
OPPO Digital will gradually stop manufacturing new products - smaili
https://www.oppodigital.com/farewell.aspx
======
bwang29
For those who don't know, OPPO's main line of business is selling cellphones
now. They seem to do pretty well in China, and they are the parent company of
OnePlus, which many thought is a competitor to OPPO. It's actually not easy to
find information of OPPO and OnePlus's relationship unless you query the
commerce database in the Chinese government, where you will also fine that
VIVO and OPPO are affiliates..which are under control of BBK Electronics, who
shipped 56.7 million smartphones in 2017 Q4 surpassing both Huawei and Apple
to become the 2nd largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, just behind
Samsung.

~~~
thisisit
> It's actually not easy to find information of OPPO and OnePlus's
> relationship unless you query the commerce database in the Chinese
> government, where you will also fine that VIVO and OPPO are affiliates

Oneplus sold its phone on the back of the fact that it was a "startup". Then
came this:

 _According to the Chinese government 's documentation, the only institutional
stockholder in OnePlus is Oppo.Although Lau initially denied that OnePlus was
a wholly owned subsidiary of Oppo, upon release of the regulatory filings they
admitted that they are owned by Oppo and are "in talks with other investors"
(although nothing has been announced to date)._

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/OnePlus](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/OnePlus)

The opacity of Chinese market was documented in another recent post too:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16726355](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16726355)

The amazing thing about the scam is that Chinese companies were filing correct
numbers in China and fake revenue numbers in US. But with information not
easily accessible people got away with it.

~~~
hennsen
So actually their ceo is a liar who tells stories of a small company worthy of
support by idealistic customers while being funded by a billion dollar
enterprise? Happy i didnt buy their phone...

~~~
bhouston
Samsung is a corrupt company as well. Huewai may be spying on us. I guess you
pick your poison.

~~~
hennsen
Yeah. Then again, just because others do bad things too it’s not more
acceptable for the one we‘re talking about right now.

------
palebluedot
I'm saddened to read this. I've had their blu-ray player (BDP-103) for many
years now, and it has been a pleasure owning a piece of electronics that is
designed to _not_ be disposable. Continued firmware updates (for years), solid
hardware, and feature-rich. They'll be missed, at least by a niche community
of a/v enthusiasts.

------
Tsiklon
A shame, I am a big fan of their PM3 Headphone and it’s companion amplifier
the HA2.

I was hoping they would be developing these two further.

Both were well received by the audio crowd at large.

~~~
zoltaan
I am a very satisfied owner of the PM3 myself, I was glad finding it a year
ago after a long search. Now what? Should I resume search when my headphone
wears out or unfortunately get broken or lost? I was relaxed that I always can
buy a new one or even an improved one after that happens. Maybe I should buy a
reserve now!

~~~
epai
Maybe! Or maybe just wait - one thing we know is that technology will continue
to improve, and there may be a headphone in the future that appeals to you
even more by the time your PM3 gives out.

... Or maybe it's worth buying a reserve just as an investment. Some people
regarded the PM-3 as one of the best value closed-back headphones on the
market now[1][2]; there's a chance it may increase in price?

PM-3 Reviews:

[1] [http://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/oppo-
pm-3](http://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/oppo-pm-3)

[2] [https://www.techradar.com/reviews/audio-visual/hi-fi-and-
aud...](https://www.techradar.com/reviews/audio-visual/hi-fi-and-
audio/headphones/oppo-pm-3-1299128/review)

------
fipple
These guys consistently made the absolute best disc players (DVD, BluRay, 4K
BluRay). Guess it wasn’t enough.

~~~
nailer
A pity - I'm surprised they didn't use their expertise to get into the set top
box business. Roku - as the only independent box maker vs FireTV, Google TV,
Apple TV - needs some competiton.

~~~
fipple
Nvidia shield tv is tops. I think Oppo probably hit something a lot of
companies are, which is that quality is losing value. People are less able to
discern quality so making top notch products at top notch prices is a
weakening strategy.

------
adamw2k
Another sign of the times. I remember when Oppo's were one of the few (if not
only) players to play burned CD's. There's just not enough of a "mid-market"
enthusiast crowd left - someone that wants a hardware player, won't splurge on
the big names, but willing to spend more than what a local retailer (or Best
Buy?) has. Wonder what that says for mid-range speaker makers?

~~~
S_A_P
Audio seems to be getting more personal now. Now that everyone can have just
about every song ever, nobody wants a shared listening experience anymore.
Half the reason to have a great stereo was because people couldnt afford tons
of content to play, so having a nice room filling stereo meant others could
hear and enjoy it too. I have fond memories of my uncles listening room. He
was a tube amp hi-fi junky and every visit included at least an hour of deep
listening sessions.

~~~
B1FF_PSUVM
> because people couldnt afford tons of content to play

You'd save for a while to buy a vinyl LP, choose it carefully (besides radio
play, you could also ask to play it for a bit at the store), take it home and
listen to it a score of times in a row, perhaps in company.

Then lend it to the friend(s) who also loaned you their LPs. Eventually the LP
would come to its place of honour on a shelf with a couple dozen others, to be
played when the mood struck.

[/Flintstone ;-]

------
fpgaminer
I've had the pleasure of working with OPPO Digital on a couple of joint
projects. They were the best, most put-together company I've ever worked with.

They made, hands down, the best Blu-ray player. I've worked with every blu-ray
player under the sun. Theirs was fast, featureful, and stable. It was
something to be proud of; their engineering team always out-did themselves.

OPPO Digital will be missed.

------
farazbabar
Oppo makes a great product but the thing that set them apart for me was their
ability to play SACD disks. The number of players that can play this format
have been dwindling and Oppo's demise is just a sign of the times. I wonder if
physical media for very high resolution audio (and video?) would be as far
removed a memory as sony beta or if the vinyl sales trends would imply a
reversal of fates down the road, vindicating the high resolution video and
audiophile crowd.

~~~
voltagex_
If you've got discs you want to preserve, get them dumped using a modded PS3
and store the files for posterity.

~~~
stplsd
In fact it is possible to rip SACD using some OPPO models, so no need for hard
to get PS3 version [1]

[1]
[https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forums/topic/28569-sacd-r...](https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forums/topic/28569-sacd-
ripping-using-an-oppo-or-pioneer-yes-its-true/)

------
hennsen
Everything is great, they are at the pinnacle of development... so why do they
stop?

~~~
overcast
Because people don't care about quality, only cheap prices.
Audiophile/Videophile market is tiny in comparison. The general public is
happy if they can see the picture, and hear the sound.

~~~
hennsen
This is probably true. The article doesn’t say anything about something like
that...

~~~
overcast
Why would OPPO discuss that? My girlfriend is completely happy with just
hearing the words being sung. She understands my obsession, and recognizes
things do sound and look a bit better. But she doesn't care as long as the
basic idea gets through.

~~~
hennsen
Because they talk about having people who love their products. Aren’t they
worth a word of explanation why the products they love are withdrawn from the
market? I don’t see whom it could hurt to spend a sentence on saying something
like „but unfortunately the enterprise of giving you such high quality
products didn’t lead to economicall success as we need it to sustain the
business, and therefore took the hard decision to stop...“

------
dmoor
The UDP-205 is sold out. However Oppo is considering one last production run
if enough people express interest. To do so go to

[https://oppodigital.com/blu-ray-
udp-205/lastbatch.aspx](https://oppodigital.com/blu-ray-
udp-205/lastbatch.aspx)

and express your interest by giving them your email address. I've got my
fingers crossed!

When I picked up my 1O5D at their headquarters in Menlo Park I was told that
there is no relationship with Oppo Asia, the cell phone maker. They are two
totally separate companies. They use the Oppo name under license.

~~~
overcast
Soon as I saw that announcement I got my purchase order in. I knew that was
going to sell out fast. I'd been holding out for the last nine months, and
knew I'd never get my hands on one if I waited.

------
JohnJamesRambo
Had one of their DVD players with Faroudja processing. Best DVD quality I ever
experienced. RIP OPPO, loved your products.

------
herodotus
I have happily owned a BP-83 for many years. But this is a very strange
announcment. Apparently, everything will continue has usual: firmware
upgrades, customer support, warranty repairs, returns and even sales. So from
a (naive) customers perspective, OPPO will become a company that will continue
indefinitely, with no products and no means of making money! Even knowing that
OPPO owns or has shares in other companies, this is hard to figure out. I
would love to know the inside story. Someone, somewhere is not happy.

