The following are just my personal choices for settings, but experience
shows that people often have trouble with these features and I have given
the settings that seem to cause the least problems.
Obviously if you know what you are doing and have different preferences, you
can do it your own way.
I list them in order of most important first:
Turn off BD-Live
Set Network Setup -> BD-Live Network Access to Off (this is
now the default).
Why?
BD-Live is an erratic network feature that has caused vast problems
for many titles and players. No one ever asked for it and it has
turned out to be a mostly marketing-oriented feature that vanishes
from the studio servers after a while anyway.
The upside of turning it off: Disc startup will be faster and
playback more reliable.
The downside: You will not be able to access BD-Live features. You
can always turn it on if you want to try something. Please turn it off
afterwards.
Erase Persistent Storage from time to time
Do Device Setup -> Persistent Storage -> Erase BD-Video
Data.
Why?
Memory fills up and BD-Live does not work as well. Sometimes even tiny
amounts of evil data residing there prevents Blu-ray discs from
playing at all.
Blu-rays discs that use java save things in this storage, so do this
only if you don't mind losing that data.
Turn off HDMI CEC
Set Device Setup -> HDMI CEC to Off. (This is the default).
Use a specific Color Space
Set Video Setup -> HDMI Options -> Color Space to YCbCr
4:4:4.
Why?
By default the player uses an Auto setting which negotiates a
color space with the receiver or display. I would rather know for
certain what color space is being used, and out of general paranoia I
do not trust computers or consumer electronics to do the right thing
consistently.
In any case, YCbCr 4:4:4 is what the Auto setting selects for
color space. (For HDMI; if you are using DVI try RGB Video).
If you have reason to believe that a different setting is better for
your display, then by all means use it.
Note
In theory none of the color space choices produces a better image
than the others. We have the choices to accommodate other gear which
may be behaving badly.
If you want to tweak further, see the Calibration section.
Use a specific Output Resolution
See the manual (Installation / Setting Up the Player - Easy Setup
Wizard / Select the Best Output Resolution).
In general:
- For most people these days 1080p is the correct setting.
- If you know that your display prefers a different setting, use that.
- Source Direct is for those who want all video processing to
occur outside of the player. Use it only if you are very familiar
with the capabilities of your video processor, receiver, and display.
Why?
By default the Setup Wizard selects an Auto setting which
negotiates the resolution with the receiver or display. Again, I just
don't trust such functionality. And it's not like the best resolution
for your display changes from day to day, so why not pin it down?
Leave the Picture Adjustment settings alone
Unless you have considerable experience in calibration, do not try to
improve the picture by adjusting the values in Video Setup ->
Picture Adjustment. Leave all of the values at "0".
Why?
It is possible to degrade the picture by adjusting the controls
improperly. If you want to adjust the image, use the controls on your
display. See the Calibration section for much more.
Use the Wide/Auto aspect ratio
Set this in the Setup Wizard or with Video Setup -> TV Aspect
Ratio.
Why?
This will add pillarbox borders on the sides of the image. It matters
only for 4:3 DVDs and certain standard definition extras on Blu-ray
discs. It has no effect on 16:9 DVDs or Blu-ray main features.
Reset Factory Defaults from time to time
Do Device Setup -> Reset Factory Default. This will reset many
values and rerun the Setup Wizard. You will have to reenter your
customized settings.
Why?
I think it's good luck, particularly after installing new
firmware. OPPO's release notes usually say this is an optional step,
although once (when shiftable subtitles were added) it was required.
Who knows how many invisible settings the player has internally?
Rerunning the Wizard restores everything to a known good state. It's
not required but I install a lot of beta firmware and always do a
reset. See how happy I am?
Prefer specific settings values to Auto
"Auto" settings are for the convenience of consumers who don't want to
change one single thing in their appliances. Enthusiasts go a bit
further.
Several player Auto settings were discussed above. Here is the complete
list with notes:
- Video Setup / 3D Mode:
There is probably no harm in leaving this at
Auto but I don't have a 3D display and set it to Off because I'm
paranoid.
- Video Setup / Output Resolution:
Discussed above.
- Video Setup / 1080p24 Output:
If your display accepts 24hz and you like it, why not set it to On?
- Video Setup / HDMI Options / Color Space(HDMI1):
Discussed above.
- Video Setup / HDMI Options / Color Space(HDMI2):
Same.
- Audio Format Setup / HDMI Audio:
The specific choices are LPCM and
Bitstream. With LPCM the player does all audio decoding, with
Bitstream the receiver does it. If the receiver can handle the
bistreamed data, then results should be the same either way. I connect
directly to the display and from that to a soundbar. Since TVs all
require LPCM input, that's what I use. (HDMI would figure that out
anyway, but why strain it's tiny little brain?)
- Audio Processing / Dynamic Range Control:
DRC controls the range of volume of media playback by reducing the
louder portions of audio to play closer in volume to the softer
portions. Audiophiles will want this Off as this effectively
processes the audio and reduces volume changes. It may have some use
during late night playback or in less than ideal listening conditions.
For technical background, see Dynamic Range Control in a Multichannel Environment.
- Network Setup / IP Setting:
Contrary to the rest of this section,
"Auto(DHCP)" is a good thing. Use "Manual" only if DHCP is not
working for you.