Oppo Digital to stop selling new products.

[Hdale85]

Just saw this on the facebook feed this morning.

https://www.oppodigital.com/farewell.aspx

[Kevin P]

That's a bummer. They always seemed to have great products. I have long considered Oppo as my next BD or UHD BD player... just no money to upgrade at this time.

I wonder what other brands have similar quality for the price.

[Hdale85]

Apparently they have some sort of ties to the Chinese government so they are affected by the new trade tarrifs. At least that's what I've heard/read else where.

[Ovation]

Well, that's a bummer. At first I thought it might be an elaborate April Fool's Joke, but no. I'm not in any position to go UHD (unless lotto winnings fall in my lap) for another 3-5 years, so I'm not going to rush to grab one now. Guess the Sony X800 player moves higher on my (future) list--or its equivalent. The Sony has all the audio options I want (SACD and, surprisingly, DVD-A) and isn't too expensive. But I had been looking forward to whatever Oppo had when I was ready to upgrade. Oh well, still have my BDP-83 for SACD/DVD-A/CD playback (have region-free Sony 3-D Blu-ray player for movies).

[Alaric]

Apparently they have some sort of ties to the Chinese government so they are affected by the new trade tarrifs. At least that's what I've heard/read else where.

Every Chinese company has ties to the Chinese government. China's desire to be one of the big boys will do the job, though. China wants what we have and they can't have it unless they do things the way the West does things. They think they can get Western style income with communist business practices and it will never happen. In the last 20 years China has developed scores of multi-millionaires and billionaires. The more money that's in private hands, the faster the shift to a market driven economy.

Look at it this way: The Chinese people can no longer be insulated from the rest of the world's existence. Over a billion Chinese have started asking uncomfortable questions like "Where is my car?" Where is my disposable income?", and the one that will probably fell the last great communist empire-"Where's MY f*&#! iPhone???" Oppo will be back.

[Hdale85]

Well there are some Chinese companies that aren't going to be effected so I'm not sure.

[bigburner]

A more likely explanation is the rapid expansion of cheap streaming media players. Sales and rentals of discs have fallen over the past few years and will continue to fall. Consumers now prefer to watch video through their streaming media players, not their disc players.

Nigel.

[Ovation]

A more likely explanation is the rapid expansion of cheap streaming media players. Sales and rentals of discs have fallen over the past few years and will continue to fall. Consumers now prefer to watch video through their streaming media players, not their disc players.

Nigel.

I suspect their decision to drop various streaming apps from their latest models, despite the ubiquitous presence of such apps on TVs, other devices like AppleTV, Roku, etc., created an impression of obsolescence for some potential buyers. Another big factor, IMO, is the price. The players, while not outrageously expensive compared to much "high-end" gear (even rather inexpensive in relative terms), are considerably more expensive than the average consumer is willing to pay. I paid 700$ in 2001 for a DVD player, at a time when they could easily be had for half as much--because I wanted the DVD-A capability found in the Panasonic model (built like a tank, incidentally) I had chosen. NO ONE in my circle of friends and family could understand why I would want to spend that kind of money (they still wonder when it comes to my current gear--gear that is quite modest by enthusiast standards). The same applies today, except where I was paying twice the typical rate, the OPPOs represent up to five times the typical rate. The same pressures that drove Pioneer out of plasma TVs, despite making the best ones on the market, are clearly at play here with OPPO.

[Hdale85]

Nigel, the announcement came right after the announcement of the trade tariffs. Considering they were already at the upper end of the market inflating prices further due to import taxes likely would make people less interested I'm guessing.

[Ovation]

Nigel, the announcement came right after the announcement of the trade tariffs. Considering they were already at the upper end of the market inflating prices further due to import taxes likely would make people less interested I'm guessing.

If the tariffs were enough to tip them into ceasing operations, then their profit margins were unsustainably low. The vast bulk of these proposed tariffs have not yet been applied, many of them are at least months, if not a year or two, away from being implemented--should there be no reversal (historically, in the post-WWII period, threats of tariffs have been far more common than actual implementations). This is not to suggest the tariffs played a role in the decision, but it does suggest they were already in a precarious position without the tariffs.

[Lex]

It's probably a reduction in sale of Blu Rays more than anything, but who knows for sure. I have a couple of bd players, one being the first one Sony produced, slow, yes, but still a nice machine.

[kmak]

Personally, I haven't bought a BluRay disc for years. My Pioneer Elite BD player just doesn't get much use, which is a shame. I've fallen into the streaming/convenience trap..........

[Ovation]

I'm still buying discs (even the occasional UHD when the price is very close to the BD--they come with BDs I can use now and UHD I can use later). However, seems my choices of player will be more limited than in the old days. Oh well.

[Alaric]

My player will be an ODD in my computer (also my HTPC/daily driver/gaming rig) and Nero.

[technodanvan]

For most things I just stick with digital nowadays, but there are a few exceptions to that rule:

1. Anime: I don't buy a lot of this, but all digital variants I have seen are either an English dub OR Japanese with subtitles. I'd prefer to have both, because I'm a nerd. This is a pretty limited selection though, since most anime is watch it once and never see it again (for me). Cowboy Bebop would be one of those exceptions. Regular Blu-Ray is fine for these since most are old and low-ish resolution.

2. Movies that I anticipate watching for years to come. This is also a pretty limited set, but would include most Marvel movies, Star Wars, potentially Star Trek, LOTR, and a few others here and there. That said, I'm only interested in buying these in 'final' sets (if that even means anything anymore). 4K HDR and a nice box and stuff. Basically none of my favorite movies meet those requirements right now, which is great since I don't really have any other equipment to support it anyhow.

I'll admit - I was one of the people allowed to purchase an Oppo UDP-205, and I was also one of those people that turned around and sold it for profit. I'm not sure I regret that decision given the circumstances at the time, but it was really a nice looking piece of hardware. I don't know what I would replace it with now, but the focus would probably be more for CDs/SACDs than Blu Rays.

[JonMarsh]

This is so funny to come across this topic... I just finally got around to unpacking my very late model OPPO UHD 4K Blu Ray player bought partly as a hedge for future video use but also because I have an AudioPraise hardware board set I bought that plugs right in in place of the original analog board, and an provide PCM multichannel output from any audio source, including SACD disks. So, while this would make a great video machine for my needs in my audio/video den with the Epson 4K projector I have, I have decisions to make about how I do that. I could use the AudioPraise PCM conversion board, and just connect to a couple of DACs for local output... or, reserve it for video.

Decisions, decisions.


And this is another example of what I tell my friends is my story of delayed gratification, due to the various events since 2016. I'm unpacking a lot of items that have been tucked away in storage for years, literally. Partly because many are specialized enough that it was very possible I wouldn't be able to buy them later. And that has proven to be the case...

[theSven]

This is so funny to come across this topic... I just finally got around to unpacking my very late model OPPO UHD 4K Blu Ray player bought partly as a hedge for future video use but also because I have an AudioPraise hardware board set I bought that plugs right in in place of the original analog board, and an provide PCM multichannel output from any audio source, including SACD disks. So, while this would make a great video machine for my needs in my audio/video den with the Epson 4K projector I have, I have decisions to make about how I do that. I could use the AudioPraise PCM conversion board, and just connect to a couple of DACs for local output... or, reserve it for video.

Decisions, decisions.


And this is another example of what I tell my friends is my story of delayed gratification, due to the various events since 2016. I'm unpacking a lot of items that have been tucked away in storage for years, literally. Partly because many are specialized enough that it was very possible I wouldn't be able to buy them later. And that has proven to be the case...

Talk about some amazing planning ahead and not even knowing that it would be that great to have!