Oppo BDP-95 Settings

By Scott Wilkinson • Posted: Apr 25, 2011

I recently bought an Oppo BDP-95 Blu-ray player, and I already have a Pioneer PRO-110FD Kuro plasma TV. Which video setting should I use in the player, Auto or Source Direct? I've tried both, and the picture looks great either way. I've also tried 1080p, and that looked great as well, though I understand this is far from an ideal setting for 1080i sources. Is there anything I should be looking for to see which setting is better? I have a Denon AVR-4308CI receiver, but I set it to pass the video signal through without any processing.
I use the AVR's HDMI 1 input for movies, but I also hooked up the player's 5.1 analog outs to the receiver's Ext. In. This is for listening to music (CD, SACD, DVD-Audio). For Blu-ray music, should I use the analog out when the signal is PCM? Is the HDMI out better for the lossless forms of Dolby and DTS? As an aside, the player's manual hints that it is better to output SACDs from the analog outs as PCM rather than DSD. Is this because the player likely does a better job at decoding the DSD signals?

Stephen Beney

Let's start with the video-resolution setting. Source Direct tells the player to output whatever resolution is encoded on the disc, while Auto scales everything to whatever resolution is best for the display. (The display tells the player what its resolution is via HDMI's Extended Display Identification Data, or EDID, message.) Your Pioneer plasma has 1080p resolution, so both settings have the same result as setting the output to 1080p—that is, the player outputs 1080p. Any of these three settings will produce the same image with 1080p Blu-rays on your TV.

With discs at other resolutions—DVDs, for instance—it might make a difference. In this case, the question is, which device does a better job upscaling standard-def content, the player or the display? The best way to find out is to play the same DVD clip twice—once with the player set to 1080p, which upscales the image in the player, and again with the player set to Source Direct, which causes the TV to do the upscaling. Whichever way looks better, use that setting in the player. There's no reason to use the Auto setting unless you use the player with multiple displays that have different resolutions.

To my ears, the difference between HDMI and analog with PCM and lossless Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio is miniscule at best, but there are those who disagree. Again, the best thing to do is compare a particular clip of audio using both connections—HDMI to hear the receiver decode the audio and analog to hear the player do the decoding. With HDMI, listen with the HDMI Audio control set to LPCM (player converts Dolby and DTS to PCM) and Bitstream (receiver decodes Dolby and DTS). If you hear a difference, use whichever connection and setting sounds best to you. As for SACDs, perform the same comparison with the SACD Output control set to PCM (player converts DSD bitstream to PCM) and DSD (player sends DSD bitstream to receiver), and listen to the HDMI (receiver decodes audio) and analog (player decodes audio) to see which one you prefer.

Update: As Audio1st points out in the comments below, the BDP-95 is Oppo's audiophile-oriented player with upgraded DAC (digital-to-analog converter) and power supply, which is why it lists for $1000 while the BDP-93 is $500. As a result, it's analog output is likely to sound significantly better than HDMI—in fact, I'd be interested to learn what you think of the difference between them. (I haven't heard the BDP-95 yet, so I can't say from personal experience.) And pay particular attention to any sonic differences between the LPCM and Bitstream HDMI Audio settings with CD and DVD-Audio (or PCM and DSD with SACD) using the analog output to see if one decoder in the player sounds better than the other.

BTW, the manual is clear that setting SACD Output to DSD converts the bitstream directly to analog, but it is not clear about what happens to the analog output when HDMI Audio is set to Bitstream. Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA might be converted to PCM before being converted to analog, in which case the LPCM and Bitstream settings should sound identical.

Also, the manual says, "On the BDP-95, the 'LPCM Rate Limit' can also affect the analog audio performance. Setting to '192K' may help to get the best analog audio quality." (Italics mine.) So try setting LPCM Rate Limit to 192K to see if that makes a difference in the analog sound quality.

If you have an A/V question, please send it to askscottwilkinson@gmail.com.

Comments

Submitted by sbeney on May 9, 2011 - 10:56am.

After reading the post by Dcbingaman, I should clarify that before comparing the HDMI out to the analog outs I compared HDMI with Audyssey turned on to HDMI with Audyssey switched off. On my system, at least, HDMI with Audyssey sounds better than without. My comparison between HDMI and the analogs out was really a comparison between HDMI with Audyssey and the analog outs, and only for music. I have not watched movies over the anaog outs. My receiver does not have balanced stereo inputs, so I can't compare those at this time.

I look forward to hearing what others find on this topic for this excellent player.

Submitted by Dcbingaman on May 6, 2011 - 6:21pm.

I've had my Oppo BDP-95 for a couple months, and I have found that multi-channel sources sound better over HDMI, probably because of the effects of Audyssey Multi-EQ XT equalization. Using the analog inputs in the Onkyo, Audyssey use requires additional A/D and D/A conversion in the processor.

In stereo, however, using the balanced analog outputs, the Oppo is MUCH better, particularly for CD's, (as compared to hi-resolution sources). This is because the analog output passes straight to the volume control.

The Oppo is a very nice player and has better CD playback than anything else I've heard recently. dts Digital Entertainment uses Oppo players for their reference for Blu-Ray mastering. I'm hoping UltimateAV will review one soon.

Submitted by sbeney on May 3, 2011 - 4:21pm.

Thanks for the replies (and I've also read TJN's related blog entry). I've made some of the comparisons mentioned, and here is what I have found. Also FYI, I have the analog outs connected to the receivers Ext. In through an Outlaw ICBM to handle bass management. I first compared the sound over HDMI between bitstream and LCPM. LCPM actually sounded better - not a huge difference, but enough to notice, so I will use that setting for the HDMI output going forward. I then compared the LCPM HDMI setting to the analog out. For CDs, SACDs and DVD-Audio's the analog out sounds better, and quite noticably too. For Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA the differences were more subtle, but the analog out does sound more natural - like the instruments sound in a live performance, particularly the ringing of the electric guitar on the high notes during Pachelbel Acoustica (I used the AIX Records Audio Calibration Disc and HD Music Sampler that came with the player to test these new formats). I will continue this fun experiment, but will be curious to see Home Theater's review of this player, particularly on the audio side.

On the video, I've settled in to using Source Direct for blu-rays, and 1080p for DVDs. For some reason when playing 1080p/24 blu-rays with the player set to 1080p, objects moving across the screen appear to 'jump' every now and then - not a lot, but a few times during the movie. I haven't noticed this with Source Direct. I don't believe this is a problem with the player - my previous Denon blu-ray player and PS3 had the same problem with 1080p/24 blu-rays on my TV. This is the first player I've had with a Source Direct mode to try.

Submitted by AUDIO1ST on April 25, 2011 - 9:09pm.

Advice is spot on....if we were talking about the Oppo 93 or any $300 or under Blu ray player. It might be an oversight, but he's talking about the Oppo 95, a $1000 player (500 more than the 93) and designed from the ground up for the purest, most dynamic reference sound available, but ONLY by using the 5.1 analog outs. We know what the Denon features (Burr Brown dacs) and while very good (I've sold for years), certainly NOT in the same conversation as Sabre DACs which is featured in the Oppo 95's analog outs. DACs are only part of the equation, so add the way it is meticulously arranged to the separate power supply and it trumps all but the most expensive receivers. The analog outs is really the whole reason you buy this unit in the first place. Again sound advice for many players, but NOT this particular one.

Submitted by Scott Wilkinson on April 26, 2011 - 12:04am.

I know that the 95 is an audiophile-oriented player, and I should have mentioned that in my response. However, this means only that Stephen will probably hear a greater difference between the HDMI and analog outputs than I suggested; it does not invalidate the comparison process I described. In fact, I would recommend even more strongly that he perform the comparison to demonstrate for himself the difference between the DAC in the player and the one in the AVR. Who knows, he might even prefer the sound of the HDMI output—after all, personal preference is completely subjective. This isn't likely, but it's possible. On the other hand, as you so rightly point out, why spend an extra $500 if he's not going to use the analog outs?

Excellent comment; thanks!

Submitted by smoreland on June 23, 2011 - 12:23pm.

I have a Denon 4308ci and i am told by Denon that it will only receive DSD signals over HDMI and not over the analog inputs. Anything coming through the analog inputs will be translated away from DSD to PCM signals automatically.