Still Considering an OPPO 4K Blu-ray Player? You’re Probably Out of Luck

Still Considering an OPPO 4K Blu-ray Player? You’re Probably Out of Luck​

(OPPO Digital) (June 7, 2018) Two months ago, the industry’s leading 4K Blu-ray disc player manufacturer – OPPO Digital – announced it was closing its doors. For many hardcore home theater enthusiasts and 2-channel aficionados, this has been a tough pill to swallow (and understandably so). OPPO’s product performance standards and customer support have long been benchmark worthy, making for an unparalleled customer experience from purchase to use. The reasoning behind the company’s surprising decision was said to be complex, ultimately driven by lower than expected sales numbers. Add to that a slumping disc industry and it’s easy to see why OPPO decided the long-term viability of its business was in doubt.

Despite its decision to cease manufacturing, OPPO remains committed to supporting warranties, offering repair services, and issuing occasional firmware updates for its products. And while the company hasn’t committed to a specified support timeframe, it expects to offer product support for “several years into the future.” And for that reason, the OPPO’s popular UDP-203 and UDP-205 4K Blu-ray players have remained a recommended buy.

Yesterday, I caught up with OPPO’s Jason Liao (Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Product Development) to see which OPPO products are still in stock. As previously predicted, its old stock of UDP-203 and UDP-205 players is completely sold out. The company has one last batch of these players going through the manufacturing process, but your chances of purchasing one are slim to say the least. According to Liao: “We have set up a ‘Let Me Know’ list on the [players’ product pages] so interested customers can be notified when the last batch becomes available. So far, the lists are over-subscribed and we will not have enough units for everyone who signed up.”

Disappointed?

The good news is that OPPO’s players can be found for sale – both used and new – on various websites. The bad news is your wallet is going to take a hit. A quick scan of eBay’s recently completed listings for both players shows final sale prices that are hundreds of dollars over MSRP, and new in box “Buy It Now” auctions currently range from $850 for the UDP-203 to a whopping $2,499 for the UDP-205. That makes for hefty mark-ups over original sale prices. Unfortunately, pricing on Amazon’s secondhand market (among other lesser known sites) isn’t much better.

Liao says the only currently stocked OPPO product is its sweet-sounding Sonica Wi-Fi speaker, making the company’s popular DACs and headphone models near unobtanium as well. Pricing for Sonica remains steady at $299. You can read a full review of Sonica’s sound and functionality, here.

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

Color me glad I ordered mine last month.

 

[Todd Anderson]

Smart choice, Thrillcat. I think both players will have utility for years to come!

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

It's really strange. In this day and age, the vast majority of companies are such that I wouldn't buy their product because of terrible support even when they're staying open. Oppo shutting down didn't faze me at all. Zero hesitation.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I can understand why... I’ve been an OPPO customer since their DVD days. It’s been a great ride.

The only hiccup/frustration came with the 10x series and it’s inability to properly handle seamless branching (resulting in audio dropouts on select TrueHD titles). But, that was only due to outdated hardware, which happens, and only affected a handful of titles (Only happened to me with the new Total Recall, if memory serves).

 

[GFOviedo]

Eventually no one will be manufacturing DVD/Bluray players at all since everything will be streamed.

 

[Tony V.]

Haven't seen a streaming service yet that can equally match the quality of a BluRay or UHD disc. It's got some time to go before that will happen in my mind.

 

[JBrax]

Haven't seen a streaming service yet that can equally match the quality of a BluRay or UHD disc. It's got some time to go before that will happen in my mind.

We’re closer than you think. I’ve been extremely impressed by the quality of AppleTV 4K. The addition of Dolby Atmos gets us that much closer.

 

[GFOviedo]

Haven't seen a streaming service yet that can equally match the quality of a BluRay or UHD disc. It's got some time to go before that will happen in my mind.

We’re closer than you think. I’ve been extremely impressed by the quality of AppleTV 4K. The addition of Dolby Atmos gets us that much closer.

I agree with both of you. We will soon be up to the 4K standard. I remember the dial up days when you either use the internet or use the phone line. That’s why I don’t bother with buying a 4K player such as Oppo since it will eventually be obsolete. I’m not saying that many will still get one because for now having a 4K player is probably more effective and efficient than trying to stream 4K content.

 

[typ44q]

I had plans for getting a 203 but at the time their version of Dolby Vision did not work with my Sony 65 A1E and I was afraid that it wasn't going to be updated.
Boy do I feel silly now.