American manufacturer Oppo has released a new Blu-ray player, the BDP-80, which promises optimised digital-transport playback for users of high-quality AV receivers or external video processors. Multimedia capabilities and a range of audio outputs will also attract buyers looking for a fully featured player.

January 26, 2010 — In a statement released yesterday, Oppo has published details of its new BDP-80 Blu-ray Disc player. The device plays back a range of optical disc formats — Blu-ray, DVD, DVD Audio, SA-CD, HDCD, and CD — as well as accepting various multimedia formats for digital videos, music, and photos. Although as a so-called “transport player” the BDP-80 is optimised to output the data stored on a Blu-ray Disc directly, it also offers the usual range of features — including a built-in VRS video processor from the manufacturer Anchor Bay and a selection of video and audio settings.

The player’s connections include an HDMI 1.3 output, as well as a range of analogue video connections, including component video and S-Video, to cater for those using older displays. There’s a USB 2.0 socket on both the back and front of the player to allow convenient multimedia playback, and the BDP-80 has a one-gigabyte internal memory for storing BD-Live content downloaded via its Ethernet connection.

Oppo’s new BDP-80 offers the full range of features, catering to both high-end and living-room customers.

Audio-wise, the player can decode Blu-ray’s lossless audio formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, outputting these to a 7.1-channel set of analogue cinch outputs. Users can also set the analogue audio to output as 5.1 channels or in stereo, and the player can output SA-CD playback as either DSD or PCM. Compatibility with older AV receivers comes via the player’s digital audio outputs (both coaxial and optical).

Available to order online immediately at Oppo’s website, the BDP-80 is priced at 289 USD (about 180 GBP), and the company offers worldwide shipping.