Question Help me choose a 4K media player or 2

surayne

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I've finally made the move to a 4K setup with an LG C9. I'm running a 7.2 setup with a NAD T758 V3 receiver, which only has 3 HDMI inputs.

I plan to run Netflix, YouTube and other streaming services directly from the WebOS TV, with ARC to the receiver for DD+ audio. This means that (hopefully) I won't need an extra streaming device for these services. Am I overlooking anything here?

My other main source of media will be a shared SMB drive on a Windows machine. I have a large collection of concerts on Blu Ray which I have ripped to BDMV folders. At present I play these with full menus on a Dune streamer and would like to have this maintained - the menus are essential for song selection. Going forward I will probably rip UHD movies to MKVs and concerts to folders. I'd like to preserve all HDR encoding for Dolby Vision. An Oppo 203 or the M9702 seem to be the only ways to do this - I'd probably add a UHD BD player if going for the clone.

Are there any alternatives to consider? Any potential issues with this setup?
 
You could consider the Cambridge Audio CXUHD as well, which is the sister model of the Oppo 203. They are discontinued but come up on eBay occasionally and Richers have a few demo models in store when they reopen.

I’d rip my UHD to folders as well. Dolby Vision works without issue on the Cambridge in that way.

Zidoo has announced a high end model that supposedly has Dolby Vision support. We are all waiting to see if it actually has a licence to do full dual layer DV.
 
Thanks. Doesn't the CA player have more limitations on playback than the M9702 unless you buy the alternate firmware?
 
Thanks. Doesn't the CA player have more limitations on playback than the M9702 unless you buy the alternate firmware?
It has the same capability as the Oppo and neither will do ISO without jail breaking since Blu-ray players are forbidden. The Chino Oppo will do ISO but that’s not a use case of interest to you from what you posted.

There is also some massaging to get network playback of folders on the Blu-ray players but nothing that takes much effort.

 
Going forward I will probably rip UHD movies to MKVs and concerts to folders. I'd like to preserve all HDR encoding for Dolby Vision. An Oppo 203 or the M9702 seem to be the only ways to do this - I'd probably add a UHD BD player if going for the clone.
The Oppo 203 cannot play Dolby Vision movies in MKV format, and neither can any similar device (such as the M9702, or Cambridge Audio player). Your only option there is the 2019 version of the Nvidia Shield TV. Oppo, etc. can handle DV if the entire disk is ripped in folder format.
 
Oppo, etc. can handle DV if the entire disk is ripped in folder format.
Already said!

For the record MKV support of DV is now in the spec. We expect MakeMKV to be able to rip MKV DV soon which should really open things up and simplify.
 
For the record MKV support of DV is now in the spec. We expect MakeMKV to be able to rip MKV DV soon which should really open things up and simplify.
I'm aware of that. I wouldn't hold your breath, though - the licensing restrictions for DV are absolutely ferocious, and most media player manufacturers won't be able to afford the exorbitant fees. (And devices like the Oppo 203 won't get updated to support DV MKVs).
 
And devices like the Oppo 203 won't get updated to support DV MKVs.
That is assuming they will need an update? No word on that yet since nobody has tried to play one.
 

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