OPPO's fantastic support service
I have OPPO DV-981HD player for several years now. It’s a great piece of consumer electronics - from the moment I put it on it worked great. No issues, no fuss, it worked exactly as advertised. Until few weeks ago when it died. In the middle of movie, it saved a bookmark and shut down. No reactions to buttons, it just seemed dead.
The player was long ago out of warranty. Plus, I brought it to Serbia from UK, one of the last pieces the importer had. OPPO does have a “send it to us for repair” service, but the cost of sending to USA from Serbia would be more than the player is now worth. Plus, experience with other companies tells me that prices for obsolete (OPPO does not sell this model anymore) and out-of-warranty parts are outrageous.
So I emailed OPPO support, simply hoping for an advice what could be wrong so I can try my luck with local repair shops. I was hoping it’s simply some part of the power board. That was on Saturday afternoon (CET time zone).
This is where it becomes awesome. First, I got answer in less than 24h. Second, the answer said that OPPO can help me by sending me a replacement power board and a front-end display. Third, the price for the parts is mere $49. And then to top it off, they responded to my follow-up questions on Sunday and Monday (which was a bank holiday in US). I paid and they shipped the parts the very next day; the package reached me by the end of the week (sent by USPS).
Amazing, amazing support service, way better than I expected. I replaced the parts and the player is working as good as ever - silently and awesomely.
If you are in need of an excellent Blu-ray player, do not even think about anything else - buy one of the OPPO players they have on offer. I’m certain they are amazing just as this DVD player is. I mean, just look at the feature set, the customer testimonials and rave reviews they consistently get for their products.
We need more companies like OPPO. Kudos, masters.