Oppo udp-205

[bob4333]

Job done! Oppo 205 on order from Richer Sounds - despite the shaky news from Oppo HQ - and bunged in the 6 year refundable warranty just in case. Richer say they have 49 205's left in the country and then that's it. Well, 48 now.

Although it doesn't seem to quite give me everything (Clive and Grant, thanks for the heads up) I still couldn't find anything similar that would fit in well with my slightly bespoke installation and the analogue outputs. I'll just have to see how it goes with the streaming app before deciding to part with what I have.

Spent the afternoon looking at 4K screens - eyes going round now like that snake off the Jungle Book. This could be even more complex than sorting the player! Gazjam's Sony OLED panels looked great until I looked at the price of them.

Then it's time to man up and open the spidey hole that lets me under the floorboards to run a goodly length of HDMI cable, whilst trying to imagine what I'm EVER likely to want down there so I NEVER have to go down there again (been down there 3 times in 12 years, each time thinking it was the last).

Thanks to everyone for their views and help.

Bob

[Gazjam]

Unfortunately...yeah.
The Sony OLEDs are current state of the art, therefore not cheap.

Glad you got a happy result though mate, its what its all about.

Could have saved yer self some money though, bought a 203, and use it with your Dac?
Would have sounded better with everything except (arguably) native SACD playback.
That's where the mods come in

Your sorted though..so all good.
205's a cracker, great pride of ownership...Oppo's last flagship player..ever. enjoy!

[Clive197]

Just remember that ALL OLED panels are made by LG.

[bob4333]

Could have saved yer self some money though, bought a 203, and use it with your Dac?

Yes, you're quite right and I did contemplate this but the dedicated pair of stereo outputs, together with the analogue pre outs of the 205 are features that will be extremely useful, as I'll be using the rear and centre channels from my non HDMI theatre amp with the front channels being achieved via a pass through on the LS27 into the Musical Fidelity power amp.

It all gets a bit messy otherwise (a future rethink perhaps.............see how it goes).

I also considered the 203 plus upgrades as I know which end of a soldering iron to hold, but in the end decided against embarking on another hobby - rewarding though it might have been. I'm just going to have to see how it all works out but I think I've got the options covered.

Just remember that ALL OLED panels are made by LG.

Didn't know that Clive which puts an interesting slant on screen shopping. Whether I'll get anywhere near the OLED price point is yet to be decided.


One thing I did notice yesterday was the standout quality of a Panasonic TX50EX750B in comparison to the screens around it. This is a 3D screen (didn't know it at the time until I asked "why is it better"), the others were 2D ranging in price from about £600 to £1200. 3D isn't something I'm looking for but this beat all those around it in terms of image quality. Cost was £799. Same model in 2D is £549. Explanation given was it's a spin off benefit of the 3D technology. I have no idea if this is true or not but it looked good in comparison.

Just had a call - OPPO scheduled to arrive on Monday.

[Getgaff]

One thing I did notice yesterday was the standout quality of a Panasonic TX50EX750B in comparison to the screens around it. This is a 3D screen (didn't know it at the time until I asked "why is it better"), the others were 2D ranging in price from about £600 to £1200. 3D isn't something I'm looking for but this beat all those around it in terms of image quality. Cost was £799. Same model in 2D is £549. Explanation given was it's a spin off benefit of the 3D technology. I have no idea if this is true or not but it looked good in comparison.

Was this in Currys by any chance? Absolute bollocks that a 3D screen would be any better than a 2D screen. Granted the internal processor of the more expensive TV might be an upgrade over its lesser 2D sibling, but it won’t be a better image because it’s simply a 3D TV.

The current generation of LG OLEDs are not 3D panels and they’re capable of producing the best image right now.

[bob4333]

No, I have yet to be patronised by the superior, smug, vacuum cleaner salesmen in Currys but I do need to go and look even if just to get an appreciation of the same screens in a different setting.

This was in another shop where past experience has shown that if they don't know they will say so and go and find out.

Bollocks it may well be but I'm going on the evidence of my own eyes and that particular screen had a noticeably better quality image than some of the more expensive screens around it - excellent though they were. The thought occurred to me that maybe the settings were tweaked, but if so why would they do one and not all of them? If this were the tactic then surely they'd do the more expensive screens?

(I also feel I'm starting to get personally acquainted with Matt Damon in "The Martian")

[Clive197]

As an ex employee at Sevenoaks Sound and Vision as a salesman/installer prior to retirement I would council caution when looking at picture quality in shops, especially Curry’s. Screens are not generally set-up properly in a lot of stores and easily give a false impression. It was always my experience that 3D screens were slightly inferior to their 2D counterparts due to the processing required.

To make an informed decision, I would suggest scouring the world wide net for reviews but generally you won’t go far wrong with any of the major brands. There are many video’s on uTube which can show you how to calibrate picture quality to close to professional standards and if you really want to throw the boat out you can always get a company to come and calibrate your new TV, but this can cost about £4-500. Good luck

[bob4333]

As an ex employee at Sevenoaks Sound and Vision as a salesman/installer prior to retirement I would council caution when looking at picture quality in shops, especially Curry’s. Screens are not generally set-up properly in a lot of stores and easily give a false impression. It was always my experience that 3D screens were slightly inferior to their 2D counterparts due to the processing required.

To make an informed decision, I would suggest scouring the world wide net for reviews but generally you won’t go far wrong with any of the major brands. There are many video’s on uTube which can show you how to calibrate picture quality to close to professional standards and if you really want to throw the boat out you can always get a company to come and calibrate your new TV, but this can cost about £4-500. Good luck

Can't fall out with any of that Clive and my logic (off beam perhaps) goes along with thinking that a screen made for 3D will be optimised for that format and that 2D may just be OK. Strangely, that wasn't what I saw with the 3D Panasonic.

Already on the case trying to see if there's a consensus on different review sites that starts to point to a particular model. I guess we all have our favourites (and unfortunately prejudices). I also subscribe to the fact that it's probably going to look quite different at home in a room rather than shop conditions. I hadn't thought about YouTube set up vid's so that's worth knowing.

Problem is I'm going to be easily impressed coming from a 2004 Plasma screen playing DVD, which actually still doesn't seem too shabby but nothing like what I've seen this week.

[Gazjam]

Just remember that ALL OLED panels are made by LG.

Yup,
its Sony's picture processing engine that makes the difference.