Just pulled the trigger on a new Sony 4K TV and our old Sony Blu-ray player is getting a bit wobbly - cutting out whilst playing a disc or Netflix - so we’re probably going to need a replacement.
I’m kicking myself mightily for not buying an Oppo UDP203 new when they were around £500 - have you seen the current s/h prices for them? There are some Oppo players out there for much more reasonable money, but I’m pretty sure they don’t play 4K discs (of which I currently own none, though that might change).
So, questions for the assembled company:
How good is 4K streaming at the moment? Our wifi is fairly robust. (I ask because if it’s good, I may never feel the need to own a 4K Bluray player). I couldn’t find many 4K films on Netflix that I’d heard of, but then that’s not dissimilar to my experience of browsing 4K Bluray titles in HMV.
Would a s/h Oppo player be likely to give better performance playing DVD and Bluray than a new player? For example, a s/h 103D v. a new £400 player?
If I go down the new player path, what make(s) and model(s) of disc spinner would you recommend around the £400 price point? [extra points if it can play SACDs]
Streaming doesn’t match the performance of a 4K player and I doubt it will for many years.
I have the Panasonic DP-UB9000 and is superb. I never owned the Oppo, but from what I read, it doesn’t quite match the Panasonic. Probably out your price range, but I think that 4K players might be a thing of the past in a few years time, so I would just buy the best and it will no doubt give you 10+ years of entertainment.
I have ripped all my DVDs and BRs and stream them locally via my Oppo. My backup plan was to buy a Lexicon decoder and then will buy an intermediate box to stream from my NAS using something like Kodi, once the Oppo dies.
I have the Oppo 205 - fantastic player and replaced my Oppo 105 (non 4K player).
Since Oppo’s withdrawal from the Disc spinning market, my dealer has demoed the current top Pioneer and Panasonic models, and reports back that they’re not a patch on the last generation Oppo players (SQ or richness & depth of picture).
IMHO, streaming quality is nowhere near that of a good 4K BluRay disc (yet).
“my dealer has demoed the current top Pioneer and Panasonic models, and reports back that they’re not a patch on the last generation Oppo players (SQ or richness & depth of picture).”
In my original post, I was being polite in reference to the Oppo, as I know people have it here. As you bring up a dealer’s strong (or yours) opinion, I suggest you find another dealer. The Panasonic picture is quite a bit better than the Oppo. It uses very clever software to bring highlight and shadow details never previously seen before on any player. When it comes to 4:4:4 chroma subsampling and high dynamic range, it leaves the Opposite behind. That’s before we go onto Dolby Vision. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, without talking about the better skin tones and a other improvements.
P.S. I have thoroughly compared the two, after I bought the Panasonic.
Both actually. The picture is gorgeous when viewed on my LG OLED - fantastic dynamic range and gorgeous HDR, whilst the sound through my Arcam receiver is phenomenal.
Lovely to see a passionate response! Thank you for making my day!
Really pleased you like & prefer the Panasonic - I’ve had good experience with Panasonic in the past (I had their first 42 inch plasma flat screen monitor!) and am delighted that you are enjoying your 4K player.
You’ve got to factor in that the two Pioneer Universal Disc Players are not available as a result of CV19, one source said Autumn and one said end of year when I enquired yesterday.
The money I would have spent on holiday…
The Panasonic is still for sale , and there seems to be a higher end Sony which is also a Universal Player. This is the UBP X1100 at around £750 , but there is no mention of it on the Sony web-site , it doesn’t get rave reviews but does have SACD
Unfortunately, as noted earlier, s/h Oppo 203 and 205 prices have gone beyond crazy, so they’re right off the table. S/H 105s are currently going for the same ballpark prices as a new UB9000 which, also noted earlier, is above my budget so they’re out too. [This is the point where anyone here with an old 203, 205 or 105 they want to get rid of might want to contact me outside the forum!]
It’s only the Oppo 103 that currently seems to be going for the sort of money I’m prepared to drop on a new player, so it’s a choice between one of them or a new 4K player that also plays SACDs. This seems to narrow it down to Sonys since Panasonic doesn’t support SACD on its current players as far as I can tell.
The more I think about it, and the more I look at what titles are available on 4K, the more I think my next player is still going to spend the bulk of its time playing normal Blu rays and DVDs rather than 4K discs. Accordingly, it’s my next player’s performance with these sources that’s going to be most important.
I don’t think anyone is saying difference in cost equates to the same relative difference in performance, it’s up the potential purchaser what amount they are willing to spend for a certain level of performance.
The 4K BR market now is tiny and niche, so there is much less choice than in years gone by where you would have Sony, Denon, Pioneer, Oppo, Primare and various other ‘hi-end’ players including modded ones.
Sourcing them from a decent dealer is worth it if it ever goes wrong, as like you say mechanical disc mechanisms can be prone to failure.
I moved from a Denon 3800 to an Oppo 205 when moving to 4K and quickly appreciated that for me the Oppo analogue out was not a patch on my old Denon- alas nothing is. I bought a Panasonic 9000 and tried them back to back for a week or two. The Panasonic was better analogue out, although quite inflexible with limited adjustments. I exected the picture to be better with the Oppo, but it wasnt the Panasonic had the edge, this was with and without the Lumagen. Not much to choose between them picture wise but in my set up (Lumagen>epson LS10500) I preferred the Panasonic. I now use it HDMI out with a processor, never A-B’s the players in this scenario.
Just taken delivery of a KabelDirekt optical cable and it’s working rather well passing the 5.1 signal from whatever I’m watching directly to the amp (which, of course, the 3.5mm output couldn’t have done).
Tomorrow will hopefully bring the male IEC socket I can connect to the captive mains cable to use a better power lead. I’m hopeful this might smooth out a few picture niggles I’ve been noticing, especially with lower-res sources.
Very close to pulling the trigger on a new Blu-ray player too. I’ll keep you posted. Thanks again for all the suggestions, whether I act on them or not!
Just taken delivery of a Sony UBP-X800M2 (4K player). It’s settling in nicely, though I’m not convinced it’s a huge step up from my old (and fairly cheap) non-4K player, at least when playing normal Blu-rays.
Playing a few SACDs has been quite a fun experience. I now need to buy a few more…
Actually, I was pleasantly surprised last night when I ordered four from the tax-dodgers for under £45. Not quite the same ballpark as the 99p charity shop jobs, but better than I was expecting.
So, I’ve got Brothers in Arms, DSOTM, the Telarc 1812 and a Linn sampler coming my way. Rain forecast for the weekend, so every reason to stay indoors for once.
I’m not sure what your tastes in music are but I would recommend the Dutton Vocalion website. They have a good range of all types of music, many of their discs are in sacd and surround sound. They are also quite affordable.