OPPO BDP-103 Pro Reviews

Oppo has hit another one out of the park. The BDP-103 may not be light years ahead of the BDP-93, but it is ready for 4K conversion and the Marvell Qdeo processing is one of the best systems on the market in our testing. The player has some other whiz-bang features like 2D-to-3D conversion but overall you want to buy this if you've been out of the market for a while or are looking for a flagship Blu-ray player. If you've already got a BDP-93 - congratulations you've made a fine choice and there's little reason to upgrade just yet.

The BDP-103 uses essentially the same chassis as the previous BDP-103 but Oppo have made some subtle improvements based on review feedback. In fact this is one area where they are exceptionally good, not only in fine tuning their designs but also regularly releasing firmware updates when any bugs are reported. The front facia is basically the same but the buttons are easier to locate in the dark and there's now a MHL-compliant HDMI input. At the rear are still two HDMI outputs but there's now a second HDMI input, along with 2 USB ports. The remote control remains a text book example of thoughtful design, with large, intuitively placed buttons and backlight making it easy to use in the dark. The build quality is still superb and as a result the BDP-103 is very quiet in operation, whilst the addition of dual-core processing means that disc loading is fast and navigation very responsive.

For a hefty price, the Oppo BDP-103 offers top-notch performance along with every feature you could want in a Blu-ray player—and then some.

As you can probably tell, I really like the BDP-103. Sure, at $499 it’s a lot more expensive than other players I’ve reviewed this year. But let’s look at what the Oppo brings to the table: near-flawless playback of Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, and DVD discs; support for both DVD-Audio and SACD audio formats; home network streaming as well as some of the most popular online streaming offerings; the ability to use the player’s best-in-class video processing for other components in your system via its HDMI inputs; and finally, the best customer service in the business. If that isn’t worth a few extra dollars, then I don’t know what is. Highly recommended.