OPPO Digital BDP-80 Blu-ray Disc Player - Review

The BDP-80 provided an excellent well-balanced image with excellent detail, color, contrast, and black levels with Blu-ray Disc playback. Examples of excellent detail and color reproduction were the Blu-ray Disc of Transporter 3 with the close-ups of Jason Statham and the heavily freckled face of his co-star Natalya Rudakova and the sequins and confetti detail contrasting with on-stage lighting on the Shakira - Oral Fixation Tour disc. In another example of excellent color, contrast, and detail is the opening bank robbery scene contrasted with the many night scenes in the The Dark Knight.

With regards to more technical testing, the BDP-80 met most of the tests on the Silicon Optix HQV Benchmark DVD, which measures DVD video performance with regards to video processing and upscaling.

The test results revealed that the BDP-80 does very well on progressive scan (3:2 pulldown), jaggie elimination, detail, motion adaptive processing, and moire pattern detection and elimination, but was did not do as well in suppressing background video noise.

Also the BDP-80 did not have a problem converting HDMI to DVI. Using the BDP-80 with the Westinghouse LVM-37w3's DVI input (the LVM-37w3 has both HDMI and DVI inputs), which required the HDMI output of the BDP-80 to be converted to DVI to make the connection, there was no problem with recognition. Also, rerunning the HQV tests, no video performance difference was detected.

Check out and compare a sampling of video performance tests for both OPPO's flagship BDP-83 and the BDP-80, which is the subject of this review.

On the audio side, the BDP-80, just as with the OPPO's BDP-83, offers complete onboard audio decoding, as well as undecoded bitstream output for compatible home theater receivers. In addition, the BDP-80 comes equipped with both HDMI and 5.1/7.1 channel analog audio output options. This allows the BDP-80 to supply Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio access to both HDMI an d non-HDMI equipped receivers.

In terms of audio performance, The BDP-80 delivered excellent audio performance on both Blu-ray and DVD soundtracks When playing standard DVDS, CDs, SACDs (Super Audio CDs), and DVD-Audio Discs. I noticed no audio artifacts that could be attributed to the BDP-80.

Using the same discs that I used in my previous review of the flagship BDP-83, the BDP-80 also produced excellent surround imagery and vocal presence in movie soundtracks, such as Iron Man, The Dark Knight, and Nigh at the Museum (Blu-ray), and Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Moulin Rouge (DVD), as well as audio-only discs, such as the SACD version of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, and the DVD-Audio version of Martin, Medeski, and Wood's Uninvisible.

In terms of standard 2-channel CD playback, Heart's Magic Man, with its distinctive bass slide to the extreme low end of the audio range, was spot on, as was the dynamic range and detail in Norah Jone's Don't Know Why, and the depth and soundstaging Joshua Bell's recording of West Side Story Suite.

The BDP-80 demonstrated versatility as both an excellent Blu-ray Disc and DVD player and also a CD/SACD/DVD-Audio player.

1. Excellent Blu-ray Disc Video Playback and very good DVD upscaling.

2. Inclusion of SACD and DVD-Audio playback.

3. Two USB ports for expanding BD-Live memory and/or accessing video, still image, and music files.

4. One gigabyte of internal memory for BD-Live content access.

5. Fast start-up and disc load time.

What I Didn't Like:

1. No Netflix, You Tube, Pandora, or Rhapsody streaming capability.

2. Just as with the previous BDP-83, the BD-P80 cannot be made region code free for either Blu-ray or DVD via a remote control hack. You must seek out a 3rd party firmware or hardware modification.

3. No separate 2-channel analog audio outputs. The 2-channel analog outputs are combined with 5.1/7.1 channel outputs.

4. No IR In/Out ports for easier custom install integration.

5. No 24p conversion for standard DVD playback.

Final Take

Despite positioned by OPPO as a step-down from its flagship BDP-83, the BDP-80 still retains the BDP-83's major qualities.

The BDP-80 displayed excellent results with Blu-ray playback and does very well as an upscaling DVD player. Images were correctly detailed, with excellent color and black level performance.

Audio performance of the BDP-80 was also excellent. Both onboard decoding and undecoded bitstream options worked well, with excellent surround processing using either method. CD, DVD-Audio, and SACD playback audio reproduction was solid. NOTE: DVD-Audio and SACD playback can be accessed by either the 5.1/7.1 Channel analog or HDMI outputs (provided you have an AV receiver with at least HDMI 1.2 input capability).

It must also be noted that that unlike some Profile 2.0 (BD-Live) Blu-ray disc players, the BDP-80 does not require the addition of external memory to access BD-Live functions, unless additional memory is desired by the user.

The OPPO BDP-80, although intended to be more modest than OPPO's well regarded BDP-83, still maintains a high level of performance. In fact, I disagree with OPPO's recommendation that this player not be used use for large screen applications. The BDP-80 certainly can hold its own against many other Blu-ray Disc or Upscaling DVD players on the market.

On the other hand, with the trend of incorporating internet streaming, and now, 3D into many current and upcoming Blu-ray disc players, the BDP-80 might not seem as good a value for some. However, if you desire a Blu-ray Disc player that offers excellent core video and audio performance for Blu-ray, DVD, CD, DVD-Audio, and SACD, and you are not concerned with onboard internet streaming and don't plan to jump on the 3D bandwagon anytime soon, then the BDP-80 Blu-ray Disc player might be just the ticket.

As a final point, just as with any Blu-ray Disc player available so far, there may be issues that come up with specific disc releases that may affect playback or menu navigation. Users should attend to periodic firmware update availability, which can be accessed directly by the player using its Ethernet connection or downloading the update from the OPPO Digital website.

For a more detailed look at the OPPO BDP-80, also check out my supplementary Photo Gallery and Video Performance Text Results.

Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.