i just hooked mine up today........spectacular player.  everything about it reeks of high quality and care.  I cant wait to install the region free firmware.  I have had very poor luck with DVD players.  I have gone through 2 region free players and one hybrid blu/hd player in 3 years.  Hopefully, this is the solution.

Any further word on the BDP-83?  I've been reading quite a number of glowing reviews on line at some sites.

I've had Oppo's upconverting DV-981HD for some years now and love it. I was thinking about purchasing the 83 later this year or next spring.

I'd like to know more about the "optional" wireless bridge kit mentioned. How succesful is it? What is involved with installing it, etc? I have a simple wireless network adaptor for my TiVo HD box that synchs with a USB connection and it works great. Is this similar? I'm hoping it's plug and play for the most part.

The Panasonic DMP-BD30 Blu-ray player I've had since end of 07 is ok but I have some real issues with it. The load times for discs and menus are ridiculous. I also hate their coupling the screen saver with the choice of gray bars or black (top or bottom) for formatting material to OAR. I can't stand the gray preferring black but would like to have the screen saver. Why couldn't they separate the two in selection?  Does Oppo offer both options and are the selections separate? Lastly, the lack of even an ethernet connection in the Panny is a pain. I like to keep up with the firmware updates, which have helped over time but burning and wasting CDs is a poor solution for the long haul. Nice to see Oppo on board as others for Profile 2.

From what I've been reading, this player is definitely top of the list for my BD system purchase this fall. The region free mod just seals the deal.

Quoting Astrakan:

Quote:
Region Hacking
- Order a solder-free hardware mod to make it region free for Blu-ray and DVD

There's also one from JVB Digital for $90USD (they also sell complete players w/mod too for $600USD - $1500USD, depending on the various other installed options they offer.) 
The multi-region description reads the same as CRT's kit, so perhaps they're identical.  If so, choosing which may come in part to exchange rates & shipping.... or availability, if one source sells out!

Just a quick update regarding the solder-free region mod we've been talking about in this thread:

I just finished installing mine and it works perfectly.

The install itself was a snap. I admit that I did feel a little intimidated when I was unscrewing the cover to the player, but there was no reason to be. Anyone's who's ever worked "under the hood" of a computer won't have any issues whatsoever installing this mod. It really is as easy as 1-2-3.

I've tested it for both DVD and Blu-ray, and it's continously region free for DVD, but requires two button presses (blue button + 1/2/3 depending on region) to switch between Blu-ray regions.

Anyway, the mod gets two thumbs up from me.

Not sure if all of the above applies to the JVB mod, but the CRT mod is a few dollars more and they're really helpful and approachable and we know their mod works, so personally I'd pay the extra few bucks. At least until we know more about the JVB mod.

FYI: CRT ships to Europe, U.S.A., Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

KM

One of the important things for me is, does it have a fan(s) or passive cooling?

@ Mithi:
Yep, it does PAL (from the User Manual: PAL 576i/576p/720p/1080i/1080p/1080p24 - however as far as I've been able to establish so far, with PAL it doesn't do 24fps - which comes as no surprise to me in view of the PAL speedup). Out of the box it's limited to PAL Region 0, with the region mod of course it will play any PAL disc.

@ Kulju:
There's a fan, but it's really quiet. You won't notice it's there.

Quoting Cyclograph:

Quote:
Quoting Astrakan:

Quote:
Anyone's who's ever worked "under the hood" of a computer won't have any issues whatsoever installing this mod. It really is as easy as 1-2-3.

Excellent news.  Far agreeable than having to replace SMDs... like my old system!
What's the actual physical installation here?  Is it something like a card slotting into a JTAG service port, or maybe replacing or adding a chip on an existing socket? A module in-line with a data cable? Inquiring geeks want to know!    (photos?)

You replace an existing ribbon cable with a modded ribbon cable. Click here for the instructions (including photos) that come with the mod kit.

KM

Well, if you won't take my word for it, here's what the beta testers said about it:

"Comments from early users:

What fan?

*

Ditto.

*

Double ditto. No noise.

*

The fan does not run most of the time. During playback I never hear it, but I have the player in a cabinet behind doors. If the player has been running a while I hear the fan when the tray is ejected and the cabinet doors are open. It runs for a short time when a new disc begins playing but then goes silent again.

*

I have my OPPO sitting on top of the cabinet, in the open, just 10 feet away, and I never hear the fan, even after hours of use, except for brief instances when the fan control logic is resetting itself -- e.g. during new disc initial loading.

With decent ventilation, whether enclosed in a cabinet or out in the open, the fan should be a non-issue for everyone.

The Oppo meets my requirements for quiet operation during playback.

*

I have the BDP-83 installed in probably the worst possible ventilation scenario (which is sad for an HVAC engineer, but still true -- I keep telling myself it's to provide a test case rather than admitting that I haven't taken the time to improve on my cabinet). I also have three temperature sensors on the player: one at the intake underneath, one at the fan discharge, and one sitting inside the case next to the drive (the component that is most heat sensitive).

I can get the fan to run, but it involves ambient temperatures inside the player of around 105F or 110F and discharge air temperatures of up to 125F. I do not hear the fan, though, even when I open the cabinet door while it is running. Ambient noise (particularly my HD DVR cable box) drown out the fan itself.

*

Mine sets on top of my Integra combi player and has 5 inches of clearance on top and is open to the sides and back; I never hear the fan and I never notice a heat issue.

*

The Oppo BDP-83 includes a fan. If I didn't tell you that you would likely never know. There simply isn't fan noise during playback. I have my Oppo sitting out in the open about 10 feet from where I sit. The only time you ever hear the fan is when the fan control logic resets itself briefly, as for example during the loading of a disc. I kid you not, some of the Beta testers have taken to mounting a mirror behind their Oppo so they can even tell when, if ever, the fan is spinning.

*

I have mine on top of my Onkyo 605, and I never hear it kick on. I feel fan noise is really a non-issue for most folks.

*

I have been able to hear my fan come on at times, and once or twice, only during a quiet scene, was able to hear it from my sitting position watching a movie. This was only during 1 or 2 movies in particular, and only during a very quiet scene. The other times I've heard it was only when a disc was not playing, but perhaps afterwards, when removing the disc when I was up close."

Source

And you can find some discussion of the fan noise of the Oppo vs. the PS3 in the comments section of this review.