i sit 15 feet from the player and it is in the open.  i never hear it.  its the quietest player i have owned.

I'm not aware of a specific meaning, but AFAIK the company started its life in China, which might have something to do with the name.
More info here.

Good news for my fellow European users: Oppo is FINALLY going to release the European version of the Oppo BDP-83. The European version will have a slighly different model number - the new kid on the block will be called BDP-831. Technically it will be identical to the US version, the BDP-83, the only difference being the Region 2/Zone B locking (rather than R1/Zone A on the US model).

The BDP-831 will be launched on October 7th. In the UK it will sell for £449, according to this report in German the price in Euros will be €499).

The first reviews of the European model are already appearing:
TechRadar - edit: seems to be removed now, was OK an hour ago
What Hi-Fi
AVForums.

If you're living in Europe and
1) haven't taken the plunge into Blu-Ray yet, but would like to while also being able to watch your existing DVD collection like you've never seen it before; or
2) are annoyed as hell by the long loading times of your existing Blu-ray player; or
3) own some SACD and/or DVD-Audio discs which you would like to be able to play with one and the same player as your DVDs and Blu-Rays

then I would recommend to take a VERY serious look at this astonishing machine. For this sort of money, no other player can beat it in terms of features and performance.

I'm sure there will be hardware modifications available for it to unlock the region and zone coding, as is already the case for the US model. E.g. check out
CRT Projectors in Norwich, UK
Bluraychip in Denmark
JVB Digital in the Netherlands.
(These are the three companies offering similar modifications for the US model that I'm aware of. Personally I have a modded US model from CRT Projectors, and I was extremely happy with their service.)

It could well be that in due course there will be a software modification as well, as is the case for the US model. Whether these can keep up with Oppo's firmware updates is a different matter though.

DJ

The Oppo BDP-831 will be available for £449/€499 from October 7th from www.OPPOstore.co.uk – the site is not on-line yet, but will go live that day.
You might however check out the Swedish Oppo shop on that day first - perhaps they'll change their mind... 

The latest news is that Oppo has postponed the launch of the European BDP-831 version of their player indefinitely. 

Which effectively means that fellow European users who want to benefit from the Oppo's qualities for the foreseeable future have no alternative than to get hold of a region-modded US player. Places where you can do so include
CRT Projectors
JVB Digital
or a modification set from Bluraychip.

Yes, quite a machine, eh?  Pity the official EU distribution packed up... 

The new 1218 firmware announced (beta) seems to have some interesting & useful features too. In particular for me, the "Subtitle shift feature" should prove most beneficial for those old non-anamorphic LBX DVDs with soft subs that I zoom (looks like ick, but most have no alternative release... )

I was *this* close to buying the BDP-83 this week, then this news broke.

Quote:
A new, less expensive Blu-ray player is coming in 2010 from Oppo, but just what that means is up for interpretation.

There’s a good chance that Oppo is a brand you’ve become familiar with in the last year or so, and you wouldn’t be alone. It’s a newer company, and up until 2009’s CES, they made some very good products, but nothing that compared to the BDP-83 in terms of balancing cost and function. The quick loading Blu-ray player made Oppo a favorite of tech sites and readers alike.

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Oppo is certainly under some pressure to match their offerings from last year, and based on a recent statement, they’re aiming at an even lower price point. The announcement came from their official Twitter account which states. ”We will be announcing a lower-cost Blu-ray player in early January 2010. Visit www.oppodigital.com around that time to learn more.”

Speculation as to the price point and functionality has been running rampant, but the most common answer for the former detail is $299. As far as functionality goes, the BDP-83 was more than just a high quality Blu-ray player; it also handled things like DVD Audio and SACD. Expect the new player to focus more strictly on video and a bit less on audio.

No details are official yet, but we’ll be hearing more in early January, which just happens to coincide with CES.

Very interested in this.

Link.

I saw the issue where CR listed Oppo as tops and my mouth dropped open. I never thought they would review a player from such a small company, but I was pleased and vindicated in my choice back in Nov.

FYI folks: The newest firmware update went official last tuesday (1/5) with quite a number of changes: introduction of a new "Home Menu" and in particular, the addition of "BluTV." This last was new to me and though mostly a placeholder now with a couple of widgets (clock and local weather) and a few games, the future from what I've read about this software offers some promise.
Check it out! 

Remember to do a reset to factory defaults after installing firmware update! I read AVS Forums on this one and a few people had issues when they did not. I had no problems thankfully.