Since the highest enchalon of Oppo DVD players only narrowly beat the PS3 in terms of scaling ability (HQV test for the Oppo was 130 while the PS3 landed at 125). The PS3 can perform as a multimedia network device, as well as supporting various media on it's own by using USB. Put that with other reasons already stated and you've got the pros for getting the PS3.
Pros for the Oppo: it's a stand alone, it has a smaller form factor, it doesn't have fan noise, it uses IR instead of bluetooth, it plays SACDs and DVD-Audio discs (the 60gb and old 80gb PS3s support SACD playback, but only 2 channel over analog and I don't believe they bitstream multichannel DSD but they might do 5.1 LPCM). My roommate's PS3, which has been cared for very well, has broken down twice while under warranty. The first time it went down it was the drive motor that actually spins the disc. The second time it broke down it was the diode. However my older and more beat up PS3 (purchased used) has yet to have any problems. I do believe there was a bad batch of 40gb PS3s that happened to be prone to issues. Hopefully those issues have been resolved in more recent versions (80gb and 160gb).
My personal choice is the PS3, as I have no concern for aesthetics and the SixAxis controller is easy enough to use as a Blu-ray controller for myself, but note that you can purchase a Bluetooth Blu-ray remote control for the PS3. I also don't care about SACD, DVD-Audio, or multichannel analog output. I also like to play some, about 2, games. I also have no desire to search for an Oppo in a store (I don't believe in store in my local area carries Oppo) and I don't like buying things online. Picking up the PS3 is fast and easy.
The Oppo DV-983H is also easy to make region free, and can convert between PAL and NTSC (and upscale both to HD formats without loss in picture detail in the conversion process), so one can play DVDs from anywhere in the world. Can the Sony be made region free, and can it convert between PAL and NTSC?
The Oppo also is great for automatically scaling things to keep the aspect ratio correct and uncropped, if one chooses the correct settings in the setup menu. I have no idea about the Sony for that either, because I own the Oppo DV-983H and do not own the Sony.
I have hundreds of DVDs, and I want them to look their best, so I got the Oppo DV-983H when it first came out. It is a great player, but I can certainly understand someone thinking that it is pricey for a DVD player. But nothing less expensive is as good.
If you can wait a couple of months, you might want to see how the new Oppo Blu-Ray player is rated after it comes out.
Another thing to consider is the upconverting capabilities in one's receiver, video processor, or TV. If one has state of the art capabilities in any of those, then getting the Oppo DV-980H would be great to use with one's setup, and just set it to output what is on the disc (i.e., not upconverting at all in the player).
In fact, this is something quite annoying, as one tends to pay for upconverters in one's TV, receiver, and DVD player, and you only will be actually using one of them for a particular source. So typically, one's money is wasted somewhere in this. The same applies to DACs (both audio and video). I just use the HDMI output on my Oppo, so the money spent on its audio and video DACs is wasted in my case.
