Two More Oppo Blu-ray Players Debut

Oppo’s success in the burgeoning Blu-ray market is reflected in it launching two more HD models to complement the BDP-83.

Both the high-end BDP-83SE (above) and the entry-level BDP-80 (below) go on sale this month in NZ; the latter has just landed, for $799, and the former’s due next week, for $2135, compared to $1350 for the BDP-83.

Oppo’s NZ distributor, online retailer Murray Thompson, of RapalloAV, expects the BDP-80’s sales in particular to be “phenomenal” based on the popularity of the BDP-83.

“The sales of the BDP-83 are way beyond ever what I thought were possible in New Zealand,” he told ScreenScribe.tv. “Sales have way out-numbered any of the previous Oppo DVD players.

“Many customers have returned to buy a second player for the bedroom after falling in love with it.

“We have sold sometimes up to six at a time to some installers and I’ve been told they have even set them upon a number of super yachts.”

The BDP-83 has notched up enough four- and five-star reviews to make it the red-hot Blu-ray darling of the media. And not just with reviewers (including this one) – elite manufacturer Lexicon recently was embarrassed by coverage of it rebadging the BDP-83 and selling it for a massive mark-up.

While the BDP-83 is more competitively priced in the US, here it boasts the bonus of being hardware modified by the distributor so it can play Blu-rays and DVDs from anywhere in the world.

The new players also will be hardware modified but the BDP-80 lacks the ABT2010 upscaling chip that makes the BDP-83 such a pleasure to use with DVDs. Also missing is 24Hz upconversion of DVDs, remote control backlighting, and an RS-232 port.

While the BDP-80 retains 7.1 analogue outputs, for buyers with older, HD-compatible a/v receivers without HDMI connections, not so the BDP-83’s dedicated stereo analogue outputs.

Meanwhile, the BDP-83SE is a special edition of the original that will appeal to audiophiles because of its new audio analogue stage and improved power supply.

To compare the differences in more depth, see Audioholics’ First Looks on the BDP-80 and the BDP-83SE, or visit Oppo Digital and RapalloAV .