I'm glad that you mentioned remote control options at the end of your post.

I had a different problem than yours. While I wasn't interested in up-converting - I was interested in simplifying my home theater (and my marriage). In brief, here was my problem - I had teh cable going into Vid1, the VHS going into VID2, the DVD going into VID4, and a shelf system home theater which needed to be switched between auxillary and 5.1, depending on whetehr I watned to watch DVDs or TV. Add to this the fact that I have a Sony WEGA, and like to "pinch" the TV screen using the 16:9 enhanced feature while watching DVDs. Aside from switching issues and screen size format problems, I had five remotes cluttering the coffee table.

MY SOLUTION: I bought the Harmony family remote (harmonyremote.com) which I bought at Bluedo.com (authorized retailer. It simplified my life (and marraige) accordingly.

In short, you use the internet to set up the macro functions on your remote. What I mean is, you tell the internet program what components you have, and how your system is set up (e.g. sat to Vid3, cable to Vid1, whatever). Then you set up "activities." From there, you press one button, and bingo - problems solved.

For example, say you're watching standard def TV, and you want to watch a movie. You press the "watch movie" button and your tv switches to the appropriate input, and your recevier turns on an switches to whatever setting you want, the DVD player turns on and presto, Bob's your uncle. This begins to bore you, so you want to watch High def TV? Well, the remote remembers which components are on....so it, turns the DVD player off, switches to your s-video input turns your receiver on/off (whatever you prefer) and turns on the high def box, etc.

It works with PVR (TiVos), and is a breeeze to set up. It took a couple of tries, but I was able to tinker and get my system working flawlessly (on a far from perfect system, as far as ease of set-up goes) within a night.

I suggest you go this way because (1) a single remote is much better than 5, and (2) an up conversion device is only going to be a band-aid for your problems. Dive into the harmony - your SO will appreciate it.

Also, others are likely to chime in regarding the MX-700 and the SONY models. Listen to their input and select according to your needs, sophistication etc.

Happy solution hunting