Music in the Round #43 Cambridge & Mediatek

Sidebar 2: Cambridge & Mediatek

The Azur 650BD looks very similar to the Oppo BDP-80 universal Blu-ray player ($289). Since I have not received a BDP-80 for review, I can't make detailed comparisons of the two players' appearance or performance, but I do note that the layouts of their front panels are different.

Cambridge says the Azur 650BD "is based on the Mediatek MTK8520/MTK8575 chipset," and that they "have a long relationship with Mediatek having based our DVD89/99, DV30 and 540D V1 and V2 DVD players on various Mediatek platforms. . . . In terms of what Mediatek offer each customer the processor includes an OSD generator and tools for defining setup menus and the like. In fact Mediatek supply application code that gives an excellent framework for this. This does of course mean that any machine based on the chipset is very likely to have a similar look and feel to the On-Screen Display.

"Ditto the connectors can be similar as there are various guidelines and designs included for PCB layout. Each manufacturer then edits these to greater or lesser extent to add their own flavour of sockets, DACs, power supplies etc. as they see fit.

"So, in short, [Cambridge Audio] and Oppo or others actually have no relation. We are merely connected by our relationship with the actual chipset supplier, Mediatek."—Kalman Rubinson

COMMENTS
stereomag's picture

Purchased a Cambridge Audio DVD player new (DVD89), right out of the box after 6 weeks of use unit was returned for repairs. 9 months later player slowly began to fail, first by not playing DVDs, then by not playing CDs, finally not playing any discs at all.

Will never buy a Cambridge Audio product again.

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