Let me begin by saying, while this player does NOT offer HD upconversion, it outperforms the Sony and Samsung upconverting HD players. I carefully compared the three models on my Hitachi 51 RPTV, and found this to clearly be the best. Picture quality its stunningly superb, suprising deep color and incredible sharpness. I saw absolutely NO benefit from using a high-quality DVI connector as opposed to high-quality component cables. The player also offers DVD-Audio which is phenomenal when set up to a higher end sound system. And finally, in my opinion, this unit is the best looking DVD player I've seen on the market. The only flaw I've come accross is with the remote, which lacks volume buttons, and although lighted, it's still hard to make out which button is which in the dark.

The above review pretty much sums it up, but one correction. This player is not compatible with SACD's and I found that to be the player's only weakness. But if you have an HDTV, you may want to opt for a player with the DVI output to get the 1080i.

This DVD player is totally fantastic. I got mine on sale new online for $250 including shipping. The sound quality for CD's, DVD's & DVD-A's is fantastic as is the great DVD picture quality. This player looks great too. I got this to go with the Denon 3801 incredible receiver I got (retails for $1200 I got it online for $450 in excellent used condition). The Denon with the Harmon Kardon 31 rules. I compared this to my previous DVD player, and there was a total night and day difference, as the sound on this is absolutely incredible and the picture is great too. If you have a good quality receiver, you should definately spend the money on this, not some cheap piece of krap! Harmon Kardon rules!