Oppo BDP-83 Universal Blu-ray Player - Physical Tour
7/24/2009 - Mike Rollet
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Physical Tour
The BDP-83 features a clean-looking, brushed black aluminum front panel with the usual controls. There are buttons for Power, Open/Close, Play/OK, Chapter Skip Forward and Back, Stop and Pause. The disk tray sits above a display with information on disk type, track, time, playback status, audio track and channel number, HDMI (if active), network (if active) and camera angle. There is also an IR receiving eye to the left of the disk tray.
Rear Panel:
The rear panel of the BDP-83 sports all the connection options you’re likely to need. Moving from left to right, there are 7.1/5.1 analog audio outputs, as well as stereo audio output jacks. Next are both coaxial and optical digital audio outputs, followed by analog video outputs (composite and component), LAN port and USB 2.0 jack. Finally, there is the HDMI output, both IR input and output (for pass through to another Oppo component like their HDMI switch), exhaust fan port and power cord connection. RS-232 control can be obtained as an option for an additional charge.
Remote Control
Oppo’s previous products have had some pretty basic remotes, but that all ends with the BDP-83. The BDP-83’s remote is fully backlit (activated by a button at the bottom of the remote) and has buttons to cover nearly every function imaginable. In addition to the usual number keys and disk playback functions (Play, FF, Rewind etc.), there are buttons for changing the resolution (which can be done during playback), adjusting the output volume and mute, dimming the front panel display and turning off the video during audio-only playback. There is also a set of four colored buttons (red, green, blue and yellow), which are primarily used for special features during photo or music playback.
Finally, while most components these days have discrete On and Off controls available, very few actually place those buttons on the remote. The BDP-83’s remote has both a “Power” toggle button and dedicated On and Off buttons.
Another thoughtful touch is two separate recesses on the backside of the remote. When your index finger is in the upper position, your thumb is aligned with the navigation buttons. When in the lower recess, your thumb is aligned with the transport buttons. This makes it easy to access the most used functions without using the backlight..
