Firmware Update Activates Dolby Vision for Oppo 4K Blu-Ray Players

Megalith

Megalith

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Yet another reason why Oppo will be the only players I’ll be buying: now they’re the first to let you play discs with Dolby Vision. A new firmware update unlocks the feature for the company’s current 4K Blu-ray player lineup (UDP-203 and UDP-205). Dolby Vision is Dolby’s take on HDR, which is supposed to provide up to 40 times the brightness, deeper blacks (not sure how that works, unless there is something darker than 0 black), and expanded contrast.

…the day you can play discs with the feature has arrived, thanks to Oppo Digital’s latest firmware update that adds Dolby Vision capability to the company’s UDP-203 ($549) and UDP-205 ($1299) players. The first two Blu-ray discs supporting Dolby Vision format were announced a bit over a month ago (Despicable Me 1 & 2). With Dolby Vision, viewers get HDR video that’s highly optimized for compatible displays. The format uses dynamic metadata to tell the TV how to modulate its backlight and maximize contrast. This helps the TV produce the highest quality imagery it is capable of.
 
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Blacker than black, you say? Indeed.
 
Optical is so 20th Century. Paying $1300 to playback optical discs is outright criminal. For that kind of money i can build a machine to render an entire movie frame by frame, store another 3,000 movies on it, and stream its contents to anywhere in the world.
 
Megalith said:
...not sure how that works, unless there is something darker than 0 black), and expanded contrast...
Click to expand...

They can download extra black.

It's the same technology originally developed to download extra RAM for PCs.
 
UDP-205

4K Ultra HD Audiophile Blu-ray Disc Player
Best-in-Class Audio Performance, Dual ESS ES9038PRO Sabre Pro DACs
Reference Quality Video with HDR
4K UHD, Blu-ray, 3D, DVD, DVD-Audio, SACD and CD

Price:$1,299
Reference Quality 4K Ultra HD Audiophile Blu-ray Disc Player
Drawing from over a decade's worth of experience in advanced image processing technology and high fidelity audio performance, the UDP-205 is the perfect choice for discerning enthusiasts. The UDP-205 provides reference level sound quality through the analog outputs, improves the clock precision of the HDMI audio output, and increases the power of the built-in headphone amplifier. For the analog output stages, the UDP-205 utilizes two ES9038PRO DACs, which are the flagship of the ESS Sabre Pro series, delivering best-in-class audio performance.


They lost me at "we are using the same parts as sabre pro dac"
Id rather just buy the sabre pro dac and connect a xboneS to it and my tv. I know it isn't an 'all in one' solution, but i dont think anyone looking for that high fidelity cares about that.

I dunno, it just sounds like crap.

Even their specs page had too much marketing fluff in it.
 
I've bought oppo, and while it did have very good visual quality for the money, I have not experienced their gear to be durable. Went to the well twice, one died in 2 years one died at about 3.
 
Really want to pick up a oppo 203. Just haven't stepped up to a 4k projector yet or Atmos. People talking about why are people still using disk. Well it's the only way to get quality picture and sound still. I have over 40k in my theater room. Streaming just doesn't cut it with a 138 inch 2.35:1 screen. Most streaming services barely do 5.1 let alone 7.1 lossless or Atmos, DTS:x. If your happy with streaming so be it. If I'm watching a movie I want to experience it the way it was intended to be experienced .
 
Spire3660 said:
Optical is so 20th Century. Paying $1300 to playback optical discs is outright criminal. For that kind of money i can build a machine to render an entire movie frame by frame, store another 3,000 movies on it, and stream its contents to anywhere in the world.
Click to expand...
When we get streaming capable of the bitrate on optical disc wake me up. Snail mail is still faster than any known form of digital communication. Even google ships hard drives for far data transit instead of using the internet. Streaming will always be inferior to physical media. And for 1300$ you can barely purchase a rig to render 24fps games at 4K HDR which I guarantee look nothing like the images that are filmed by a real camera in reality.
 
HDR on computer monitors seems to be fairly mild at the moment, I could see Dolby Vision allowing for a much more substantial viewing upgrade experience that would sell new 4k panels.
 
Darunion said:
They lost me at "we are using the same parts as sabre pro dac"
Id rather just buy the sabre pro dac and connect a xboneS to it and my tv. I know it isn't an 'all in one' solution, but i dont think anyone looking for that high fidelity cares about that.
Click to expand...

Yeah right, people with reference quality home theater setups don't care about that.. The target audience for the UDP-205 likely have a center channel speaker that costs more than that player. They aren't stringing components off an Xbox.

Surely a forum full of people who will spend a ton of money on video cards and CPUs can appreciate that there might be other hobbies out there that people are passionate/obsessive about.
 
brentsg said:
Yeah right, people with reference quality home theater setups don't care about that.. The target audience for the UDP-205 likely have a center channel speaker that costs more than that player. They aren't stringing components off an Xbox.

Surely a forum full of people who will spend a ton of money on video cards and CPUs can appreciate that there might be other hobbies out there that people are passionate/obsessive about.
Click to expand...

Agreed - Simple reason for example of why companies like Krell still survive.

I've installed some big theater systems for people and very often they judged the equipment I spec'd out by their price versus their performance. "This speaker is $500 more, isn't that better?" "This amplifier looks better visually" I even had a complaint that a DVD player tray opened too slowly...

There of course are the show off types. I'm talking the million dollar systems and then they plug an iphone in and play a mp3. Putting gear in like wisdom, genesys, gryphon and all other forms of artform over function. Pretty much, this website - https://www.higherfi.com
 
Get over it. Dolby Vision is NEVER going to be a thing, guys...especially when only ONE player currently supports the standard, and NO DISCS are out yet with the encoding! By the time DV discs and players hit the market, HDR10+ will have released, eliminating the ONE advantage DV had...dynamic metadata.

Then you also have the NUMBER ONE TV manufacturer in the world (Samsung) outright rejecting the tech. The writing is on the wall guys.
 
Now you just need a Dolby Vision capable TV and receiver if you use one. Good thing I have both. :)
 
I've got Dolby Vision on my TV, the difference between it and HDR10 is pretty subtle but noticeable. No way I'm paying $1200 for a player though.
 
Darunion said:
They lost me at "we are using the same parts as sabre pro dac"
Id rather just buy the sabre pro dac and connect a xboneS to it and my tv. I know it isn't an 'all in one' solution, but i dont think anyone looking for that high fidelity cares about that.

I dunno, it just sounds like crap.

Even their specs page had too much marketing fluff in it.
Click to expand...
Can you please link what you think you can do that's going to match the 205's abilities? I attempted years of home-grown solutions to get content from disc to 7.1 analog but I couldn't find one. I eventually bought a 105.

You say you'd rather buy "the sabre pro dac" and connect it to an xbox? Which DACs are you talking/thinking about buying?

The 203 is the bluray player and it's only $500 bucks. The 205 is for audiophiles.
The difference is $800 dollars so I'd like to see the gear you think you can replace the 205 with and still get the same audio output--I don't think it exists. The 105 also has an asynchronous USB DAC (which the 205 also offers keeping in line with their model lineups) so that needs to be taken into consideration.
 
mope54 said:
Can you please link what you think you can do that's going to match the 205's abilities? I attempted years of home-grown solutions to get content from disc to 7.1 analog but I couldn't find one. I eventually bought a 105.

You say you'd rather buy "the sabre pro dac" and connect it to an xbox? Which DACs are you talking/thinking about buying?

The 203 is the bluray player and it's only $500 bucks. The 205 is for audiophiles.
The difference is $800 dollars so I'd like to see the gear you think you can replace the 205 with and still get the same audio output--I don't think it exists. The 105 also has an asynchronous USB DAC (which the 205 also offers keeping in line with their model lineups) so that needs to be taken into consideration.
Click to expand...

Post was part sarcastic and part curious as to which group this particular unit fell into. I assumed most would have a dac already and only need the Blu ray player. Just seems like a low price point for what I would expect to not push many units a year. I full understand the 203 and imagine that would push a good number of units out the door. People seem to think I was pissing on the audiophiles and that is not the case. I just wondered if this higher end was more practical and likely to end up in someone's configuration or is it more likely the 203 and a separate dac.
 
Darunion said:
Post was part sarcastic and part curious as to which group this particular unit fell into. I assumed most would have a dac already and only need the Blu ray player. Just seems like a low price point for what I would expect to not push many units a year. I full understand the 203 and imagine that would push a good number of units out the door. People seem to think I was pissing on the audiophiles and that is not the case. I just wondered if this higher end was more practical and likely to end up in someone's configuration or is it more likely the 203 and a separate dac.
Click to expand...

You have a choice of SPDIF in, HDMI 2.0 in, Async USB (from PC) up to 768KHz 32bit, USB 3.0 drive/pen or Gigabit network for movies and music. It supports DLNA and network shares.
I had an Oppo 105 Darbee and another stereo DAC also with the Sabre 9018 Reference chip (more detailed than the Oppo 105), the Oppo 205 has them both beat for analogue sound quality. I replaced them both with the Oppo 205.
If you dont want the Blu Ray player, dont use it. I rarely did.

The Oppo 205 is a 203 with better analogue out, and an extra dedicated HDMI out for digital audio (only) to even higher end HDMI DACs that dont have decent jitter rejection.
If you have no need for a very high end DAC or very high end jitter rejection over HDMI, get the 203.
Audio quality of the 203 is reported to be better than the old 105.
Video quality on both the 203 and 205 are reported to be identical.

My experience with my 205 and that of my brother on his 205, the 205 has richer colour than the 105.
Between us we had 3 Oppo 105s and we agree how both our 205s are better.

To be clear, the 205 is aimed purely at high end audiophiles, nothing else.
If you dont have the kit to use it, dont get it.
 
Last edited:
Nenu said:
You have a choice of SPDIF in, HDMI 2.0 in, Async USB (from PC) up to 768KHz 32bit, USB 3.0 drive/pen or Gigabit network for movies and music. It supports DLNA and network shares.
I had an Oppo 105 Darbee and another stereo DAC also with the Sabre 9018 Reference chip (more detailed than the Oppo 105), the Oppo 205 has them both beat for analogue sound quality. I replaced them both with the Oppo 205.
If you dont want the Blu Ray player, dont use it. I rarely did.

The Oppo 205 is a 203 with better analogue out, and an extra dedicated HDMI out for digital audio (only) to even higher end HDMI DACs that dont have decent jitter rejection.
If you have no need for a very high end DAC or very high end jitter rejection over HDMI, get the 203.
Audio quality of the 203 is reported to be better than the old 105.
Video quality on both the 203 and 205 are reported to be identical.

My experience with my 205 and that of my brother on his 205, the 205 has richer colour than the 105.
Between us we had 3 Oppo 105s and we agree how both our 205s are better.

To be clear, the 205 is aimed purely at high end audiophiles, nothing else.
If you dont have the kit to use it, dont get it.
Click to expand...

Thank you! Has me very interested now.
 
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I'm not ready to splurge on a 4K projector but I didn't realize the 205 was significantly better audio-wise than the 105. That description does pique my interest, however.

Darunion, to be clear I wasn't challenging you. I really was interested in whatever setup you seemed to be talking about (believe me I resisted paying for my Oppo for years, which turned out to not be the best choice since their values don't really drop long term new or used). I've had all sorts of set ups over the years and finally shed my HTPC in favor of an AppleTV connected to the Oppo with balanced outs into my amp (I also finally removed my pre-amp). This was, as far as I could find, the only way to convert HDMI to analog 7.1 for those of us with expensive separates without HDMI.
 
jnemesh said:
Get over it. Dolby Vision is NEVER going to be a thing, guys...especially when only ONE player currently supports the standard, and NO DISCS are out yet with the encoding! By the time DV discs and players hit the market, HDR10+ will have released, eliminating the ONE advantage DV had...dynamic metadata.

Then you also have the NUMBER ONE TV manufacturer in the world (Samsung) outright rejecting the tech. The writing is on the wall guys.
Click to expand...

Agreed, it's BetaMax vs VHS or HDDVD vs BR all over again. With this in mind though, when I bought a 4K TV last November, I made sure it supports both formats.
 
brentsg said:
Yeah right, people with reference quality home theater setups don't care about that.. The target audience for the UDP-205 likely have a center channel speaker that costs more than that player. They aren't stringing components off an Xbox.

Surely a forum full of people who will spend a ton of money on video cards and CPUs can appreciate that there might be other hobbies out there that people are passionate/obsessive about.
Click to expand...
Agreed. The player is probably the cheapest piece of equipment in the rig. Didn't Oppo use to be a value play, where the player had good components, but was cheaper than the bigger name players? At 500+ and 1300, it doesn't seem very budget oriented.
 
I've never heard of Oppo referred to as a value play. In fact, I wrote earlier that at least for some of their features they're the only device on the market (e.g., HDMI input > 7.1 analog output).
 
I'm more disappointed that none of the consumer projectors can produce black level that I'm happy with. (I'm spoiled by OLED). I don't think it is even achievable in the next decade.
 
Skylinestar said:
I'm more disappointed that none of the consumer projectors can produce black level that I'm happy with. (I'm spoiled by OLED). I don't think it is even achievable in the next decade.
Click to expand...
It is but you need a black screen :p
 
Skylinestar said:
I'm more disappointed that none of the consumer projectors can produce black level that I'm happy with. (I'm spoiled by OLED). I don't think it is even achievable in the next decade.
Click to expand...

You can get pretty damn close with the JVC's. There new true 4k can pretty much do it but you need a full black room and around 30k laying around for one lol.. the JVC 520 is damn good , really damn good. Probably be my next buy since I can get it at cost. Again need a black hole of a room to really take advantage of it. I'm about to buy about 500 bucks worth of velvet to black out the first 6 feet of my room completely.
 
I remember thinking "Hmm with this new HD-DVD and Blu-Ray thing going on I'll wait till it all settles down and then decide!"

12 years later, I'm still waiting. I don't think I'm the only one.
 
I love my Oppo. It's a very versatile piece of equipment - much more so than I thought it would be. This is just another example of them staying on top of technology - which is why the player is so useful.

You know when you buy something and go "I wish it could play this file format, or stream from this device, or upscale this signal, etc." and your device doesn't do it? Ya, you don't have those problems with Oppo. This behavior is as expected.
 
Makeroflostsouls said:
You can get pretty damn close with the JVC's. There new true 4k can pretty much do it but you need a full black room and around 30k laying around for one lol.. the JVC 520 is damn good , really damn good. Probably be my next buy since I can get it at cost. Again need a black hole of a room to really take advantage of it. I'm about to buy about 500 bucks worth of velvet to black out the first 6 feet of my room completely.
Click to expand...

You need some vantablack ;)
 
daglesj said:
I remember thinking "Hmm with this new HD-DVD and Blu-Ray thing going on I'll wait till it all settles down and then decide!"

12 years later, I'm still waiting. I don't think I'm the only one.
Click to expand...
It's settled. If you care about quality, you buy a Blu Ray or for 4k a UHD player. If you don't care about quality, you stream netflix, watch your old DVDs.
 
nilepez said:
It's settled. If you care about quality, you buy a Blu Ray or for 4k a UHD player. If you don't care about quality, you stream netflix, watch your old DVDs.
Click to expand...

I think the thing for me is the quality of the screenplay and acting matters more then the picture quality. Both of the former have suffered greatly over the past 12 years.

And as for the blu-ray, it hasn't settled. The format keeps changing and players need upgrading. Meh.
 
Meh. I am holding out until I can rip my 4k discs to my NAS. For $1300 I can just buy lots of 8TB HDDs.
 
daglesj said:
I think the thing for me is the quality of the screenplay and acting matters more then the picture quality. Both of the former have suffered greatly over the past 12 years.

And as for the blu-ray, it hasn't settled. The format keeps changing and players need upgrading. Meh.
Click to expand...
So you only buy a new MB if they've quit updating the BIOS? Do you own a phone or a PC? Those are constantly changing and being upgraded. Bottom line is it is settled. The ability to upgrade a player doesn't mean it's not settled.
 
It seems to be that the appeal of these devices is literally everything else they can do beyond playing discs- their primary function.

And they're talking up the DAC, on their Blu-ray player? How many people don't use a receiver for this stuff?
 
IdiotInCharge said:
It seems to be that the appeal of these devices is literally everything else they can do beyond playing discs- their primary function.

And they're talking up the DAC, on their Blu-ray player? How many people don't use a receiver for this stuff?
Click to expand...

You'd be surprised how many people will spend a ton of money on a blu-ray player, but cheap out on stuff like a receiver and use some crappy soundbar instead via bluetooth on their TV.
 
Sufu said:
You'd be surprised how many people will spend a ton of money on a blu-ray player, but cheap out on stuff like a receiver and use some crappy soundbar instead via bluetooth on their TV.
Click to expand...

I can understand wanting flexibility, but putting expensive DACs in the Blu-ray player doesn't make much sense; to me, the devices job is:
  1. Read the disc
  2. Dump that data to a digital output
...and that's it. Putting more functionality in it only makes (moderate) sense if you're deleting other parts of the system, i.e., going straight from Blu-ray player to discrete amp(s).
 
Sufu said:
You'd be surprised how many people will spend a ton of money on a blu-ray player, but cheap out on stuff like a receiver and use some crappy soundbar instead via bluetooth on their TV.
Click to expand...
Yes, but are those people spending a grand on a player? My guess is not many.
 
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