I wouldn't say never. It's just usually a good idea to not buy the first iteration of anything.
Things Oppo did right:
1. If it's a 5" optical disc (and not HD-DVD) the Oppo BDP-83 plays it.
2. Put one of the best video processing chips available today (the DVDO Edge which is just a stand alone processor using the same chip costs $700) inside the player.
3. Included one of the best analog stages in any player under $2000 (if you're into that kind of thing)--and if you go with the SE it's one of the best analog stages, period.
4. Used a fast enough CPU that it's load times and BD-Java support made it one of the first players to give the PS3 some competition in that area.
5. Have customer support like Axiom owners have come to expect.
I can pretty much guarantee the next optical disc player I buy will be an Oppo. They build excellent products, and stand behind them. As I said, the 83 was a good first go; better than any other manufacturer managed to pull off (of course they had a couple years of studying before they tried), just not enough to satisfy my picky tastes. Although, I wish some of the reviews would call them on these short comings, Oppo is too much of a media darling.
