I would suggest a Pioneer Elite
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/product/detail/0,,2076_15020671_278147278,00.html

I paid $700 for the DV-37 a few years ago when it was the top of the line.
I have no need to upgrade, since my HDTV was made in 2001 and only had Component inputs.
Once the 1080i DVD wars end, then I might upgrade.
Would like a tube CRT HDTV that would convert 1080i to 1080p.

If you're talking about the Secrets review, DaveR, the shootout's testing procedures focus solely on the video section but use a mix of reference video material and directly-measured data - it's about as non-subjective a metric as they could develop, and has been refined since the late 1990's to be as consistent and accurate as possible. Considering how widely-regarded the shootout results are, I doubt that McCormack would have kept silent if they believed there was a problem with the review sample. The main point made by Secrets (and to a degree confirmed by McCormack) was that the video quality wasn't representative of the price because the cost was mainly due to the focus placed on the audio portion of the player. Having said that, I will also say that a low score does not necessarily equate to an ugly picture - a number of the tests look at severe challenges that many players may never be asked to face (unusual cadences, errors in disc mastering, and the like), and of course it will also depend on the strength of your display to reproduce the issues (or not reproduce them, depending on the display). I have three DVD players connected to my 32" HDTV right now, two of which were tested by Secrets. My Panasonic DMR-E80 DVD recorder wasn't tested, but its predecessor the DMR-HS2 was - and it scored a lowly 48. My Yamaha DVD-S1500 scored a 63, and my Oppo scored a 94 (98 with a firmware update). The E80's progressive output is underwhelming, the S1500's is actually pretty respectable (at least to my eye), and the Oppo's is a clear upgrade from the S1500, but the differences in picture quality aren't directly proportional to the differences in score.

Yes, I was referring to the Secrets review, and I know of the designers statement re the UDP-1. The unit is "on loan", for evaluation purposes. I am going to give the video "another chance"...just talked with a friend of mine who distributes/calibrates Lumagen. I will try the UDP-1 with this video processor in the loop. The results will dictate the "fate" of the UDP-1.
Maybe separates are the answer..a CD, CD-A, SACD unit and another for DVD. With other video formats on the horizion, the impending "Blu-Ray vs HDVD war", I might just opt out for this solution. The Oppo (what's in a name) would be a reasonable answer...if it upscales.
Thanks guys for the help and advice.

I've taken the approach of not trying to find a single player that does everything exceedingly well, and I'm now in a position where I will be very content to stick with what I have and wait a couple years for the format war to go one direction or another (or mimic the DVD-A/SACD format war and go nowhere). In my case, I'm using the Yamaha as a universal audio player (DVD-A, SACD, and a transport for CD's, even though it has always seemed a little weak sonically on SACD) and the Oppo for DVD-Video. The Oppo does upscale to 720p and 1080i over the DVI output, but if you lack a DVI or HDMI input on your display I can't recommend the Oppo - it's component output only supports 480i.

Gonk, I agree...."DUZ doesn't do everything" (my age is showing...). I will be using the Lumagen Vision HDP (VP) .... http://www.lumagen.com
It has HDMI capability....My HDTV, Pioneer PDP-4360HD has 2 HDMI inputs, so no problem. My "Video GURU" says....DVD player out..into VP, as well as cable...then output to the TV HDMI in! Simple....Audio connections are into prepro combo...Bryston SP-2 with Bryston SPV-1....amp is Bryston 9B-SST. Now to find a good upscaling DVD.....any suggestions???
Am looking at the 990 to replace the SP-2/SPV-1 combo. The amp stays!!!!
Again, thanks for the input

I may be in the minority, but for the most part, assuming you don't get a radioshack model player, you will do well with just about anything. Toshiba and Panasonic models $75-125 do quite well. I would get a cheap one, use it for a year or two, and upgrade to HD-DVD or BlueRay (sounds like BlueRay has the upper hand).

In short, get a cheap one now, let the market sort itself out with regard to which format will win, then let them work the kinks out of production, and buy a High Def. model in 1-2 years. Price will come down and quality will go up.

--TDA

I don't know enough about the Lumagen's capabilities to know what it will work best with.

Read the review in Secrets for the VisionProHDP.

I have owned and own many DVD players, Toshiba,Panasonic,Denon,Pioneer,Awia, and others priced from $34 to several $1000. None have had the Video Quality of the $200 Oppo, at least to my eyes.
Of course most of the others did not have DVI output. IMHO, if you have HDMI or DVI inputs on your video display, you can do no better that the Oppo. At $200 it is a throw-away when the HD-DVD/Blu Ray mess is sorted out.

I agree. The "Blu-Ray v HD-DVD" battle dictates not spending $$$$. If the Oppo "upscales", it is the one to buy.