OPPO UDP-203 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Player Preview

OK, so you got a 4K Ultra TV for Christmas and now you need something to watch that isn’t upconverted from 1080p or streamed from Netflix. Now you’re in luck, OPPO announced the release of the new UDP-203 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc player which will be ready for shipping in early 2017.  The $549 price point makes them a solid contender for an affordable 4K Blu-ray player already, but considering that most of the reviewers here at Audioholics use OPPO standard Blu-ray players as their source material for listening tests for their audio equipment and home theater reviews we’re confident that the new OPPO UDP-203 will also be one of the better UHD Blu-ray players on the market at any price.

We got a quick peek of the new UDP-203 this fall at CEDIA in Dallas, Texas. The UDP-203 is a successor to OPPOs award-winning BDP-103 universal Blu-ray Disc player. In this generation, the OPPO UDP-203 will support the playback of 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs. Packing a resolution of up to 3840 x 2160 pixels, UHD Blu-ray delivers four times the pixels of Full HD Blu-ray. The UDP-203 also supports High Dynamic Range (HDR) and Wide Color Gamut. All these features mean the newest OPPO Blu-ray should provide an enhanced resolution, refined contrast, greater brightness, and expanded color over standard Blu-ray discs.

Oppo UDP-203 Ultra HD Blu-ray Player Sneak Peek

The Technology

A customized quad-core video decoder/processor integrates OPPO’s advanced video decoding, processing and optimization expertise. A high-precision, well-balanced laser optical disc loader ensures smooth and reliable playback of all types of disc media. The player features two HDMI outputs – an HDMI 2.0 port for connecting to the latest UHD TVs, projectors and A/V receivers, and an HDMI 1.4 audio port for connecting to older A/V receivers. Integration-friendly features such as RS-232 control, back panel IR sensor and third-party IP control should make the UDP-203 a great choice for any home theater system.

The good news is you don’t have to repurchase your entire library of Blu-ray videos for movies you occasionally watch. The design of the UDP-203 focuses on quality playback and universal compatibility with multiple disc and file formats. In addition to the latest UHD Blu-ray, the UDP-203 supports regular Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, DVD-Audio, SACD, and audio CD. The UDP-203 is equipped with two USB 3.0 ports on the back and another USB port on the front. Users can play video, music and photos from USB hard drives or thumb drives. Built-in 802.11ac Wi-Fi or Gigabit Ethernet connects the UDP-203 to your home network, so you can easily play media files stored on computers and home servers.

For the audiophytes, the UDP-203 is further complemented by its support of lossless high resolution audio. The player decodes audio file formats such as AIFF, WAV, ALAC, APE and FLAC. It also directly plays Direct-Stream Digital audio files in stereo DSD64/128 or multi-channel DSD64. With internal decoding of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, and bitstream output for object-based immersive audio formats such as Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, the UDP-203 delivers great sound for both movie soundtracks and music. Besides HDMI, audio is concurrently available through the 7.1-channel analog outputs, featuring 32-bit premium digital-to-analog converters from AKM of Japan.

Conclusion

We can sympathize with OPPO’s approach of keeping it simple when it comes to streaming services. There are none. For quicker start up times and faster response time (a problem plaguing most first generation UHD Blu-ray players), OPPO decided to eliminate internet video and music streaming apps. Instead, an HDMI 2.0 input port that supports UHD resolution is available for users to connect an external streaming device such as an Apple TV or Amazon FireTV. This approach gives you the flexibility to choose from a wide range of streaming devices and easily upgrade as streaming technologies evolve, while still taking advantage of the UDP-203's audio and video processing capabilities.

The UDP-203 is upgradable via firmware updates. Since the Ultra HD Blu-ray format is still very new, you can expect ongoing firmware updates that introduce new features and resolve issues. Leveraging hardware designed to support Dolby Vision, you can expect a firmware update in early 2017 that brings Dolby Vision support to the player.

We're looking for BIG things from OPPO's UDP-203.  If it performs as well as it's other Blu-ray players but with the benefit of 4K Ultra HD and available upgrades we think you'll be really pleased with your purchase.  The UDP-203 will retail for $549 and will be available for shipping in early spring 2017.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.