I am a real newbie in the audiophile area, but have been a "wannabe" videophile for awhile now.
For those of you who have HD capable tvs and don't have an upconverting player, you need to get one soon. They are relatively inexpensive, usually $200-300. They are quite remarkable. A solid DVD transfer played on an upconverting player is I would say, about 75-80% of what a true HD image looks like. I throw in the Star Wars trilogy (granted three of the best transfers out there) and I simply sit there in amazement. It looks fantastic! In comparison a 480p signal is perhaps 50% of a true HD image, so there is a definite increase in PQ. Even with my small 36" tube tv, I notice a significant difference in PQ via the component connection on my Zenith 318 upconverting DVD player. Those with plasmas, DLPs, and LCDs will notice a big improvement with a DVI/HDMI upconverting player.
Now I just need a nice home theater system to make the audio as good as the video.
FWIW, the players I hear about as having the best reputations are the Momitsu 880, Sony NS975, and the Panny S97. I personally would like to try the Panasonic eventually, I have heard it is an excellent player. I thought about going with the Momitsu as I have heard it has tremendous PQ, but I was a bit wary of the build quality. The Samsungs don't seem to get good marks, but I have not seen any personally.
