I totally concur with ditcin's thoughts on the Oppo. Back three years ago I purchased a Pioneer Elite 59AVi which was originally a $1500 player. I wanted another unit so I got the Oppo 980($169.00US)a couple of months ago. I spent several hours making audio and video comparisons between the two(presently, I have only component connections) and if there was a difference, I couldn't see or hear it! There is also some terrific features on the Oppo that doesn't exist on the Pioneer product. In addition, since the player came out just within the last year, there has been two firmware upgrades to add to the performance. I don't believe they were really required but they did it anyway. If there is any doubt about the performance of the Oppo product, read a recent test done by "Secrets" on the Oppo flagship 983 player($399.00). It was the only unit ever, that passed every single video test they threw at it. This was in comparison to some players in the $5-6000 range.
Oppo's overall impressive performance AND service just is too good in that I am willing to bypass the purchase of any mainstream company's Blu-Ray player to wait for what they have to offer in the future.
