RGB is not by definition analog in my understanding (although I could be wrong), so I don't think that the path from a DVD to a DVI output has to leave the digital domain to carry out the conversion from YCbCr to RGB.

The OPPO Digital did turn in an impressive set of scores on the Secrets shootout, but I don't know that many people had seen it prior to the shootout and what little I've read online indicates that most places have sold out of them. I am also a bit curious about the player or perhaps a future unit from OPPO. It's odd that the 971H will only output 480i on the component video output, making it primarily suited for those of us with DVI or HDMI inputs.