I have the new Oppo Blu-ray player on the way but want to confirm how I'm going to connect it to my 950. Using the analog connections. What do I do with the switch on the back? I have smaller bookshelf sized speakers.

I'm assuming I leave the switch in the on position. Is there anything else I need to do besides enabling the analog inputs on the 950?

You want to put the switch into the "ON" position, set the BDP-83's speakers to "large", set the BDP-83's subwoofer to "on", and set the BDP-83's downmix to "5.1CH". Once you've done that, you can press the "6CH" button on the 950's remote to select the multichannel analog input.

You might also consider using a coaxial or optical digital audio connection for CD's and DVD's so you have access to the 950's surround processing, although the BDP-83's analog section is good enough that you may end up sticking with the 6CH input all the time for simplicity's sake.

I have the DV-983 and have found that it's DACs do a better job than the 950. If the BDP-83 DACs are of the same quality or better than the DV-983, then I would use the 83's analog outs.

The BDP-83's analog section is better than the 983H's.

I recieved my BDP-83 on Saturday and have noticed that the new codecs from the BD movies sound much better than their SD DVD counterparts. Although, I have not see much of a difference in video quality. The only BD movie that I have a SD DVD version of, is the Fifth Element Superbit.

The lossless formats can definitely sound better than the lossy ones we've been listening to on DVD for so long now, but you should still expect there to be a good bit of variation from title to title (the quality of the original mix being at least as critical as ever).

Video performance depends on a number of factors, including screen size and viewing distance. The BDP-83 does such a good job of scaling that there will be cases where it can rival the HD disc if your screen size is small enough. (I ran into this with the hybrid HD-DVD of the last Bourne movie and my 983H, where the DVD side looked almost indistinguishable from the HD-DVD side when watching a 32" 1080i HDTV). There are some discs, though, where Blu-ray can really startle you with the picture quality - even on a modest screen size. I remember being taken aback at the picture quality and vibrant colors of Man on Fire when I first got Blu-ray.

I will add Man on Fire to my NF que. Do you have any other suggestions as to great quality BD for video and/or audio?

Also, I have a 50in plasma.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by gonk:
[QB] You want to put the switch into the "ON" position, set the BDP-83's speakers to "large", set the BDP-83's subwoofer to "on", and set the BDP-83's downmix to "5.1CH". Once you've done that, you can press the "6CH" button on the 950's remote to select the multichannel analog input.
Just for clarification in case people are still checking this thread. this is exactly how I have my Sony 550 set up. I recently purchased the Oppo BD83 and will continue with this set up. But my question is when I purchase the 997 for my final upgrade and I use the 997's HDMI connection for audio/video I should reset my speakers to small since the digital connection takes care of the bass management, correct? That is the way I used to have my system set up when using the coaxial connection on the 950. Thanks for any reply and yes, I still love the 950 but things do change.

The speaker settings in the BDP-83 only affect the multichannel analog output. Those settings have no influence on the HDMI and coaxial/optical audio outputs. Thus, you don't need to worry about it when you upgrade to an HDMI processor.

but I would, or should, use my SPL meter to set speaker distances and level setting in the 997 when I eventually upgrade to it if using its HDMI in from the oppo and its out to my display because of the digital connection, correct? I would only use the oppo's settings if I wanted to use the multichannel analog output in the 997 in which case the speakers would stay set to large, sub on, any bass management on, like with the 950 right now, and just bypass the 997. that's why I wondered if the speaker settings in the 997 would be set to small if using HDMI. sorry if this is confusing. I've been using the 950's analog out and set up like you said and everything is great. just not clear on when speakers should be small or large.