Ken I just test out the Sony with both DVD-A and HDCD disks and it played all of them normally as far as I could tell.

The specs on the Sony say it does not support HDCD decoding and I can’t guarantee that the HDCD disks I tried aren’t dual HDCD/CD encoded but it played all 10 of them I tried just fine with no difference as far as I could tell from how the Oppo DVD player sounded with the few I tried with it also.

The DVD-A disks I played also played normally both in Dolby 5.1 and DTS 5.1 when both options were available. I made sure to check that the receiver was getting 5.1 input by switching to Pure/Direct and also checking the display to see what it said it was receiving.

I can’t be sure you’re disk(s) will play but none of mine had any problems.

I hope that helps.

Also when I picked mine up at Best Buy I specifically asked if I could return it if it had a problem playing my recorded disks and the guy said if I bring it back within 30 days they will pretty much take it back as long as it’s not in two or more pieces.

P.S. If you didn't catch it I previously tested my SACDs and they all played normally including multi-channel.

Dolby 5.1 isn't true DVD-A output, I don't think.

True but AFAIK most DVD-A disks were made to be backwards compatible with DVD-V through the use of Dolby Digital 2.0 or 5.1 also being present on the DVD-A disk which is why I tested so many of them and not just one or two.

There are also freeware audio players and or open source plug-ins that can decode DVD-A without the Dolby tracks.

Thanks for the info, dude. Sounds a lot more reasonable than an Oppo.

No problem.

Again there may be a good reason besides just name for some people to buy an Oppo I just can’t justify it this time based on my present needs.

One thing I haven’t research/tried are playing streaming formats from the Sony since I do all my streaming from computer. I much prefer using a point and click interface than trying to navigate 10s of 1000s of files with a remote.

I had the same problem with my Oppo. It is somewhat common. It was out of warranty as well. I just sent it to Oppo to fix, because I do like the machine. They have a flat rate fee for out of warranty service. I think it was / is $100?? Well they fixed it for me, and sent it back to me all free of charge. I just had to pay the shipping to get it to them. Took less than two weeks total.

Thanks for that info. I may send it in so I have a backup BDP since it’s the only part of my system I don’t have a backup for right now. And if it only costs $100 that’s the same as most other new BDPs would cost.

Good deal! Thanks for the information, I have an Oppo 103 on order.