** PROBLEM WITH OPPO UDP-205 AFTER LATEST FIRMWARE **

I have reported - and Oppo tech support and beta testers have since verified in writing - that after Firmware Main Version: UDP20X-50-0913 released September 13, 2017, that the player no longer *always* faithfully/accurately/correctly displays the aspect ratio while in source direct mode.

Fortunately, I do have at least some reason to believe Oppo is treating this with highest priority and at a executive management level.

If the player is to have any problem all, it shouldn't be this one. For those unaware, in source direct mode, the user is not asking the player to do anything with the video, yet it is. In my view, this is an unconscionable problem which should be caught in beta testing.

This problem was not the case to date - in all other previous firmware releases.

This post is meant as a heads up to any and all interested parties.

Gdhal,
Any joy yet from Oppo? They are usually pretty great at fixing things that get messed up.
Hope to hear of a good resolution to your problem soon.
God Bless,
Wayne

WayneWilmeth wrote: Gdhal, Any joy yet from Oppo? They are usually pretty great at fixing things that get messed up. Hope to hear of a good resolution to your problem soon. God Bless, Wayne

Nothing yet. The soonest resolution would be next firmware release (tentatively scheduled mid October). You can read more about this in the last few days worth of posts on the AVS forum owners thread. www.avsforum.com/forum/149-blu-ray-playe...-owner-s-thread.html I appreciate the concern Wayne. Thank you.

Oppo’s response (after extensive checking with their engineering group and numerous back-and-forth communication) to the source direct problem I pointed out is that "the unit was not operating correctly prior to the latest firmware" and has since been corrected. They go on to write "so like I said last week the videos that are not 4:3 or 16:9 will be sent out as 16:9, and the television or scaler can correct for them."

That response is despite my submitting PROOF (including but not limited to the video file itself and complete specifications of the video) that the very same video that the UDP-205 cannot play with the correct aspect ratio *in any one of its modes* let alone source direct plays perfectly fine and with the correct aspect ratio when played via the USB port on my (pro-calibrated) Samsung UN65KS9800.

I have asked Oppo to have their product management intervene (render feedback at a minimum). In other words, I maintain that the way Oppo currently states the unit should work (in this regard), *should not* be the way the Oppo UDP-205 works in this regard. A video other than 4:3 or 16:9 *should* be output as X:Y, whatever X:Y happens to be, when in source direct mode. Instead, the UDP-205 STRETCHES the video and by their own admission this is by design.

At the moment the only alternative is to send the unit in so that the firmware can be restored back to the WORKING CORRECTLY prior version.

Hey Guys,
I am just on the edge of buying an Oppo UDP 205, just trying to get a jail break version that will play all regions BDs.
I mainly want it for the music playback, I just think it has to sound better than my Oppo 95 (now quite old in electronics years) does.
Any comments on that would be appreciated.
BUT
Here is my real question: I am not sure 4K UHD is really gonna catch on and go. What do you think?
I have a sneaking suspicion that by the time they ever get around to getting us some 4K Blu rays to watch, and the price of the new TVs come down enough that I will buy one, maybe streaming will have taken over and people will just settle for less, and say that HD 1080 is good enough for them and to heck with the new technology.
What do you guys think?
God Bless,
Wayne

WayneWilmeth wrote: Hey Guys,
I am just on the edge of buying an Oppo UDP 205, just trying to get a jail break version that will play all regions BDs.
I mainly want it for the music playback, I just think it has to sound better than my Oppo 95 (now quite old in electronics years) does.

Here is my real question: I am not sure 4K UHD is really gonna catch on and go. What do you think?
I have a sneaking suspicion that by the time they ever get around to getting us some 4K Blu rays to watch, and the price of the new TVs come down enough that I will buy one, maybe streaming will have taken over and people will just settle for less, and say that HD 1080 is good enough for them and to heck with the new technology.
What do you guys think?

Hi Wayne,

This has been an interesting thread to read. I have an Oppo 105 that I use as "digital central". I feed in my TV optical out, my Amazon Fire Stick (HDMI front in), and use it to pull flac files from my Passport external drive. I feed digital out via coax to my Aurelic Vega DAC. The Oppo works, SORT OF.

I have never had a device with so many firmware hangs as this one produces. It locks up on a semi-regular basis. I also had a firmware upgrade that totally messed up my gapless flac playback. To their credit, Oppo did eventually create a fix via beta firmware that they let me download. At that point I disabled any more firmware updates. (This was around the time of the release of the 205.)

There are so many firmware hang issues with the 105 that they have a recovery mode with the remote where you hold the off button down for a long time until the illumination lights on the remote start blinking, then wait the 30 seconds until it stops blinking. Then you hit power to restart the unit. That said, once you work past the hang of the moment, it does the job. My suggestion is to download the 205 manual from Oppo (the 105 manual is very thorough) and read it carefully. I'll bet they still have the lockup recovery procedure.

I haven't compared my 105 to previous versions or the 205, but my understanding is that the DAC and analog output circuit has gotten better. (Finally got around to answering your first question, Wayne, sort of.)

Now the next question on 4k UHD. I recently bought a Samsung player that works extremely well with my 4k Samsung TV just to see what UHD is like. 4k is noticeably better, sharper, clearer. I love it. (And I used to think 1080p was photographic; well...not any more.) With 4K, I have to get within 3 feet of my 65 inch TV to see a pixel. Yet at my listening/viewing distance (around 8 feet), the difference is obvious, both to me and others I've had over to look.

I think UHD has great potential, with a much wider dynamic range and wider color gamut. But right now, I think movie directors (or whoever makes these decisions) are having trouble figuring out how to use it effectively, as this goes way beyond film or what you'll see in a movie theater. Some are just dialing up the contrast, which looks stupid. But others are making good use of the medium, with wonderful dark scenes with good contrast, and wonderfully (and shocking) bright highlights. Done well, it's terrific. I think it will be here to stay once people figure out how to use the potential effectively.

Charlie