Oppo 83 Vs Momitsu 799

[punkuk]

I recently received and returned my Oppo 83 due to the fact I did not do my homework in regards to region free playback .
I then did some homework and found the Momitsu 799 which seems to be an unknown player as I cannot find many
reviews.
The reviews I did find stated it suffered from noise when playing and that the 899 was a better choice but I cannot find a reseller for the 899.
XPCGEAR (where I was going to purchase the 799) said that Momitsu are no longer shipping the 899 and HKFlix are no longer stocking ether model.

My requirements are playback of DVD region code 2 (the UK) I am not really interested in the Blu-ray regions outside the USA but a regular DVD playback for my UK DVD's in a must.

Also I am into high end stereo and use Tubes for my analog and digital (CD) playback so the Oppo seemed to be a good choice I cannot afford the SE but the regular 83 seemed to be very well received.
So the question is should I settle for the Momitsu 799 at $200 or get a modded Oppo with I believe a voided
warrantee at $500
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[jman98]

Yes, HKFlix has unfortunately stopped selling hardware. The official reason, which may be true, is that they want to concentrate on their DVD/VCD selling business. A cynical person such as myself might consider the possibility that Hollywood "convinced" them to stop selling modified players.

In any event, I have the 899 player. It works for DVD and BluRay region free playback (I've tested both). I like the player. One downside is that it refuses to attach itself to my network, so I cannot do any BluRay Live stuff. I never bothered to test this until long after the player had been purchased, so I'm stuck. It's not a big deal, but I must warn you that if you care about BluRay Live that you should test that as soon as possible as others have reported the same problem as me and nobody has a fix that works for it other than replacing the player with another one.

It's my understanding that all the Oppo BluRay players can be made region free with a firmware mod, but you have to do that yourself. The Momistu should ship ready to go with a hardware mod done by the seller after it left the manufacturer. The 899 uses a good video decoder chip. I don't remember which one, but you can find some reviews that talk about it. The Oppo should use higher quality hardware though, including the audio components. Note that the Momitsu does NOT support SACD and DVD-Audio, although the Oppo does.

[punkuk]

Thanks for the response

From every post I have read I thought the Oppo needed a hardware mod if it is only a firmware mod I will reorder the 83 as I was impressed by the performance based on the two Blu-rays I watched, Avatar and 2012 through a Optoma 8600 and a very large screen

I did see one post regarding the firmware hack but as it did not have any responses I was a little skeptical on the results.

Has anyone attempted a firmware hack on the 83 even if it just covers DVDs and not Blu-Ray

[redsandvb]

The firmware hack was a pretty old version that worked. I think If you ordered the BDP-83 now, the firmware wouldn't allow you to flash backward to that older hacked one...or maybe it would try and you'd brick the player. They (Oppo) changed something in the firmware/upgrade process that won't allow it. The sort of recommended hardware mod is the one from http://bluraychip.dk/. It's supposed to be very easy to install, there's info there. Oppo either has or has said that they would still service players with the mod installed, just that they'd remove it if it was necessary to complete the repair. I don't remember which. This thread at AVSForum has more info, but it's very long. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1124287

BTW, you know about the cheaper BDP-80 ($290)? I guess you'd like the 83 better though, since you mentioned large screen size, SD DVD, and analog use.

Good luck,



Edit:

from the unofficial official FAQ for the BDP-83:

Warning
Using modified hardware or firmware voids your OPPO warranty. Any support must be provided by the third party making the modification.
Later: according to OPPO customer support: "Technically hardware modifications void the warranty, but we have never denied a customer service due to modifications. We may remove the mod (if necessary for a repair) but that is it."

the link,
http://watershade.net/wmcclain/BDP-83-faq.html#can-it-be-made-region-free-for-blu-ray-or-dvd


And really, you could just email customer service directly, they'll let you know.

[punkuk]

For another $20 I figure get an already mooded 83 that way I do not need to stress over opening up a $500 player and screwing it up

http://www.world-import.com/OPPO_BDP83_Region_Free_Blu_Ray_DVD_with_Built_In_Video_Converter.htm

Any thoughts as I wanna try to make the right choice and would like to get it ordered this week

[redsandvb]

Did you take a look at the installation pdf over at bluraychip.dk? http://bluraychip.dk/attachment.php?id_attachment=3 It looks pretty easy to do. It really is the one most owners (many of whom are very knowledgeable) at the avsforum thread have and recommend. I am not familiar with world-import or which mod they install. Maybe they're mentioned in the avsforum thread?
The other thing is that ordering directly from Oppo or Amazon or other Authorized Dealers will get you Oppo's warranty. Not sure about ordering from world-import.
For what it's worth, I'm thinking of eventually getting the bluraychip.dk mod for my 83. Not a priority for me right now though, I just rip whatever few non-region 1 DVDs I watch and burn them as region 0 (or all region, not exactly sure ).

[punkuk]

Good point and I think I will take your advice as you say buying from an authorized source offers me the full warentee

I did try a ripped DVD (AnyDVD) and it played fine, just have a few series that has 10+ cds from the UK I am now wishing that I did not return the origonel one

[redsandvb]

Hope it goes well. If you end up with questions, that avsforum thread is a good place to ask them/search for answers.