My two cents....and a question:

I use the Pioneer DV-655A universal player which I read is an overseas version of the Pioneer Elite 45A. I think the 655A is region free, though I have not played any DVDs from outside the US, nor do I have a PAL system TV to watch them even if I could. I paid about $170 for it at a Army Exchange store about a year ago. I think the Elite version was much higher in price during the same time I was shopping around. Pay more $$$ for the word "Elite" in the front panel? The 655A is discontinued now.

Now the new Universal players with IEEE 1394 for SACD and DVD-A (like Denon's) sounds tempting. Any justification for upgrading to a IEEE 1394 universal player and a receiver or pre/pro that has an input for it?