Actually, I am interested in seeing HD-DVD/Blu-ray combo player design start to move forward. I don't like the position this format war has put consumers in, but I'd still be interested in a true universal player (DVD with good upscaling like Faroudja or even HQV, DVD-Audio, SACD, HD-DVD, and Blu-ray) from somebody like Outlaw, Oppo, or Denon. I'm not optimistic about such a beast appearing anytime soon (it's probably a couple years off, maybe more at a price point I'd feel happy about), but I appreciate the companies like NEC and LG that are at least looking into ways to merge HD-DVD and Blu-ray in one chassis.

Apparently the new model will be called the DV-981HD . Wonder what the "HD" stands for. Scaling probably.

The 970's full model number is DV-970HD, with the HD referring to the upscaling. Interesting - certainly sounds like the 971's replacement.