Hi Photonyo, What do the think of the 450 ? I have a Pioneer BDP-LX08 & just before I left the UK I bought a BDP 103 + a Darbee Darblett (the BDP 103D hadn't been released). It was packed immediately so haven't powered it up to compare the 2.
Hi Oldboyracer, I was also planning on getting the Oppo 103D but i wanted to apply the Darbee with all my devices so I ended up with the Pioneer 450 then in the future put the darbee at the HDMI out of my receiver so everything connected to the receiver gets the darbee treatment.
I now enjoy the TrueHD soundtrack of blurays since my Playstation didnt support that format. the sound is more crisp and punchy.
For picture i put the setting to "professional" meaning no alteration to the video signal. Compared to my PS3, there seems to be more detail with the 450.. with the PS3 the picture was a bit darker, with the 450 its more balanced i think which makes me think i see more detail.
Selling points of the Pioneer for me are
1. Load time is faster compared to Playstation
2. Chassis is bulky, I like to fill up my component rack
3. Half the price of the Oppo 103d but if i purchase the Darbee, price of the two would be similar.
(just waiting for the release of darbee 5100 so i can display on my rack)
4. This review also convinced me on getting the pioneer
http://www.whathifi.com/review/pioneer-bdp-450 http://www.avforums.com/review/pioneer-bdp-450-universal-3d-blu-ray-player-review.468 http://hifi-unlimited.blogspot.com/2013/01/mid-range-excellence-pioneer-bdp-450.htmlmy only gripe is the remote, Its sometimes slow to react. I've never read about that on reviews. maybe the buttons need more breakin hehe its a bit crisp to push.