Arcam BDP100 review spot on!!

[v1c]

plastic penguin:
However, I think I'll hold back on the Blu-ray for a few months to see whether Arcam can iron out these reliability problems.

That's not acceptable for the price and Arcam's reputation it should have been the DOG's from release. They would have been better not to release anything than a poor product at the level they have entered at. Now if the price was £250 maybe it would be a different story but i would still expect it to work.

I'm really disappointed with this outcome in my head i'd all but brought one not now it's well an truly of the list going to take something special for me to regain interest. My upgrade route to Arcam for an AMP and BDP is closed at the moment.

 

[plastic penguin]

v1c:plastic penguin:

However, I think I'll hold back on the Blu-ray for a few months to see whether Arcam can iron out these reliability problems.

That's not acceptable for the price and Arcam's reputation it should have been the DOG's from release. They would have been better not to release anything than a poor product at the level they have entered at. Now if the price was £250 maybe it would be a different story but i would still expect it to work.

I'm really disappointed with this outcome in my head i'd all but brought one not now it's well an truly of the list going to take something special for me to regain interest. My upgrade route to Arcam for an AMP and BDP is closed at the moment.

I concur totally - Once upon a time they used to have a Quality Control Dept., allied to numerous hours of actually running a product to see whether there is any deficiencies. That attention to detail seemed to have gone out the window, if they don't reverse it quickly they'll go down the pan (or at least their image and any subsequent sales).

 

[Anonymous]

I have had the BDP100 for about a month and agree the picture and sound are fantastic, the issues I have are the several press it takes to eject the disc, and if the player is paused for more than a couple of minutes it will not resume and the disc has to be restarted. Does anyone when the new firmware will be available and will it be via the network port or a dealer only upgrade?

 

[Anonymous]

Mercedesbenz62:I have had the BDP100 for about a month and agree the picture and sound are fantastic, the issues I have are the several press it takes to eject the disc, and if the player is paused for more than a couple of minutes it will not resume and the disc has to be restarted. Does anyone when the new firmware will be available and will it be via the network port or a dealer only upgrade?

Same here with the eject and pause. Also I get no screen saver when paused even though I've set it to come on after 5 minutes. I've not spoken to anyone at Arcam yet, but heard that updates 'should' be through network port, but thats not gospel.

 

[AlCB]

My BDP100 now has new software added via dealer - seems much more reliable now, but time will tell - might be worth a new review in due course if no further problems reported.

 

[jarra]

Hope WHF carry out a review of the Oppo 93.....soon.

 

[bigboss]

DandyCobalt:DandyCobalt:

IMO, send it back and wait for the Cambridge Audio 751BD to come out (end-Feb apparently £799) Video preview from CES in the review section. A better, more reliable product for less money?

Or is this the same as the Oppo BDP-93 now available?

Oppo BDP-80 had striking similarities to Cambridge Audio 650BD. I haven't heard if the Cambridge audio 751BD bears any resemblance to the Oppo 93. Considering the features, I think it's a direct competitor to the Oppo BDP-95, & not 93. The 651BD will be similarly placed as the Oppo 93.

 

[Anonymous]

AlCB:My BDP100 now has new software added via dealer - seems much more reliable now, but time will tell - might be worth a new review in due course if no further problems reported.

New software?! Time for me to get in touch with my dealer.........

 

[Anonymous]

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uncovered some inconsistencies - notably occasional issues with varying volume levels. A second unit plus firmware fixes helped matters, but the AVR600 remained a highly strung creature - too many changes (unplugging a source; even changing channel) could spook it into freezing up. Would switching to a more settled home environment help? Sadly, the foibles continued - but the amazing performance was initially enough to negate them"

"Week 2
Reaching for the remote we find we can't alter the volume: the Arcam, though still working, has become non-responsive to its control handset. A reboot cures this."

"Week 3
More niggles emerge: pops when you change source; ?random lines appearing on screen; slight delay to DAB broadcasts compared with other digital radios in the house; ?random volume changes. Reboots generally fix things."

"Week 5
The AVR600 freezes up again, and this time even a reboot won't have it talking to the remote. A full system reset does the trick, but means all our carefully calibrated settings have been lost."

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Arcam, Arcam ,Arcam - I am disapointed - Strange how after 4 AV888's Arcam told me that there was nothing wromg with the units I was sending back and that I was the only one with any problems and so it must be my other kit causing the problems - and yet What Hifi report exactly the same issues I have had in there January Living with tests? Not impressed and so glad I got rid..just unfortunate that I still have the BDP100 though...Hope it behaves!

 

[Anonymous]

Just a little update, all software now upto date and, touch wood, everything working superbly!! No freezing, jumping, sub popping, sound drop outs or anything!! I'm glad my patience held out as I'm a happy bunny at last, and I know I would have missed the sound had I given up. Will report back if any Arcam bugs return............

 

[Anonymous]

You must be one of the lucky ones then, can I ask how old your 600 is?

I have had 2 units pre 2011 which worked to a degree (in retrospect maybe just software issues - who can guess though), 1 2011 unit which locked up lots and in the end even when not plugged into anything responded very, very slowly to volume changes using both handset and front panel and 1 2011 unit which Arcam brought out and did the same thing but not as bad (i.e after a power cycle it worked) but it didn't play the sound meter test tones for manual calibration.

Arcam all the way have been friendly but very quick to blame something else - I remember in 2009 they even suggested I buy an XBOX 360 elite to solve a HDMI handshake issue between my XBOX360 and AV888???

Still got the BDP100 though and last night plugged it into my Pioneer TV and something amazing happened - I got 1080p 24!!!! Something that my av888 could never manage to do!

I'm glad I've got rid - I can now (fingers crossed) watch films without worrying if somethings going to go wrong halfway through and just enjoy!! No more power cycling/messing - what a relief

I am yet to demo other products but I'm confident that there will be something out there that will sound almost as good (if not better) and actually work

 

[Anonymous]

You must be one of the lucky ones then, can I ask how old your 600 is?

I got my 600 in June '09. And I have said many times, I must be one of the lucky ones!! I've had no lock up issues or any of the other horror stories I've read. Just sound loss, mainly with sky, which with a quick on/off would cure this. Since the recent update (its 1st one) this as yet hasnt happened!! With the Xbox, I've always taken the picture straight to the screen with just the audio sent to the amp. I had a little handshake problem with the bdp100, but upgrade has taken care of that.

 

[Anonymous]

Cool glad you're happy - when mine worked I liked it. From my experience it looks as though the older 888's and 600's are actually the more reliable/stable units! As I said the 2011 unit locked left right and centre but my previous pre 2010 units worked fine on later firmware (apart from hissing on digital audio). I use HDMI with XBOX for surround effects so guess this is what causes problems? Got to say again - as I now have no processor, I'm forced to plug bdp100 straight into my pioneer plasma (507xd) and am getting a much better picture - colours are more natural and vibrant at same time? also blacks/whites seem deeper/brighter?? Not sure why this is but i'm liking it : ) Also bdp100 stereo performance on movies and music is aok all things considered!