Oppo Bdp-93

[cwt]

Yeah that was what i thought and still do, push out the small guys so only one larger sanctimonious company remains, oops an i thought i was on the fence. Off again My support for Gatti will not EVER waiver.

Yeah that was what i thought and still do, push out the small guys so only one larger sanctimonious company remains, oops an i thought i was on the fence. Off again My support for Gatti will not EVER waiver.

Hey Anden ; the good thing here as djos elicited is oppo and amazon can still sell direct ;so ID is constrained on price you would think and has nominated prices of the bat allready Lets see if they hold true...

My support for Gatti will not EVER waiver

Does that include becoming an ID reseller ?

[Saxon Hall]

Anden, the ONLY reason IDA is even remotely intersted in exclusive rights to distributing the Oppo brand is MONEY, guaranteed we will se a 20-30% price increase and restrictive support of non Australian models if and when they win the rights.

When you say "if and when" that confuses me. I understood they have been aleady appointed official "Australian Agents" Oppo have said that Australians will still be able to buy direct from them or Amazon, so what is the issue here? You can buy locally or buy direct, your choice. The reference to IDA only being in it to make money is also intriguing to me. As far as I know they are not a charitable orginasation so I guess that would be their intention, would it not?

[Anden]

Could not have put it better, thanks chops.

[IanD1503559705]

There was a High Court case that addressed the issue of region coding (amongst other things) - a copy of the decision is here: http://www.austlii.e...CA/2005/58.html. Paragraphs 175, 214 and 215 come to the point (well as close as you're ever likely to get in the legal system). My understanding is that this decision was what led to DVD players being freely available in Australia region free from the manufacturer. There's been some speculation that the combination of the subsequent Free Trade Agreement with the US and the US DMCA legislation could override this, albeit based on the High Court's constitutional comments this would not appear to be a given.

In a practical sense, Toshiba is currently offering blu-ray players locally that are region free for DVD and region selectable for blu-ray. Most of the other major local distributors of blu-ray players are offering DVD region free "upgrades" as a free service.

IIRC, Sony mounted a challenge after the High Court case, although I am not sure if it was overturned. I don't think the situation changed for the consumer in a practical sense though.

The introduction of Bluray players and their licensing seems to have enabled DVD region code locking to be re-introduced. At some point Cinavia was worked into the licensing too.

In the case of Toshiba, I think you will find that they come factory locked to Region B/4 and you have to install the firmware on CD that is provided in the box before you can change the DVD or Bluray region code using an access code. Most manufacturers supply their equipment region locked, as per their licensing arrangements, but some have what might be called 3rd party techniques for the consumer to modify that for themselves, sometimes provided by the manufacturer. It must be a fine line satisfying both the licensing requirements and consumer demands.

No Bluray player is BD region free: the best that can be achieved is region switchable. Even DVD can not be made completely region free for all titles by setting the region to 0 as the studios introduced RCE (Region Code Enhancement) to stuff that up with mainly Region 1 titles.

Edited January 8, 2012 by IanD

[betty boop]

Ian reading your post above, myself as a purchaser of bd players in the last 5-6 years all of which being DVD region free out of box ( on no request or action of mine) two of which including players from Sony, one denon, one pioneer one cambridge audio, one panasonic would have to say you are horribly misinformed about capabilities of players being sold in the market place to this point. For someone like yourself in the industry I would say you need to get out from behind the desk and computer and do some market research, as cleary unaware of the current state of play if that what seek to determine. and clearly are ignoring what is being said to you. Want legal advice ? you dont come to a forum for that, consult a lawyer specialised in the field. Am not wasting my time discussing anything further with you on the topic.

[Quark]

IanD, there has been a subsequent gaming mods case (and I cbf looking it up) with the result that mods that allow copying of games (but also had the affect of bypassing region coding) were confirmed as illegal. This was to be expected, as the copying was a clear infringement of intellectual property.

[Quark]

One thing I have never understood about the Free Trade Agreement is why it supports region coding? If the entire point of the FTA is to allow access to each others markets, surely hardware and licienceing agreements that seek to restrict this, like region coding, breach the spirit of the FTA?

I'm not sure that region coding is even mentioned in the FTA. The legal "figleaf" for region coding is that it's there to support regional licencing (e.g. different companies having movie licencing rights in different countries) and/or local movie censorship classifications. Of course the absence of region coding on HD-DVD (and the ongoing absence of blu-ray region coding by some studios) show that these are only facades for monopolistic behaviour and regional price gouging. As it turned out, the majority of the studios were seduced by the latter and blu-ray prevailed.

[betty boop]

I'm not sure that region coding is even mentioned in the FTA. The legal "figleaf" for region coding is that it's there to support regional licencing (e.g. different companies having movie licencing rights in different countries) and/or local movie censorship classifications. Of course the absence of region coding on HD-DVD (and the ongoing absence of blu-ray region coding by some studios) show that these are only facades for monopolistic behaviour and regional price gouging. As it turned out, the majority of the studios were seduced by the latter and blu-ray prevailed.

Quark you are quite right with your comments above. The Sony case was to do with copyright. With Region coding the Accc made sure it was reenforced that they saw region coding for DVD as anti competition. To the point the government even went to point of puttin out a fact sheet. Still current and on the topic

http://www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/rwpattach.nsf/VAP/(CFD7369FCAE9B8F32F341DBE097801FF)~Copyright+Fact+Sheet+-+Technological+Protection+Measures+liability+scheme.pdf/$file/Copyright+Fact+Sheet+-+Technological+Protection+Measures+liability+scheme.pdf

It specifically says ...

"An access control TPM specifically excludes TPMs which control geographic market segmentation. This means that consumers will be able to circumvent the region coding TPMs on legitimate DVDs purchased overseas. It also allows for the continued availability of region-free DVD players."

This is from the attorney general.... But only covers DVD

[David Williams]

No Bluray player is BD region free: the best that can be achieved is region switchable. Even DVD can not be made completely region free for all titles by setting the region to 0 as the studios introduced RCE (Region Code Enhancement) to stuff that up with mainly Region 1 titles.

Yes RCE2 - but most DVD mods I have seen do work fine with RCE2 discs - I haven't seen any my Oppo can't play anyway.

[SDL]

Without wanting to sound like defending a distributor, what they do is take on the warranty responsibility and have to stock parts, so it isn't just adding fees and making money. Whether in this ce it is warranted given the support received to date direct from OPPO I don't know, but maybe given the umber of players now in this market maybe OPPO want to offset some of the burden themselves?

[David Williams]

Just checked my Oppo with a RCE coded disc and it works fine. Oppo reports it is set to Region 0.

[David Williams]

Without wanting to sound like defending a distributor, what they do is take on the warranty responsibility and have to stock parts, so it isn't just adding fees and making money. Whether in this ce it is warranted given the support received to date direct from OPPO I don't know, but maybe given the umber of players now in this market maybe OPPO want to offset some of the burden themselves?

Exactly how much warranty support do you think they need to provide? I haven't ever had to return any DVD/Bluray player for repair in the warranty period yet. I doubt this is a burden for Oppo. If it is then I guess I made a bad decision buying a premium player if it's going to break down under warranty. JMHO.

[blybo]

Without wanting to sound like defending a distributor, what they do is take on the warranty responsibility and have to stock parts, so it isn't just adding fees and making money. Whether in this ce it is warranted given the support received to date direct from OPPO I don't know, but maybe given the umber of players now in this market maybe OPPO want to offset some of the burden themselves?

Well said SDL. I think members here sometimes get a little carried away with the so called rorting done by local distributors.

[Quark]

[quote name= ' timestamp='1326064460' post='1771533]

Quark you are quite right with your comments above. The Sony case was to do with copyright. With Region coding the Accc made sure it was reenforced that they saw region coding for DVD as anti competition. To the point the government even went to point of puttin out a fact sheet. Still current and on the topic

http://www.ag.gov.au...F341DBE097801FF)~Copyright+Fact+Sheet+-+Technological+Protection+Measures+liability+scheme.pdf/$file/Copyright+Fact+Sheet+-+Technological+Protection+Measures+liability+scheme.pdf

It specifically says ...

"An access control TPM specifically excludes TPMs which control geographic market segmentation. This means that consumers will be able to circumvent the region coding TPMs on legitimate DVDs purchased overseas. It also allows for the continued availability of region-free DVD players."

This is from the attorney general.... But only covers DVD

Thanks Al - good link, but was broken in your post - trying again: [link didn't work]

Edit: above link didn't work - copy and paste this link into your browser header:

www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/rwpattach.nsf/VAP/%28CFD7369FCAE9B8F32F341DBE097801FF%29~Copyright+Fact+Sheet+-+Technological+Protection+Measures+liability+scheme.pdf/$file/Copyright+Fact+Sheet+-+Technological+Protection+Measures+liability+scheme.pdf

Edit: Michael, this looks like a definitive government position on region free DVD players in Australia.

Edited January 8, 2012 by Quark

[709er]

On another note, have any other Oppo 93 owners watched Avatar in 3D?

My disc plays perfectly right up until when the end credits go to "black and white", then the signal cuts in and out (and just pauses and then plays the picture and sound) until the end.

I have changed the remote code on the Oppo (thinking that the 3D transmission may be tinkering with it's IR) and have tried blocking all signals from the unit with a blanket, but to no avail.

The end credits play perfectly in 2D mode and perfectly on our Panasonic 3D player (so it's not the disc) - weird!

Any thoughts much appreciated.

Edited January 9, 2012 by 709er

[mts]

Edit: Michael, this looks like a definitive government position on region free DVD players in Australia.

Thanks everyone for your help on this issue. The fact sheet looks good to me - I'll forward this to OPPO and will pursue the topic earnestly.

Covering a few other recent points:

IDA has indeed been officially appointed as Australian and New Zealand distributor for OPPO. This appointment was made by the OPPO parent company, not OPPO Digital, who is the US distributor.

One of OPPO's main reasons for seeking an established distributor in Australia was customer service. With the likely growth of the brand in Australia with promotion and wider distribution, having local customer support, on local time zones, for a local call cost would be seen as a major advantage for OPPO buyers. OPPO's failure rate is low, but as they have explained to IDA, the majority of customer support issues are regarding operation, not faults.

Regarding pricing, it seems there is a mix of OPPO owners on DTV who bought from USA, and those who bought locally from Merlin/Gatti etc. IDA pricing of OPPO will be cheaper than it has been from Merlin, full stop. We're proud of this. We will manage this through larger volumes than Merlin was achieving, and through economies of scale (i.e. IDA has existing infrastructure for service, sales, marketing, logistics etc). As mentioned previously, OPPO wanted to bring Australian products to market, with pricingas close as possible to US pricing. We would like to point out that Australian pricing is significantly cheaper than the European prices seen on OPPO UK website. For example, BDP-93EU is £499 = AU$756 today (www.xe.com). IDA price will be AU$649. The pricing for Australia was agreed with OPPO prior to our appointment, and was another major point of discussion. IDA simply will not want to, or be allowed by OPPO, to "gouge" on pricing.

To those OPPO owners who bought from OPPO USA, and who wish to continue dealing with OPPO USA, we won't stand in your way. You may still be able to save a little by buying direct from USA, but we imagine that the future growth of OPPO in Australia will be driven by people who do not want to buy this way, who want a local warranty, and who can make a phone call when they need support. The technical knowledge of members of this forum is far in advance of the typical customer (and dare i say it, the typical salesperson - although IDA will be working on this), and i can understand why you may prefer to maintain contact with OPPO USA.

[Anden]

Thanks everyone for your help on this issue. The fact sheet looks good to me - I'll forward this to OPPO and will pursue the topic earnestly.

Covering a few other recent points:

IDA has indeed been officially appointed as Australian and New Zealand distributor for OPPO. This appointment was made by the OPPO parent company, not OPPO Digital, who is the US distributor.

One of OPPO's main reasons for seeking an established distributor in Australia was customer service. With the likely growth of the brand in Australia with promotion and wider distribution, having local customer support, on local time zones, for a local call cost would be seen as a major advantage for OPPO buyers. OPPO's failure rate is low, but as they have explained to IDA, the majority of customer support issues are regarding operation, not faults.

Regarding pricing, it seems there is a mix of OPPO owners on DTV who bought from USA, and those who bought locally from Merlin/Gatti etc. IDA pricing of OPPO will be cheaper than it has been from Merlin, full stop. We're proud of this. We will manage this through larger volumes than Merlin was achieving, and through economies of scale (i.e. IDA has existing infrastructure for service, sales, marketing, logistics etc). As mentioned previously, OPPO wanted to bring Australian products to market, with pricingas close as possible to US pricing. We would like to point out that Australian pricing is significantly cheaper than the European prices seen on OPPO UK website. For example, BDP-93EU is £499 = AU$756 today (www.xe.com). IDA price will be AU$649. The pricing for Australia was agreed with OPPO prior to our appointment, and was another major point of discussion. IDA simply will not want to, or be allowed by OPPO, to "gouge" on pricing.

To those OPPO owners who bought from OPPO USA, and who wish to continue dealing with OPPO USA, we won't stand in your way. You may still be able to save a little by buying direct from USA, but we imagine that the future growth of OPPO in Australia will be driven by people who do not want to buy this way, who want a local warranty, and who can make a phone call when they need support. The technical knowledge of members of this forum is far in advance of the typical customer (and dare i say it, the typical salesperson - although IDA will be working on this), and i can understand why you may prefer to maintain contact with OPPO USA.

So,

YA spoken to Merlin OR Gatti yet,

i have, an i know you haven't.

[SDL]

So,

YA spoken to Merlin OR Gatti yet,

i have, an i know you haven't.

While I liked what Merlin and Gatti have done, I can also see from IDA perspective that there are a few other things to put in place before they would need to discuss with Merlin or Gatti. It seems that whether you/we may like it or not OPPO and IDA have reached an agreement and cementing their supply chain, and their business plan around OPPO comes before running around discussing with others they may choose to use. For one it appears the whole issue of region coding and chipping for BD has not yet been clarified.

[cwt]

That's for a Region locked (4/ Oppo 93?

Amazon= US$552 = AUD$541.60 (inc expidited shipping)

that leaves $108 to put toward a mod chip to legally watch imported discs

Another way to look at it Chops $108 is the price you pay to offset the shipping costs back to oppo if anything goes wrong or the oppo is dead on arrival. Its all in the risk your happy with and both type of buyers exist here .

Of course Ive been horribly scarred by my 83 gb experience with customht's Gary Murrell .

Edited January 9, 2012 by cwt

[Anden]

Yes the Custom HT thing really was a huge disappointment ... Are those guys still in business?

Nope,

I think about a year after we all finally got our 83's, his web site was no longer accessible,

Unless he was/is part of an umbrella company an started again

[blairy]

Found a glitch in new firmware. Morning Glory blu-ray freezes when loading. Disc is ok as it plays ok in PS3 and Pana 310

Best bet is to email the disc details to Oppo

blairy

[Anden]

While I liked what Merlin and Gatti have done, I can also see from IDA perspective that there are a few other things to put in place before they would need to discuss with Merlin or Gatti. It seems that whether you/we may like it or not OPPO and IDA have reached an agreement and cementing their supply chain, and their business plan around OPPO comes before running around discussing with others they may choose to use. For one it appears the whole issue of region coding and chipping for BD has not yet been clarified.

Yeah

The price of progress.

Where did i leave my horseless carriage

Don't mean i gotta like it, sssssiiiiiggggghhhhh.

Edited January 9, 2012 by Anden

[David Williams]

I

While not trying to in any way knock the great service provided by Gatti or Merlin one thing I will say that the price from both of them and many others that sell a modded Oppo nowadays is imho not far short of price gouging also and yet noone has taken issue with that especially given the strength of the dollar for sometime now..

I dunno - factor in freight for small quantities, GST and the local support and warranty and ir seemed ok to me. I'm sure IDA will do a good job of this too but if you get your player modded all bets are off which is a concern. I hope Gatti and Merlin will still offer modded players.

[blairy]

On another note, have any other Oppo 93 owners watched Avatar in 3D?

My disc plays perfectly right up until when the end credits go to "black and white", then the signal cuts in and out (and just pauses and then plays the picture and sound) until the end.

I have changed the remote code on the Oppo (thinking that the 3D transmission may be tinkering with it's IR) and have tried blocking all signals from the unit with a blanket, but to no avail.

The end credits play perfectly in 2D mode and perfectly on our Panasonic 3D player (so it's not the disc) - weird!

Any thoughts much appreciated.

Sounds like another one that needs to be reported to Oppo

blairy

[blairy]

Anybody having difficulties with Despicble Me?

I can play all through the bits at the start but when the screen on oppo says Top Menu the TV screen is blank.

This is a Universal release, region A, B & C. Over on AVS forums the EU oppo users were having difficulties with Universal releases in recent weeks. Don't know if it's related to that.

Will email oppo and see what happens

blairy