Blu Ray player

If you're willing to fork over $500, I doubt you will go wrong with the Oppo BDP-93 (the 83 is discontinued). However, there are a few items to consider before selecting a player:

First, do you need a universal player (i.e., SACD, DVD-A and HDCD support)?

Second, do you want a quality analogue section (identify also if you want dedicated two-channel support) for outputting audio? Will you be sending audio to your receiver via HDMI?

Third, do you need or care for quality upscaling of SD DVD to help make your SD DVDs look as good as possible? Oppos include quality processors that get the job done well. Some other brands do as well, but the mass-produced players will not do as good of a job. However, depending on your screen size and how critical of a viewer you are, you might not notice the difference. What screen size will you be watching and how far do you sit back from your set? Furthermore, have you been happy with DVD performance on your PS3?

Fourth, do you want a speedy player? Oppos and other players based on the Mediatek kit tend to be quick and responsive. Sonys are also reportably quite quick, but Panasonics and players based on the Panasonic platform (e.g., Denon and Marantz) can be a bit sluggish.

Fifth, do you want a player with wireless support and the ability to handle NetFlix? If not, you can probably get a pretty good deal picking up one of last year's models.

Let us know your answers. If, for example, you don't need a universal player, you will not be hooking your player up via analogue audio connections and you don't care for the best upscaling performance, you will probably do just as well with a mass-produced Blu-ray player from the likes of Sony or Panasonic, as Blu-ray video quality is similar across players. Heck, you will do just as well sticking with your PS3 unless you really want a standalone player.

Good questions. Depending on your specific needs, there may be no reason to give up on the PS3. It performs very well for Blu-Ray viewing. Let us know the specifics of your needs and we can hit you up with recommendations.

I have a 55" DLP and will be watching it from about 6 - 10 feet.

That really did not answer any of Seamaster's questions!


I am going to assume that you have no need for SACD or DVD-Audio capability. I am also going to assume that if you are used to the PS3, then you are going to get impatient with a slower player. That really narrows things down (in a perfect world) to an Oppo or keep the PS3. The questions that still need answering, is what are you doing for audio? If you have a receiver, does it have HDMI inputs or 5.1/7.1 channel inputs? Do you want Netflix or other streaming capability? And finally, do you have a lot of DVDs and is having the best quality upscaling for those DVDs important to you?