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OPPO BDP-103D Darbee Edition

gadgtfreek

SatelliteGuys Master
Original poster
May 29, 2006
22,105
865
Lower Alabama
http://oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-103/blu-ray-BDP-103D-Overview.aspx


Preorder now for $599.

Marvell is gone, Mediatek does all decoding, scaling (to 1080p) and deinterlacing on both HDMI outs. VRS Clearview technology from Silicon Image (bought the Anchor Bay tech) is responsible for 4K and edge enhancement processing. Finally, the Darbee on board processor allows you to turn on and off Darbee tech, and can also be updated through firmware unlike the older Darblet which had to be sent back in for updates.

The other difference here is that HDMI may look a little less smooth now. One point of contention with the 103 was that the Marvell chip had undefeatable noise reduction applied to HDMI at all times, in the 103D the VRS chip and Darbee chip are not ever doing anything unless you activate one of their features. The rest of the time it's strictly the custom Mediatek solution.

The remote is also slightly different because it has a Darbee button for direct access.

Here is a translated review with a lot of pics. The unit looks the same as a 103, but the menu's have changed a little.

http://translate.google.fr/translat...ee-edition-mega-test-avec-plus-de-100-photos/
 
If you have owned a separate Darblet, you will like this interface a lot more. Easy to adjust, better remote of course.
 
You know it.

I watched Hell on Wheels and Strike back last night, native into the 103D and out at 1080p/60 with Darbee on 35%. Looks nice.
 
Ok, so my early impressions:


  • It's accurate on it's output, just like the 103.
  • It seems to be better/faster? with some handshakes, vs my 103.
  • Darbee implementation is better than the Darblet (menu's and ease), but you are limited to Blu-ray and the HDMI In for processing.
  • I'm still not a fan of Darbee use on broadcast HD, while it makes some scenes look "better", other scenes you can note that compression artifacts are exaggerated as well.
  • I know one of the Darbee slogans is that it works excellent on a high quality source, but I find it tough to get myself to turn it on with Blu-ray.
  • I'd say if you want an Oppo and Darblet, go for it. If you have a player you like with a Darblet already, probably no need to rush out and get one.

Overall I commend Oppo for the implementation, they did what appears to be a great job.
 
Still loving the player, it does everything I need it to well and the DVD playback is very good. Im still not a fan of the Darbee effect, so I leave it off, but those that like it will enjoy how easily it is controlled on the player.

There is a bug where some streaking is seen when the Darbee is on, and Oppo is working on a fix.

Got my Roku stick in and messed around with it. First impression is I like it.

Of course it can look goofy sticking out of the front, but I only intend on plugging it in when I use it. Easily setup and registered with my Roku account, the Oppo remote worked fine but I went ahead and paired it with my Roku 3 remote. Watched Netflix and the PQ was outstanding, it output 1080p/24. One thing I like about the stick and the Oppo, is while the stick still does RGB (like all Roku's) the Oppo is outputting it at ycbcr. For me, this is a much better scenario than sending my display RGB. Amazon VOD tv shows looked great, of course that output is 720p/60. I love that its just like the HDMI In Back, where you have full control of the Oppo menu's as well as the Info button reporting exactly what is coming into the Oppo from the stick and what the Oppo is sending out to the display. Wifi connected easily and my speedtest app on the Roku reported what I would expect.

My only complaint right not would be that when I plugged it in, it put the Oppo in quick start mode which I usually leave off, but I guess that is no big deal.
 
I just received my Epson Pro Cinema 6030UB today. Connected to my Oppo 103D, I couldn't be more satisfied with my home theater.
 
Since I do not feel the Xbone is yet a complete project as a blu-ray player, I decided to hang on to the 103D (I was initially going to sell it). It is pretty much the hub of everything I have going on right now. While still not a fan of the Darbee, I have my TiVo Roamio going to the HDMI Back and set to native output, and the Directv HDDVR going to the HDMI Front, also set to native. The Oppo 103D is set to output those 720p/1080i feeds at 1080p/60 to my VT50 and it has been great so far. The 103D prerelease was problem free, where the 103 was not so much. The HDMI Front is also serving double duty because I use my Roku Streaming Stick there with my Roku 3 remote paired to it. That is one place where the Oppo falls short, but the Roku stick has worked fine for me so far and the PQ is excellent on the major services. One thing I really like is while all Roku stuff outputs RGB, including the stick; it is processed by the Oppo and output as ycbcr. Netflix is also 1080p/24hz on some things, were most devices are only 1080p/60.

For $600, scaling/deinterlacing two DVR's and full streaming with the Roku stick (additional $$$), I really have zero complaints. I switched to Redmere cables recently, but even so the front port is problematic, so I also added one of these and it works well with the HDMI cable going up and back instead of coming out and having to turn 180 degrees into the front port.

270 degree from Amazon


I am also running the newest beta software, and it is working fine for me. There was some streaking reported with Darbee on, and the latest beta reportedly fixes that.
 
http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-103/BDP103-firmware-69-0124B.aspx

 
Thanks

I am always happy to get a beta update. Thanks for the heads up---the instant replay sounds interesting.
 
Ive been happy lately with the performance ,mainly on the VP side. I run both the tivo and hr44 thru it.

Also started tinkering with Darbee a little, Ive kinda been against it up to this point.
 
I havent had an audio error on anything but Total Recall, but that was something else.

What movies have been a problem.
 
Monsters U, and most of the newer Disney titles. Yeah, I use my 320 on all of those.

S~
 
Ah. Yeah, it seems they claimed to have worked with Dolby to fix it, hopefully it gets all the titles working correctly. I know they only specifically mention monster U in the beta notes but I dont have any to test.
 
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