Launch of Oppo BDP-831 'postponed indefinitely'
The long-awaited European launch of the Oppo BDP-831 player has been 'postponed indefinitely.'
Oppo's UK much-delayed website, www.oppostore.co.uk, finally went live today – but what appeared wasn't quite what had been expected. In place of an online shop, there was a simple statement:
"After careful evaluation of the resources available, it has been determined that the release of the OPPO BDP-831 Blu-ray Disc player in Europe will be postponed indefinitely. It is with sincere regret that we have to make this difficult decision. However, we feel that this is in the best interest of our customers and quality standards.
"Customer support and satisfaction are the cornerstones of OPPO, and with the currently available resources, unfortunately we will not be able to equally serve all our European customers with the release of the BDP-831. Language barriers, shipping constraints, and our ability to quickly, efficiently, and accurately support our valuable European customers undermine the quality standards expected of OPPO.
"We apologize to the customers who love and support OPPO all along and have been waiting for the release of BDP-831 patiently, and hope we can come back with better planning and resources in the future to serve our customers the best."
We have spoken to Oppo's shop in Sweden, which has been selling the company's DVD players in Europe, and have had it confirmed that this statement is accurate.
The decision was made by Oppo HQ, and our contact in Sweden had also only received the news today.
Comments
Personally I think WHF got it right, as good as the Oppo (83) is and it is good there are aspects of the picture and sound that I can relate to in WHF findings.
Finally I get that message in my browser on the oppostore page.
Incidentally, if I try to load the http://www.oppostore.co.uk page I do not get that message.
This just makes me even more glad I took the plunge and bought a hardware-modded US model. It really is an astonishingly brilliant machine. In this case, the hype is 100% justified!
Higgy, no problems with my 83 for SACD. All the ones I've played with including mine have been fine. I'm on the latest firmware. Have to say I've never seen a firmware process that's quicker or more painless. It's a great machine, just a damn shame it won't be on sale in official region B/2 garb. Means an annoying additional expense, as I have another to buy. Grrrrrr.
Blimey. Gobsmacked. Is the player a dud then? Are the SACD audio problems reported by US customers insoluble?
I must confess, my DV980H still has audio issues, for which a fix has been promised for years. Has Oppo failed?
"Andrew that Oppo you have must be worth its weight in gold now!"
Maybe it was an 83 with a '1' sticker added! What a waste of players if they were produced in any numbers otherwise.
If the reasons are as they say, I think its a good idea. Far better to do that, than to spend years trying to repair a damaged reputation for poor customer service. Better to wait untill they are able to offer customers the service they deserve and obviously want to give them.
Oppo HQ might have expected WHFSV to give them a glorious 5 or even 6 stars and making them 'product of the year 2009', sadly 831 was kicked and shown the door by 760.
'Heart break kid..'
Hmm... well better than huge dissapointment when you've placed and order and they can't supply. But it could be a marketing ploy to see the kind of european customer base it is required / expecting to supply. Andrew that Oppo you have must be worth its weight in gold now!
I wonder what led to this? WHF's 4 star review? LOL
With all the hype, hype and more hype, this is a most dissapointing conclusion.
But on the upside, there is the cheaper and better SONY BDP-760 instead!