Hi Lon, just watched this video now. I have an Oppo 203 since 2017. I play my MKV 4K UltraHD HDR files via SMB network share, and it plays without any delays, without any issues. If I use DLNA shares, then indeed it does have the starting delay like you showed here. Conclusion, for the Oppo 203: - dont use DLNA shares - use SMB shares, its awesome : )
Have you checked your server usage for that media streaming? Sounds like it's not able to direct play the file and your NAS is having to transcode, causing your issues
In this case I was streaming direct from the NAS (not going through the Plex DLNA) so there wouldn't be anything that would do the transcoding. I have a feeling the player just isn't optimized for these UHD MKV files. Will be interesting to see if the Sony player I just got does better.
Me myself i play the mkv file right off the hardrive with no streaming, straight files and and disc for me , i have thousands of bluray movies and some ultra hd movies everything doesnt have to be streamed.
Hi Lon, great video. I was wondering how this player is handling the cinavia copy protection? Because that is the problem that I mostly face playing my bluray backups on bluray players.
Rip OPPO was regarded in many circles as making great players for enthusiasts. One quirk I've disliked about bluray players that do DLNA is they dont render the subtitles even though the source has them, so still end up doing playback off my thumbdrive from time to time
I scanned the comments, but I couldn't an answer to a question. You say network, but there is no mention as to whether it is a wired or wireless one. I found that I had better connection with my NAS using a wired network because of latency.
I have to disagree with load times on the 203. If you have an SMB set up, large video files load within seconds. This thing is a beast and rivals the performance of my Nvidia Shield.
My Plex Media Server is housed on a Freenas Server. I will admit that the Plex DLNA connection speed is ridiculously slow. However, browsing my library with just SMB and navigating through Freenas rather than PMS is much quicker.
you can run Dolby hdr and HDR10 disk and MKV file on the new models of Xbox one; named model S [230$ at 500GB] and Model X [500$ at 1TB]. And to get atoms you simple buy Dobly access [15$ in windows store for Xbox and Windows 10 computers ]. And in addition to for easy ripping UHD blu Ray by buying and use the program DeUHD [60$ for 6 months] in Xbox one on dev mode. the end lowest cost is Around the price 310$. in time last 20 minutes to set up.
what do you about hdmi audio splitter like 3x1 V1.4 HDMI Switch with TOSLINK Optical SPDIF & RCA L/R Audio Out, 3 Port HDMI Audio Extractor Splitter with Remote, Supports ARC, 4kx2k@30hz, Full 3D, 1080P on amazon.com ? and have you used one .
If you want a network media player that supports proper resolution and color space switching, look into Zidoo... X8, X9S, X10 or the soon due X20/X20 Pro. ZDMC (Zidoo's Kodi 17.6 fork) is used as the front-end to a native player that does HD, 3D MVC and 4K HDR very well. No Netflix, Amazon, etc. Did a review (forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=291943) a while back, but it's worth a consideration for serious local media streaming home theater enthusiasts.
Appreciate your review. I have arcam avr850. There is a feature in arcam to have better two channel speakers set up. Its called Direct sterio which I cannot run through hdmi rather analog wiring. Does this model support analog option to connect front two speakers
Pick up the phone and call OPPO, they may improve your issue in next firmware release. While the company will be moving away from making new players, they have promised to continue support long after and they have some of the best support in the electronics industry. They will still be there just moving more into the Cell phone market. Thank you for the video.
Great video, actually bought the player myself two weeks ago, partly because of the Oppo news of quitting the blu-ray player production. I will note an issue regarding the 'HDMI in' that I discovered, if you plug a Chromecast ultra into that port the only HDR support I can get is HDR10 via that port, the Dolby Vision appears to not pass through the Oppo. Netflix Jessica Jones playing through HDMI input port would only play in HDR10 format, while if I plug the Chromecast Ultra directly into my Denon AVR-S920W receiver it gets Netflix Dolby Vision support. I will note one item trying to play your .mkv movie through the Oppo, which I believe you are going to run into that issue with every player that has Cinavia protection, which is required on any Blu-ray labeled player, makes playing ripped movies with comparable audio to hard blu-ray copy the blu-ray player will stop playing or give you a warning message like “Audio outputs temporarily muted. Do not adjust the playback volume. The content being played is protected by Cinavia and is not authorized for playback on this device. For more information, see www.cinavia.com. Message Code 3.” after 20 minutes. a few items to note of the player.
Great review. I like the looks of this device. Looks professional rather than cheaper comsumer device like the othe 4k players that are out right now. Lon isnt One advantage of you upgrading to your new your receiver is its a one stop shop with all your inputs going into the receiver and not having to run the hdmi to the tv is that you can switch both audio and video with your receiver instead of having to change your tv input with your tv remote? Is that correct?
Thanks for this video, im very intersted into what you end up buying to replace this, specially also looking for a good Network player that supports 4k/MKV/HDR. Maybe something from DUNE or PopcornHour?
Sad to see such a good device being discounted. But I was wondering, would you be able to make a video of your process of making mkv movies? I know you mention it a lot but I would like to see how you do it and your settings for configuring it.
I stand corrected. I see now that makemkv can read them with "UH-friendly drives". They don't actually bypass AACS like DeUHD does. Just gotta get one with the right firmware.
The Wirecutter's backup pick for best 4K Blu-ray player, the Samsung UBD-M8500, is on sale for $95 today only (Wednesday) at buydig dot com. I bought one last Black Friday for around $120, so I don't really need another one... Good player, but I'm not a fan of the dinky remote. I've honestly never used it to play anything from my NAS, so I don't know if it plays MKVs.
I just got my player today...going to test all of this out...I was thinking as a workaround is to plug in a usb hard drive to the player...then on my synology NAS mount that USB drive as a network drive and rip my movies to that mapped drive...it’s a hassle of a workaround but I am going to try it this weekend.
I have the device and use it for 1080 movies over network using OSHARE and there are no delays or issues. Perfect. No delays. Try oshare as recommended on oppo site.
The Great Santini unfortunately, Oshare is only available for Windows at this time. It thus won’t work on Lon’s WD NAS. My experience so far is the same as Lon’s; startup time for MKVs is quite long from my WD NAS. But I have another device that plays 1080p MKV Blu-ray rips really well, a very cheap Amlogic 905X box running LibreELEC/Kodi. It automatically switches refresh rate and passes through Dolby ThueHD and DTS MA. I do not yet need a player that works well with 4K MKVs. I will be keeping my 203 because I listen to multichannel SACDs and use it as a Roon endpoint.
Interesting and good info. as always, so thanks for that. Also, the fingerprint smudges on the monitor from13:00 onwards reminded me that I've been meaning to get an iRoller for my SP3 (and yes, I used your affiliate link). Thanks.
regarding the slow/unreliable mkv streaming... did you try using a different "controller" than the on-oppo browser (i.e. only using the oppo as a dlna renderer)?
so sad I loved oppo they made some of the top quality stuff. Shame to see such a great company leave the marketplace. I hope someone picks up the slack.
So Philips just updated their UHD Blu-ray players from 2017 with Dolby Vision support. And it’s only $200. Can we get a comparison video between the Oppo player and the Phillips player on which delivers the best Dolby Vision picture?
A good portion of the reviews of the LG player say the player is super loud if you read the amazon reviews www.amazon.com/LG-Electronics-UP970-Ultra-HD-Compatibility/dp/B06XGGFZ9R/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1524837378&sr=1-1&keywords=lg+up970
I bought that Phillips player a while ago for the Dolby vision. For some reason not many know about this player. It is great, especially for the price. 3d playback could be a little better but the Dolby vision is excellent.
Before I even watch the video I will say this again, overpriced. No reason for this product which is why it's going away. I personally am glad to see it go.
Oppo had the sense to stop making players, because 4k is a load of total shit, unless you're streaming 4k material from the net, which of course the Oppo players can't do...that's why I'm sticking with 1080p because at least you are getting what you pay for! Oh and yes, my Oppo bdp 105d is connected to my Mitsubishi HC 4000
Chuckles Nuts MP4 uses AAC or ALS for audio, and doesn’t support Dolby TrueHD or DTS MA, the two lossless audio formats found on Blu-ray. That makes it a nonstarter for people who care about preserving Blu-ray quality.
Hi Lon, just watched this video now.
I have an Oppo 203 since 2017.
I play my MKV 4K UltraHD HDR files via SMB network share, and it plays without any delays, without any issues.
If I use DLNA shares, then indeed it does have the starting delay like you showed here.
Conclusion, for the Oppo 203:
- dont use DLNA shares
- use SMB shares, its awesome : )
Oh man, I've been really wanting one of these. Was sad to hear Oppo was ending production, but I still hope to get one at some point.
I hear that Lon has one for sale.
It can also play 24-bit DVD audio and SASD = super audio CD music with 5 audio channels
Great video, but I find it hilarious at how many workarounds are needed for the senseless DRM situation for Bluray.
Have you checked your server usage for that media streaming? Sounds like it's not able to direct play the file and your NAS is having to transcode, causing your issues
In this case I was streaming direct from the NAS (not going through the Plex DLNA) so there wouldn't be anything that would do the transcoding. I have a feeling the player just isn't optimized for these UHD MKV files. Will be interesting to see if the Sony player I just got does better.
I have the same player and use it to streams my ripped uhd's, plays within 5 seconds. Was the firmware updated? Maybe the network is not fast enough
Very interesting video...full if some great knowledge. Thanks Lon✌
Would the Audio Only port be suitable for a Soundbar or would I be fine with the Main HDMI port only?
Does it play mkv file with dts hd audio burned to bluray disk as a data disk?
Me myself i play the mkv file right off the hardrive with no streaming, straight files and and disc for me , i have thousands of bluray movies and some ultra hd movies everything doesnt have to be streamed.
Hi Lon, great video. I was wondering how this player is handling the cinavia copy protection? Because that is the problem that I mostly face playing my bluray backups on bluray players.
Rip OPPO was regarded in many circles as making great players for enthusiasts. One quirk I've disliked about bluray players that do DLNA is they dont render the subtitles even though the source has them, so still end up doing playback off my thumbdrive from time to time
I scanned the comments, but I couldn't an answer to a question. You say network, but there is no mention as to whether it is a wired or wireless one. I found that I had better connection with my NAS using a wired network because of latency.
Serves as a fantastic single disc CD player as well.
I have to disagree with load times on the 203. If you have an SMB set up, large video files load within seconds. This thing is a beast and rivals the performance of my Nvidia Shield.
I had the same slow experience with SMB on mine.
My Plex Media Server is housed on a Freenas Server. I will admit that the Plex DLNA connection speed is ridiculously slow. However, browsing my library with just SMB and navigating through Freenas rather than PMS is much quicker.
Does this player support full UHD ISO support with Dolby vision through SMB?
What is the best network streamer for 2023 then?
You went deep in the woods for this video!
GOOOOOD LORD THAT A LOT OF MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
you can run Dolby hdr and HDR10 disk and MKV file on the new models of Xbox one; named model S [230$ at 500GB] and Model X [500$ at 1TB]. And to get atoms you simple buy Dobly access [15$ in windows store for Xbox and Windows 10 computers ]. And in addition to for easy ripping UHD blu Ray by buying and use the program DeUHD [60$ for 6 months] in Xbox one on dev mode. the end lowest cost is Around the price 310$. in time last 20 minutes to set up.
what do you about hdmi audio splitter like 3x1 V1.4 HDMI Switch with TOSLINK Optical SPDIF & RCA L/R Audio Out, 3 Port HDMI Audio Extractor Splitter with Remote, Supports ARC, 4kx2k@30hz, Full 3D, 1080P on amazon.com ? and have you used one .
If you want a network media player that supports proper resolution and color space switching, look into Zidoo... X8, X9S, X10 or the soon due X20/X20 Pro. ZDMC (Zidoo's Kodi 17.6 fork) is used as the front-end to a native player that does HD, 3D MVC and 4K HDR very well. No Netflix, Amazon, etc. Did a review (forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=291943) a while back, but it's worth a consideration for serious local media streaming home theater enthusiasts.
Appreciate your review.
I have arcam avr850. There is a feature in arcam to have better two channel speakers set up. Its called Direct sterio which I cannot run through hdmi rather analog wiring. Does this model support analog option to connect front two speakers
Pick up the phone and call OPPO, they may improve your issue in next firmware release. While the company will be moving away from making new players, they have promised to continue support long after and they have some of the best support in the electronics industry. They will still be there just moving more into the Cell phone market. Thank you for the video.
Great video, actually bought the player myself two weeks ago, partly because of the Oppo news of quitting the blu-ray player production. I will note an issue regarding the 'HDMI in' that I discovered, if you plug a Chromecast ultra into that port the only HDR support I can get is HDR10 via that port, the Dolby Vision appears to not pass through the Oppo. Netflix Jessica Jones playing through HDMI input port would only play in HDR10 format, while if I plug the Chromecast Ultra directly into my Denon AVR-S920W receiver it gets Netflix Dolby Vision support. I will note one item trying to play your .mkv movie through the Oppo, which I believe you are going to run into that issue with every player that has Cinavia protection, which is required on any Blu-ray labeled player, makes playing ripped movies with comparable audio to hard blu-ray copy the blu-ray player will stop playing or give you a warning message like “Audio outputs temporarily muted. Do not adjust the playback volume. The content being played is protected by Cinavia and is not authorized for playback on this device. For more information, see www.cinavia.com. Message Code 3.” after 20 minutes. a few items to note of the player.
Regarding your network problems: Just put your 4K movies on an external drive. It works Fine like that. :)
Great review. I like the looks of this device. Looks professional rather than cheaper comsumer device like the othe 4k players that are out right now. Lon isnt One advantage of you upgrading to your new your receiver is its a one stop shop with all your inputs going into the receiver and not having to run the hdmi to the tv is that you can switch both audio and video with your receiver instead of having to change your tv input with your tv remote? Is that correct?
Thank you for your great video. About network MKV Do you know how it's possible to view the film cover instead of the file name? Thank you
Thanks for this video, im very intersted into what you end up buying to replace this, specially also looking for a good Network player that supports 4k/MKV/HDR. Maybe something from DUNE or PopcornHour?
Sad to see such a good device being discounted. But I was wondering, would you be able to make a video of your process of making mkv movies? I know you mention it a lot but I would like to see how you do it and your settings for configuring it.
The purpose of the oppo is to get Reference quality from Ultra HD Blu-ray disc and audio with studio quality
Hi Lon,
Which external BD Drive do you use to backup your BD Disks and also how do you back up 4KBD BD Disks?
With out of doubt its the best 4 k players made to date,I play all Mkv and Atmos and dts x of my hard drive
Yeah I think its better for me to just get a standalone 4k player for when I get a new 4k tv.
Lon, can you do a video on how you personally Rip "backup" 4k UHD discs? I'm guessing you use dvdfab or deUHD.
BDS369 MakeMKV.
yoschmoyo maybe, but he has to use something else to decrypt the disc first. Aacs 2.0 only recently cracked
He said in a recent video that he’s using MakeMKV, which now decrypts and rips select 4K discs.
I stand corrected. I see now that makemkv can read them with "UH-friendly drives". They don't actually bypass AACS like DeUHD does.
Just gotta get one with the right firmware.
MakeMKV application and doing a little google searching of 'UHD friendly blu-ray drives' will give you the answer you need.
I use kodi on a shield tv and my tv (lg oled) switches automatically HDR on or off. So maybe try using kodi instead of plex and see if that helps
The Wirecutter's backup pick for best 4K Blu-ray player, the Samsung UBD-M8500, is on sale for $95 today only (Wednesday) at buydig dot com. I bought one last Black Friday for around $120, so I don't really need another one... Good player, but I'm not a fan of the dinky remote. I've honestly never used it to play anything from my NAS, so I don't know if it plays MKVs.
CantankerousDave well nuts i read this on thursday now its $297 :(
I just got my player today...going to test all of this out...I was thinking as a workaround is to plug in a usb hard drive to the player...then on my synology NAS mount that USB drive as a network drive and rip my movies to that mapped drive...it’s a hassle of a workaround but I am going to try it this weekend.
I tried direct USB play and it wasn't much better unfortunately.
4K HD CP spec is 2.1, 2.2 is for 8k.
Oppo stop BluRay players
I have the device and use it for 1080 movies over network using OSHARE and there are no delays or issues. Perfect. No delays. Try oshare as recommended on oppo site.
The Great Santini unfortunately, Oshare is only available for Windows at this time. It thus won’t work on Lon’s WD NAS. My experience so far is the same as Lon’s; startup time for MKVs is quite long from my WD NAS. But I have another device that plays 1080p MKV Blu-ray rips really well, a very cheap Amlogic 905X box running LibreELEC/Kodi. It automatically switches refresh rate and passes through Dolby ThueHD and DTS MA. I do not yet need a player that works well with 4K MKVs. I will be keeping my 203 because I listen to multichannel SACDs and use it as a Roon endpoint.
Interesting and good info. as always, so thanks for that. Also, the fingerprint smudges on the monitor from13:00 onwards reminded me that I've been meaning to get an iRoller for my SP3 (and yes, I used your affiliate link). Thanks.
I should have used mine! :)
regarding the slow/unreliable mkv streaming... did you try using a different "controller" than the on-oppo browser (i.e. only using the oppo as a dlna renderer)?
Does it network MKBHD?
Was that a “war games” blueray that made an appearance? Iol...My oppo player gets here tomm! Can’t wait!
Yes! Picked it up the other day haven’t seen that film in ages!
It's a great look at early hacking and computers, that's for sure. And the whole "daily threat of global annihilation" thing.
so since they are doing away with this model are they coming out with something newer to replace it?
Nope they are getting out of the business completely.
so sad I loved oppo they made some of the top quality stuff. Shame to see such a great company leave the marketplace. I hope someone picks up the slack.
Yes
2010 called and wants it's odp back.
I trust you on review item
So Philips just updated their UHD Blu-ray players from 2017 with Dolby Vision support. And it’s only $200. Can we get a comparison video between the Oppo player and the Phillips player on which delivers the best Dolby Vision picture?
A good portion of the reviews of the LG player say the player is super loud if you read the amazon reviews www.amazon.com/LG-Electronics-UP970-Ultra-HD-Compatibility/dp/B06XGGFZ9R/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1524837378&sr=1-1&keywords=lg+up970
I bought that Phillips player a while ago for the Dolby vision. For some reason not many know about this player. It is great, especially for the price. 3d playback could be a little better but the Dolby vision is excellent.
Before I even watch the video I will say this again, overpriced. No reason for this product which is why it's going away. I personally am glad to see it go.
Super audio CD and DVD audio on 24 bit
Oppo had the sense to stop making players, because 4k is a load of total shit, unless you're streaming 4k material from the net, which of course the Oppo players can't do...that's why I'm sticking with 1080p because at least you are getting what you pay for! Oh and yes, my Oppo bdp 105d is connected to my Mitsubishi HC 4000
TBH mkv is kinda overrated. MP4 can handle everything that mkv does and has more compatibility with more software and hardware.
Can it do complex subtitles like SSA
Chuckles Nuts MP4 uses AAC or ALS for audio, and doesn’t support Dolby TrueHD or DTS MA, the two lossless audio formats found on Blu-ray. That makes it a nonstarter for people who care about preserving Blu-ray quality.
Lon Seidman 4K Documentary: The Long Journey
The long *expensive* Journey :)