Forgive me, but I am little perplexed as to what is referred to as the "price they are asking" for the Oppo BDP83 and it's possible shortcomings. I have the 79AVI and it is an excellent player for what it does but remember when it was first introduced(around 05-06) it cost close to a $1000 and THEN we add the cost of the PS3 to the mix. If we are to use cost as one of the comparisons, it is not even close! All my BD discs are NEW releases and NONE of the issues raised have ever occurred and that includes both SACD and DVD Audio discs AND CD's ALL of which I have had for a number of years so unless one owns and actually uses the player, perhaps early Beta tests aren't a particular measure of the player's current performance.
Aside from gaming, as a Blu-Ray player, Sony luckily hit it right with the PS3 because it didn't translate in to reliability in its subsequent stand alone players. I shied away from them because, to this day, I am reading all over the internet about intermittent HDMI handshake issues.
I would be curious to see if Pioneer, Sony and Denon with some of their "grossly overpriced" players even remotely provide the service and updates that Oppo has and will continue to provide their customers.
I am in the A/V consulting business and much of what this is about comes from my clients, not only me. When it comes to attention to detail and helping their customers, Oppo wins hands down every time.
