AVS Discussions
Video Source Devices => 4K UHDTV => Topic started by: Barry on March 27, 2026, 01:52:28 PM
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Oppo 203 & 205 and the Panasonic 9000P1K
I do not have technical equipment, so this is just a report using my brother’s eyes and ears and mine.
Ten years ago I bought the Oppo 205 and my brother bought the 203. I then had the JVC PROJECTOR DLA-RS66U. When I upgraded to the JVC 3000 4K projector Chris D. of JVC helped with the setup and strongly recommended the JVC 9000. When installed I noticed a good improvement in the color and sharpness of the image.
I moved my 205 to my upstairs LG 77 incher, the same exact model my brother has, and he had the Oppo 203. (I now have the JVC 4100 projector.)
We wanted to see what the Panasonic looked like on the LG TV so we attached it. There is an instant upgrade. The picture was clearer and mores distinct, the colors were more vivid and the action sequences looked not just clearer, but perfect. In 4k we played Mission Impossible Final Reconning and the bi-plane fight at the end was incredible. We put on the chariot race from Ben-Hur and Master and Commander. The clincher was Diana Krall’s Live in Paris, a blu-ray. The flesh colors were superior, but so was the sound. It was cleaner and better.
The Oppos are now ten years old, with no updates in the last 7 years. There are no places for repairs if necessary and no way to get parts, my dealer says.
So I kept my 9000 on the LG and got a new 9000P1K for the projector.
So while the is no question that the Panasonic gave a better picture, the Oppo 205 does give better audio to CDs. And the Panasonic does not play SACDs but the Oppos do. My brother will use the 205 for audio and I use the Esoteric K-01XD.
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I’m not discounting what you witnessed. But it’s weird that two players that are merely a vehicle to pass along 0 and 1 can look diffeeent. So some processing has to be going on. Too bad you can’t get data to support it. And figure why. Which one is accurate ?
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After seeing the results, my brother bought the Panasonic 820 to replace his Oppo 203. we decided on that disc player based on many of the conversations here and the fact that people who I trust, such as David, have bought that unit. I understand that the video is very close to or equal to the 9000.
My brother attached it to his 77 LG, the identical model to what I have upstairs. just a reminder I have a projector downstairs. Well, the results are in and I may never see my brother again!! he loves it. the Panasonic is far more colorful and accurate and sharp than the Oppo. In Guardians of the Galaxy 2, not only are the blacks blacker and the white whiter, he told me that he is seeing things in the shadows that he has never seen before. it is a tremendous upgrade.
we both feel that the sound is also clearer. my unit longer so I’ve make that determination, but my brother will need a little more time for that.
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I do remember accounts of color muted on the oppos. But that was a long time ago so might enjoy what I WANT to remember
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Some of this - like less saturated colors - sounds like possibly settings related issues like HDR. Barry, do you know if the firmware on the Oppos was ever updated? HDR10+ and other HDR updates were added after 2018. There is also an HDR indicator logo on the front panel. Might be worth a quick test to check if you see that light up on a 4K UHD disc.
I bought the Panny 820 back in 2018. (It replaced an Oppo 203, only b/c at that point Oppo had discontinued it, prices were up and I figured I could sell it and not worry about future support.) So the 820 is pretty old, nearly the same age as those Oppos. I ended up selling the 820 b/c I wanted something that would support at least multichannel SACD for my surround system. So I sold the 820, and grabbed a Sony UBP-X800M2.
I rarely use it, to be honest - maybe once a month for a movie I really want to see on disc instead of whatever streaming. I'm on the cusp on starting my long planned project to rip my BD collection, which will mean it gets used only for SACD playback, probably 1-2 times a year.
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Some of this - like less saturated colors - sounds like possibly settings related issues like HDR. Barry, do you know if the firmware on the Oppos was ever updated? HDR10+ and other HDR updates were added after 2018. There is also an HDR indicator logo on the front panel. Might be worth a quick test to check if you see that light up on a 4K UHD disc.
I bought the Panny 820 back in 2018. (It replaced an Oppo 203, only b/c at that point Oppo had discontinued it, prices were up and I figured I could sell it and not worry about future support.) So the 820 is pretty old, nearly the same age as those Oppos. I ended up selling the 820 b/c I wanted something that would support at least multichannel SACD for my surround system. So I sold the 820, and grabbed a Sony UBP-X800M2.
I rarely use it, to be honest - maybe once a month for a movie I really want to see on disc instead of whatever streaming. I'm on the cusp on starting my long planned project to rip my BD collection, which will mean it gets used only for SACD playback, probably 1-2 times a year.
I did the same with my Oppo 203. Sold it for nearly $1000 and bought the Panasonic 820 for half the price. I didn't have any difference in picture quality that I could remember though. I miss the Oppo though because the build quality blew the 820's away. In fact, my laser unit went bad on the 820 a couple of years ago and I replaced it with UB-420, which has performed good thus far. Then again, I rarely use it because I rip every movie that I get and watch on the Zidoo 8000 (and occasionally Plex if I use my Den system that has a 77" OLED display).
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i wouldnt want the oppo just cause no more support