Oppo UDP-203 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Player

An HDTVs and More Product Profile

Oppo is known for its high quality and excellent performing DVD and Blu-ray disc players and has a long-standing tradition of manufacturing some of the finest optical disc players on the market with affordable pricing.

I have personally owned their products and have always appreciated their performance vs. value factor which gives you one of the highest “bang for your buck” buying incentives currently available.

Presently, there are only a handful of 4K UHD Blu-ray players available which include the Samsung UBD-K8500, Panasonic DMP-UB900, Philips BDP7501, Microsoft’s game console – the Xbox One S, and the player featured in this article: Oppo’s UDP-203.

The UDP-203 marks Oppo’s entry into the 4K Blu-ray player market and will provide reference quality video playback from your Blu-ray disc collection, and features advanced image processing technology via the OP8591 quad-core video processor.

The UDP-203 supports High Dynamic Range (HDR) and a Wide Color Gamut. The UDP-203 uses the HDR10 format for HDR video processing; so viewing HDR content on Blu-ray disc will take your viewing experience to a whole new level, delivering picture images with extended contrast range, more picture brightness with better highlights, increased picture detail and a wider range of color reproduction.

The UDP-203 will also handle the various color spaces such as BT.2020, BT.709, and BT.601.

Note: The Dolby Vision HDR format is not available on this player, but will be added via a firmware update in early 2017 according to Oppo.

Audio playback has not been overlooked either; the UDP-203 is capable of decoding high resolution lossless audio files from audio formats such as AIFF, WAV, ALAC, APE and FLAC. It also directly plays Direct-Stream Digital (DSD) audio files in stereo or multi-channel.

The UDP-203 also features a premium 32-bit DAC from AKM. The AK4458VN is an 8-channel DAC with support for formats such as 192kHz/32-bit PCM and multi-channel DSD.

The UDP-203 will also support high-quality music playback of DVD-Audio, SACD, and CD audio discs.

Furthermore, the UDP-203 offers 7.1-channel audio outputs for connecting to a 7.1-channel or 5.1-channel surround sound A/V receiver or pre-processor. The 7.1-channel outputs feature “Velvet Sound” 32-bit premium digital-to-analog converters from AKM of Japan.

The UDP-203 also contains internal decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks, as well as object-based immersive audio formats such as Dolby Atmos and DTS:X that are encoded on Blu-ray discs.

Additional features include:

• Dual HDMI Outputs – Separates video and audio signals
• HDMI 2.0a with HDCP 2.2 copy protection
• Built-in 802.11ac Wi-Fi
• Custom-made High Precision Disc Loader
• HDR to SDR Conversion
• Upscaling to Ultra HD (4K) Resolution
• Supports up to 4k@60 resolution with native 4:4:4 Color Space
• High-Quality Metal Construction
• New High-Resolution User Interface
• 3D playback

 

Connectivity:

• 2 HDMI outputs
• 1 HDMI input
• 1 Optical digital output
• 1 Coaxial digital output
• 2 USB 3.0 inputs
• 1 Ethernet input
• 7.1 channel analog RCA audio outputs
• RS-232C port
• Triggers – input and output

With all that the Oppo UDP-203 has to offer, it is lacking one key feature that some users may not want to go without, which is no support for streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon, YouTube and Pandora, for example. Oppo’s reason for this omission is as follows:

“In order to provide a premium user experience with quick start-up times and fast response, the UDP-203 is designed with a purist approach in mind for disc and file playback, and so it does not carry internet video and music streaming apps.”

The lack of any streaming services may not be a problem for many consumers, including myself, since there are other options to access the apps these services provide, such as your smart TV, or streaming media devices like a Roku box or Amazon Fire Stick.

Oppo’s UDP-203 is one of the best 4K Blu-ray players available and will remain such, even as this market grows with the release of more players, simply because of its superb video capabilities and its excellent audio reproduction. This is a 4K Blu-ray player I can highly recommend.

In early 2017, Oppo will be releasing its high-end UDP-205 audiophile 4K UHD Blu-ray disc player. This unit will deliver reference-quality audio, and I assume better picture quality if it uses Darbee video processing which enhances video quality and was used in previous units like the Oppo BDP-105D.

Price: $549.00 – Buy now from Amazon.com

SPECIFICATIONS provided by Oppo:

• Disc Types:* 4K UHD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, AVCHD, SACD, CD, Kodak Picture CD, CD-R/RW, DVD±R/RW, DVD±R DL, BD-R/RE
• BD Profile: BD-ROM Version 3.1 Profile 6 (also compatible with BD-ROM Version 2.5 Profile 5)
• Output: Analog Audio: 7.1ch, 5.1ch, stereo. Coaxial/Optical Audio: up to 2ch/192kHz PCM, Dolby Digital, DTS. HDMI Audio: up to 7.1ch/192kHz PCM, up to 5.1ch DSD, Bitstream. HDMI Video: UHD/1080p24/1080p/1080i/720p/576p/576i/480p/480i, 3D frame-packing 720p/1080p24.
• Input: HDMI Audio: up to 7.1ch/192kHz PCM, up to 5.1ch DSD, Bitstream. HDMI Video: UHD/1080p24/1080p/1080i/720p/576p/576i/480p/480i, 3D frame-packing 720p/1080p24.
• Audio Characteristics:** Frequency: 20Hz – 48kHz (±0.2dB), 20Hz – 96kHz (-4dB ˜ +0.05dB), Signal-to-Noise Ratio: >112dB (A-weighted, Unmute), THD+N: < 0.001% (1kHz at 0dBFS, 20kHz LPF), Crosstalk: < -103dB (A-weighted)
• General Specification: Power Supply: 100V – 240V˜, 50/60Hz AC, Power Consumption: 40W (Standby: 0.5W in Energy Efficient Mode), Dimensions: 16.9 x 12.2 x 3.1 inches (430mm x 311mm x 79mm), Mass: 9.5lbs (4.3kg)
• Operating Temperature: 41°F – 95°F, 5°C – 35°C
• Operating Humidity: 15% – 75%, no condensation

* Compatibility with user-encoded contents or user-created discs is on a best effort basis with no guarantee due to the variation of media, software and techniques used.

**Nominal specification.

All image credit Oppo Digital

Note – As of 2018, Oppo no longer manufacturers disc players.