Dennis, possibly a major factor in the popularity of the Denons(not for Ken, though)is the challenge of attempting to actually put the provisions in the Denon manuals into effect. For those who appeciate such challenges, although most manufacturers attempt to supply it, it's generally recognized that Denon reigns supreme.
As to the upscaling, keep in mind that fixed pixel TV displays have to scale incoming material to fit their "native resolution". Unless the scaling done by a player or receiver is visibly better than that which the display itself does(no rule of thumb available), that feature in a player or receiver doesn't bring any real advantage in picture quality.
