD sources use a native 1080p24 resolution (video-based BD sources use a native 1080i60 resolution). Our Panny TV model uses the previous generation video processor, and using the 1080p60 signal would bypass the problematic 3:2 pulldown processing on that TV.

[Worf101]

You all know my opinion on OPPO products, I own em, I love em but this review of LG's new rig has given me pause.

http://reviews.cnet.com/video-players-and-recorders/lg-bd390/4505-6463_7-33488056.html?&subj=re&tag=centerColumnArea1.1

All the OPPO has plus Netflix on deman.. yowsers...

Da Worfster

[pixelthis]

You all know my opinion on OPPO products, I own em, I love em but this review of LG's new rig has given me pause.

http://reviews.cnet.com/video-players-and-recorders/lg-bd390/4505-6463_7-33488056.html?&subj=re&tag=centerColumnArea1.1

All the OPPO has plus Netflix on deman.. yowsers...

Da Worfster

Wi-fi, its about time.
Player has a ton of features, really nice for a GOLDSTAR.:1:

[Woochifer]

You all know my opinion on OPPO products, I own em, I love em but this review of LG's new rig has given me pause.

http://reviews.cnet.com/video-players-and-recorders/lg-bd390/4505-6463_7-33488056.html?&subj=re&tag=centerColumnArea1.1

All the OPPO has plus Netflix on deman.. yowsers...

Da Worfster

That LG though doesn't support SACD and DVD-A. The video streaming features are increasingly commonplace, although it is kind of an odd pairing given that Netflix on demand primarily streams SD content. I'd be more curious to see how that LG's playback performance stacks up against the Sony, Panny, Pioneer, and Oppo players.

Wi-fi is long overdue on standalone players, given that the PS3 has had that capability from the beginning and Profile 2.0 requires a network connection.

LG knows how to fill up a spec sheet, but their BD players have been hit or miss. My understanding is that only Samsung has had more disc compatibility problems than LG (although LG's biggest problems were with their dual format BD/HD-DVD player).

[Worf101]

That LG though doesn't support SACD and DVD-A. The video streaming features are increasingly commonplace, although it is kind of an odd pairing given that Netflix on demand primarily streams SD content. I'd be more curious to see how that LG's playback performance stacks up against the Sony, Panny, Pioneer, and Oppo players.

Wi-fi is long overdue on standalone players, given that the PS3 has had that capability from the beginning and Profile 2.0 requires a network connection.

LG knows how to fill up a spec sheet, but their BD players have been hit or miss. My understanding is that only Samsung has had more disc compatibility problems than LG (although LG's biggest problems were with their dual format BD/HD-DVD player).
Thanks for the solid information and response. Unlike other's you told me real reasons to be suspect of LG's BR offerings.

Da Worfster

[Woochifer]

Thanks for the solid information and response. Unlike other's you told me real reasons to be suspect of LG's BR offerings.

Da Worfster

I think that in general the various manufacturers are ironing out the bugs and compatibility issues. The players that have come out in the past year have purportedly been a lot more stable than the previous models. I expect that LG would improve things in much the same way that Samsung has addressed a lot of the issues that plagued their earlier models. LG's biggest problems have been with their dual format players

The BD format is only in its third year, and recall that the DVD format still had compatibility problems and a lot of hit or miss players from established brands through about the fifth year after the format's debut.

[nightflier]

Has anyone done some a/b comparisons of the SACD playback on the Oppo compared to others? Sound performance is very important to me. I'm still on the fence on a few details, but the players on my short list are:

Oppo BDP-83
Denon DVD-A1UDCI
Marantz UD9004

Obviously, there is a huge disparity in price, but if the Oppo does not do SACD/DVD-A well, then the other might be the better option for me. Anyone else coming out with a universal player that I forgot?

[Mr Peabody]

NF, you might want to wait I heard Marantz is coming out with a flagship $6k BD player, the person didn't say much about it so I'm not sure if it's universal but I'd hope so at that price. I didn't find anything on it though so it must still be under wraps.

I did find this though: http://us.marantz.com/Products/2865.asp

[Woochifer]

Has anyone done some a/b comparisons of the SACD playback on the Oppo compared to others? Sound performance is very important to me. I'm still on the fence on a few details, but the players on my short list are:

Oppo BDP-83
Denon DVD-A1UDCI
Marantz UD9004

Obviously, there is a huge disparity in price, but if the Oppo does not do SACD/DVD-A well, then the other might be the better option for me. Anyone else coming out with a universal player that I forgot?

If SACD playback's a concern, then you might be better off going with the Oppo DV-980, which is very well regarded for its audio performance (even better than the more expensive DV-983, which placed more emphasis on the video processing and is actually the direct predecessor to the BD-83). It also has a measure of future proofing because the player can output the DSD signal directly through a HDMI output (or convert the signal to PCM for those HDMI receivers/processors that don't use dual-mode DACs) and take advantage of the more flexible multichannel setup built into receivers/processors. The BD-83 can do everything that the DV-980 can do, but it remains to be seen if its audio performance matches the DV-980, given that the BD-83 replaces the DV-983 which was not as well regarded for its audio.

Going with a separate SACD player means that you don't tie your BD player choice to the small handful that supports SACD. It's also potentially cheaper because the DV-980 costs $170 and you're getting some very high performing BD players nowadays for around $200-$250.

[nightflier]

Wooch, those are some valid points. I'll keep them in mind. I'm just trying to simplify the clutter of components, cables, and racks in my house so a single player would be ideal.

I would really like to read something about how the DV-83 performs on audio (both SACD and DVD-A), if anyone else has access to one or knows of a review out there.