Oppo UDP-205 UHD Blu-ray Player Review (1 Viewer)

[Dave Upton]

Flagship products are generally harder to evaluate for reviewers like me, since they cost a lot more than their capable siblings and generally offer only incremental improvements. Thankfully, in Oppo’s case it’s not nearly so hard, because they offer a truly unique feature set in addition to myriad improvements to justify the $750 price jump from the UDP-203.

As a matter of principle, when working on products like the UDP-205 designers rarely make any compromises with component quality or design complexity, this usually results in higher performance and cost, which some folks are bothered by. Oppo is truly unique in offering a product that is engineered as exactingly as any five-figure audiophile product, but doesn’t carry the absurd price tag nor useless “audio jewelry” chassis, despite being very handsome regardless.

Continue reading...

 

[Brian9229]

I've had the 203 for about 8 months now, and I already want to upgrade to the 205. What a beauty.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I've had the 203 for about 8 months now, and I already want to upgrade to the 205. What a beauty.

If I wasn't retired, I might think about it.

 

[PMF]

If I wasn't retired, I might think about it.

What a review!
Would you consider changing to Semi-Retired?

 

[Robert_Zohn]

Great review! You expertly covered everything and love your writing style.

 

[Clinton McClure]

If I wasn't retired, I might think about it.

If I wasn't married, I might think about it.

 

[PMF]

If I wasn't retired, I might think about it.

If I wasn't married, I might think about it.

If I wasn't working, single and paying bills, I might think about it, as well.

 

[Carlo_M]

Are you able to pause/still frame and then go frame-by-frame forward or backward? I can't on my Oppo 203 (and not on my Samsung UBD-8500 either). It seems odd not to be able to do this when it's been part of the DVD and BD spec since the beginning.

 

[PMF]

All joking aside, I have no qualms about saving for this Oppo.
My sole advantage is that I didn't purchase last years model.
Mr. Upton's review locks it in for me as being well worth the extra wait.

 

[Mike Frezon]

It's a great review, Dave.

But, wow...what a difference in price with the 203 (which I've been very happy with, by the way). While it all sounds great, I cannot imagine my system would even come close to being able to take advantage of what the 205 has to offer.

 

[Gary Seven]

I currently have the 95 and will upgrade to this unit when I go 4k. I currently take advantage of the player's DACs for music ( I play direct) , both stereo and multi-channel, and use the receiver's DAC for movies (both scenarios calibrated independently) and will do the same for the 205.

One complaint I have with the 95 is that I have always thought the disc transport was not as solid as it should be. It exhibits a bit of play when you gently move it. The rest of the unit is quite solid, of course. Is the disc transport of the 205 solid in housing the disc with no play? My Denon DVD player has a very solid transport and I am hoping the 205 does as well.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I currently have the 95 and will upgrade to this unit when I go 4k. I currently take advantage of the player's DACs for music ( I play direct) , both stereo and multi-channel, and use the receiver's DAC for movies (both scenarios calibrated independently) and will do the same for the 205.

One complaint I have with the 95 is that I have always thought the disc transport was not as solid as it should be. It exhibits a bit of play when you gently move it. The rest of the unit is quite solid, of course. Is the disc transport of the 205 solid in housing the disc with no play? My Denon DVD player has a very solid transport and I am hoping the 205 does as well.

The Oppo 203 disc transport is very solid so I expect the 205 to be the same if not better.

 

[Gary Seven]

Thank you, Robert.

 

[Carlo_M]

Can any owner of this machine respond to my previous question as to whether it can frame forward/backward a 4K UHD disc? Many thanks!

 

[DaveF]

How much better is the video from this player compared to a mid-range Sony, etc? (I expect that digital player is going to read bits from disc, decode those bits, send them to AVR which does to D/A on audio bits and passes video bits unchanged to display which then does all ththe stuff that would affect the image. The standard digital argument: read out device should have no effect so long as it’s competent.)


Who is this device for? The multitude of analog outputs suggest a budget / frugal buyer looking to save money by skipping AV gear. But a frugal buyer isn’t buying a $750 player nor the separate amps needed. That’s the domain of high-end buyers.

But high end buyers have a good, if not flagship, AVR or prepro/separates and don’t need anything but HDMI output from a player.

Maybe OPPO imagines an customer that has a dedicated UHD theater room: player, amps, display. Nothing else. No AppleTV no Roku no PrePro to add signal-chain voodoo. But such a niche high-end buyer surely has a 7.2.x Atmos system. This Oppo can’t drive the dual sub setup this hypothetical person would have or plans to have.

I’m baffled. Who is this player designed for? What’s the use case? Why would someone use any of its steaming features over that of their Roku or Chrome or AppleTV? And how does its picture compare to any other player, especially something costing half the price?

Thanks!

 

[Gary Seven]

My interest in this player is that of an audiophile, and I assume that is the target. I make use of the analog outs (and they are separately calibrated) to play music, both stereo and multi-channel, sending the signal direct to the receiver with no artificial processing. The two SABRE DACS are apparently designed for that. Some people like that artificial processing. I don't. The HDMI is used for movies, so I use the receiver's decoding and equalization for that. That is why I buy it.. I no longer buy flagship AVR's as they cost too much for such a short lifespan. Short in that once new codecs come out, that flagship is obsolete. So I buy a not-so flagship AVR, an additional external amp so when I need a new AVR, its not so cost prohibitive (the external amp never needs replacing). My Denon does not support ATMOS. I have to buy an new receiver later on. That will be 1000 - 1500 dollar purchase rather than 3000 - 5000 were it a flagship AVR.

 

[Carlo_M]

Just as an FYI to my previous question, I sent an email asking Oppo about frame forward/advance and received this reply:

This looks like a limitation of the UHD specifications, so it is not likely that we will be able to add this feature through a future firmware release.

Very interesting. I had not heard that it could be a limitation by the spec.

 

[PMF]

Since I have neither the Oppo 203 nor the 205, wouldn't it be to my advantage to save a bit longer and go for this grander design?

 

[DaveF]

Since I have neither the Oppo 203 nor the 205, wouldn't it be to my advantage to save a bit longer and go for this grander design?

It may depend on your budget and goals and priorities. If all you need is a blu-ray UHD player connected by HDMI to an AVR or display you might be better off buying a more affordable player. But if you’re into listening to stereo music on headphones or care about its niche features like a strip metadata button, then the high end Oppo could be what you want.

Here’s some additional perspectives as I’ve sought to learn more.

"Oppo UDP-205 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player Review | AVForums"
(https://www.avforums.com/review/oppo-udp-205-4k-ultra-hd-blu-ray-player-review.13754)

The UDP-205 is a superb Ultra HD Blu-ray player that delivered a flawless performance when it came to HDR10 content. Although we should point out that the cheaper UDP-203 is identical in this regard and that players a fraction of the cost of the 205 can also deliver a video performance that is equally as impressive. If your primary interest is in playing Ultra HD Blu-rays over HDMI then the 205 will struggle to justify its price tag because it won't be able to deliver a picture performance that is any better than the cheaper players. However the 205, like the 203, is a classy performer with extensive options in terms of setup and a few handy features that other players don't offer.

vs a player that costs about a quarter as much
"Panasonic DMP-UB300 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Player Review | AVForums"
(https://www.avforums.com/review/panasonic-dmp-ub300-4k-ultra-hd-blu-ray-player-review.13700)

Panasonic have publicly stated that all their Ultra HD Blu-rays players use the same chipset and processing which means that, despite what you might read elsewhere, they deliver exactly the same image. This is common sense really, if a player is reading a digital signal off a disc and outputting it digitally via HDMI then assuming it isn't doing anything it shouldn't, the image must be identical. Ultimately the signal is composed of ones and zeros, so any reviewer who claims they see incremental differences in picture quality between the UB900 and UB300, for example, is simply talking rubbish. However we did check Panasonic's claims using the same setup, test discs and calibrated displays and we can confirm that the UB300 performed identically to the UB400, UB700 and UB900 that we also tested. This is great news for anyone buying the UB300 because, despite Panasonic removing certain features to reach a lower price point, they haven't compromised on image quality.

 

[Gary Seven]

Since I have neither the Oppo 203 nor the 205, wouldn't it be to my advantage to save a bit longer and go for this grander design?

As I said, the 205 is more for the audiophile (and I don't listen to music with headphones) as you will gain nothing with the video over less expensive players. If you plan on exploiting the two DACs in the 205, then this player is for you. If you plan on using the AVR DAC, get the less expensive player.