When we first spent some time with the Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player way back last September at CEDIA, we walked away impressed and anxious to get our hands on the player. Well, 11 months later we’re pleased to report that it is finally available for purchase. Yay!

The $500 player isn’t the cheapest on the block, but it plays back just about every format available including DVD Audio and SACD. Plus the video processing is handled by the Anchor Bay’s VRS which is the same chipset used in the DVDO Edge that impressed the hell out of us.

If you’ve been waiting for the de facto Blu-ray player, well, this might be it. Although we would probably wait until some reviews drop before we drop 5 bills. We’re in a recession after all.