Oppo DV-970HD

Pros: Good value, inexpensive

Cons: Cheap construction, minor annoyances

Summary: I bought the OPPO based on a number of very positive Internet reviews, and on a friend's rave recommendations.

In actual A/B tests, compared to a cheap Sony multi-disc player (<$200), the OPPO's image across HDMI was indistinguishable from the Sony's across Component (displayed on a 72 inch high-end HD TV at 1080p). This may be a big deal to some, but to me, it says that the OPPO is not noteworthy.

The biggest issue was jagged images when upscaling to 1080, but that's what you'd expect for a low-cost DVD player. The Gamma setting goes from "normal" to "bad", so it's best left OFF.

My unit failed in the first couple of months of ownership after playing less than a dozen DVDs. The laser reader was sticking in its rail, resulting in DVDs freezing. At <$200 including shipping, I decided to throw the unit out rather than ship it to the distributor in California for warranty repairs.

Your experience may vary. I speculate that I was just unfortunate with the product defect, rather than it being the norm. But the "good, but not spectacular" image quality was a disappointment for me.

With the OPPO, you get what you pay for. For a little more, you can buy a name-brand (e.g., Sony) multi-disc DVD player that does just as good a job, and you won't have to ship your product to California for warranty repairs.