Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems HelpPlease - Looking to buy a new Blu-Ray player

And many speaker manufacturers test to the specification bench-marked for "as new" having empiricaly assessed what the change will be once run-in, i.e. the factory test does not seek to confirm it is performing as operationally specified but that it likely will do after run-in.

Staying O/T :- Gianni, not sure that I'd agree with your statement - all manufacturers have a legal obligation that their goods peform to published specifications / standards at the point of sale. For checking / testing / licensing / certifying / legal purposes, the appropriate authorities are permitted to take samples at the end of the "production line", both for ease of sampling & also to make sure no tampering occurs later.
An assumption that I think we're all making here is that we're (of course) talking about reputable manufacturers....

Right, enough of this, time to get back on-topic now ?!

For those who have the Oppo BDP-83, and are planning to get the 93, I would be most curious as to whether there are any perceived audio or video quality differences when used as a transport (i.e. no video scaling or analog audio output from the player). There are certainly some aesthetic and ergonomic advantages to the 93, but I'd suspect no A/V quality differences when compared as transports (how's that for being open-minded :)).

I think Oppo are claiming a more robust disc drawer mechanism to the new player that will be quieter / have less vibration, but whether this will translate into better a / v quality is a moot point.

.... why is it a 'moot point'. It is certainly debatable, but a better transport mechanism might make a difference.

Disc drawer mechanism, or transport (disc spinner, laser & tracking mechanism) ?
A different transport might make a slight difference to accurate disc-reading by reducing the (when necessary) required number of re-reads, but the drawer mechanism improvements won't do anything apart from make you feel that it's a higher quality product....
Having said that, thank goodness it's not being changed to a slot-load !

Good question! I am not sure whether it is the full transport or just the drawer mechanism. We'll see I suppose.

I agree with the posters saying theres really no need to spend big money on the transport unless there is some proprietary reason you just must have it. The Oppo is terrific. I also have a Dune and I have to tell you I cannot distinguish the video or audio between them. Therefore getting a Dune with an optical drawer might be a great choice. Is it really that difficult to bring the Oppo into the UK?

No it's officially sold here.

Avii

According to Oppo :
The Oppo BDP-93 will do virtually everything the BDP-83 BD player did, plus have some major feature upgrades as listed below:
Regarding transport rigidity and mechanical noise reduction, yes there are significant upgrades. The transport is a custom-built loader made by Tohei Group of Japan (http://www.tohei-hq.co.jp/cgi-bin/en/index.cgi). The laser pickup is still Sony. During the development of the transport we worked closely with Tohei to control and isolate the vibration caused by the high rotation speed and heavy motor parts of the Sony laser pickup.
Blu-ray 3D support
Netflix streaming support
CinemaNow support
Additional network streaming features will be announced once partners certify the player. Oppo has divulged several of their potential partners to us and users should not be disappointed.
Wireless-N networking
eSATA port in addition to two USB ports
Dual HDMI outputs. The two HDMI ports can be configured to support separate video and audio paths, or to support two displays at the same time.
Marvell KYOTO G2 chipset with Qdeo video processing (83 had VRS by Anchor Bay Video Processing)
About the Marvell chip (also used in Meridian 810):
PRODUCT OVERVIEW
The Marvell� 88DE2750 is a new video format converter with second-generation award-winning QdeoTM video processing. The 88DE2750 converts any high-definition (HD) or standard-definition (SD) digital video input, or PC graphics input, into the highest quality output, up to Quad-HD (4K x 2K @ 24p).
The 88DE2750 features a complete suite of advanced video processing technologies, delivering quiet and natural video free of noise and artifacts, for a truly immersive viewing experience. The second-generation Qdeo video processing includes enhancements to the entire suite of video technologies and introduces an innovative new technology called Qdeo True Color � a unique solution for using the full dynamic range of 10-bit and 12-bit displays. The use of 65nm technology provides industry leading performance at very low cost.
INPUTS
� Video resolutions up to 1080p60 � Graphics resolutions up to 1600�1200 at 60Hz
OUTPUTS
� Configurable primary HD or SD output port with 10-bit or 12-bit per channel YCbCr/RGB 4:4:4 for true �deep color� support.
KEY FEATURES AND BENEFITS FEATURES
� Content-adaptive block and mosquito noise reduction
� Adaptive scaling
BENEFITS
� Significantly reduces the blocking and mosquito noise artifacts present in compressed video
� Produces sharp and clean images at low or high resolutions
� Per-pixel motion-adaptive video noise reduction
� Removes the white Gaussian noise present in most types of video
� Advanced per-pixel, motion-adaptive, edge-adaptive 3D de-interlacing with support for arbitrary film cadences
� Removes �jaggies� and �feathering� to produce smooth and clear images
� Natural Depth Expansion
� Enhances details and sensation of depth for greater realism and super- resolution effect
� Adaptive Contrast Enhancement (ACE)
� Brings out shadow detail without crushing mid-tones or highlights
� Intelligent Color Remapping (ICR)
� Enables vivid color without hue shifts and clipping while maintaining accurate flesh tone
� Qdeo True Color � a unique solution for using the full dynamic range of 10-bit and 12-bit displays
� Eliminates contouring seen when viewing typical 8-bit consumer video
� Quad-HD output support
� Provides judder-free native 24p output for film at 4K x 2K resolution

Will it still play SACD ?

Yes, and DVD-A (as far as I know).