@Scion Racer…

Well I can understand your mindset.  When you become Ferrari-Racer then you can tell me which counts most…“features”, or “performance”. 

When you compare all these budget items, they are all pretty lousy sonically and visually (compared to what you COULD get, money no object).  But they are all relatively comparable to one another.  Granted, OPPO may be better than Samsung, or LG, or some other budget player…but you will NEVER see it compared to Burmiester, or Classe, or even McIntosh.  They simply look and sound infinitely better, and if I can’t use my DVD player to do BD Live…I could care less!

Oppo at $500 is the product to beat WITHIN it’s class!  It is easily beat by many other players in the high-end.  Just like the Kuros is the plasma to beat.  But for $20,000 the Runco is so far superior that they will not even review it against any other plasma, because there is simply nothing out there that comes remotely close.

Its always hilarious how people will criticize the really good stuff like the Anthem which at 799 is a steal..opposed to the only cheap stuff they can only afford and make out like they know what they’re talking about,...the oppo has audio drop outs all the time and the video is average at best…it just gets good reviews because its cheap and some reviewers have nothing better to do but to perpetuate the delusions of the have nots of their own persecution and its not fair that us middle class and upper class are entitled to buy the good stuff…but don’t worry Obama is on your side….he wants to take our money and give it to you…

These comments are rather funny…you compare “features”, when the product is designed to deliver picture/sound quality.  A Honda Accord has more features than a Ferrari, but one may argue what is the better car.  If you are looking for automobile performance then the Ferrari beats the Honda hands down.

The OPPO is an EXCELLENT player for the money, and beats everything in it’s class.  There are players that sell for $69,000 (Burmeister) and I don’t think you could expect to get the same performance from a $500 player….(although you may get more ‘pop-culture’ features).

I have yet to see or hear the Anthem and OPPO side by side for audio/video comparison…but I am relatively certain in these regards, the Anthem will prevail.  IF it does, the question remains if the improvement is worth the price difference.

Another consideration that seems to oftentimes be overlooked is reliability.  Nowadays, the failure rate on mainstream equipment is appalling.  Marantz, Denon, Pioneer, Sony, etc etc….they all perform reasonably well, WHEN they are actually working.  Anthem products (and Meridian, Classe, Lexicon, and several others), have an extremely low failure rate. 

To talk of one player versus another by comparing feature sets is ludicrous…it reminds me of people that buy audio equipment because one processor has more buttons than another, or prettier lights then another. 

I would venture to guess that you posters might consider the OPPO or Anthem better than some $80 blu ray player that has gimmicks built in as well….yes?  Why?  Better upscaling?  Better DACS?  Might it have something to do with either the quality of picture or sound?  If so, then why not limit your comments to where they count most!

I disagree with the both of you. Anthem is A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!!!!!!!!!!! Especially with my monster cables. Oppo is a joke.

I completely agree. Oppo at $500 is really the product to beat.