No, so I can watch foreign DVDs!! I watch lots of imports that are not released here in the States. So, if you have a region free DVD player, you can watch movies from all over the world, in NTSC or PAL, DVDs, VCDs, M-PEG CDs, etc. For example, if I put a PAL DVD in my PS3 it will give me an error that says, "incorrect DVD format" or something like that. In my Oppo it plays fine.
Another great example is that in the UK the entire Tick animated series was released on DVD, and in the US, we only released season one and two minus a few episodes. So I bought the UK version and I can watch them on my region free Oppo player! SPOOOOOOOON!
Bart