No, upscaling does make for a better picture on an HDTV. But it would cost you less to buy a $60 upscaling Oppo DVD player + Playstation than it will to buy an Oppo BluRay player that also upscales regular DVDs.

Interesting point. But just as time is money, space is money. The space around my HD display is very tight, without room for multiple components. Saving the space would be worth around a hundred bucks to me. More of a difference than that, and I'd consider squeezing.

The least expensive Oppo DVD player (new - from Oppo) is $169.

The only ones on eBay for under $100 are ones that don't output 1080p (only up to 1080i)

Here's my quick take on the Oppo vs PS3 for Blu-Ray

PS3
Pros:
- automatically updates to the newest Blu-Ray profile
- streams audio and video files from my computer
- decent upscaler
- web browser (if you want it)
- games (if you care)

Cons:
- not the greatest upscaler
- no DVD-Audio
- won't play PAL discs
- region-locked

OPPO (based on current machine and educated guesses)

Pros:
- Fantastic upscaler
- All-region
- Smooth PAL->NTSC conversion
- DVD-Audio

Cons:
- Doesn't currently exist

Ok, here's the thing. I don't need any computer interface. I don't have wireless capabilities yet, and my computer is nowhere remotely near any of my displays, and is the furthest from the HD display.

I don't care about games.

I'd like a region-free player.

I'm willing to wait. (The HD display needs repairs, which I can't afford for the foreseeable future).


So ... thanks to the handy mousepod comparison ... it seems as if the Oppo wins hands-down (or will, once it exists, and providing it doesn't cost a fortune.)

I know it's irrational, but I kinda feel the same way as ISM, something just seems a bit dirty about bringing in a game console

Japanese Film Noir
 

Okay, these are not blu-ray, but they are Criterion Collection

I've not seen any of these films, but they look really great. Anyone seen any of them? Mousepod?

Criterion Japanese Film Noir set

I Am Waiting
Koreyoshi Kurahara, 1957
In Koreyoshi Kurahara’s directorial debut, rebel matinee idol Yujiro Ishihara stars as a restaurant manager and former boxer who saves a beautiful, suicidal club hostess (Mie Kitahara) trying to escape the clutches of her gangster employer.

Rusty Knife
Toshio Masuda, 1958
In Toshio Masuda’s smash Rusty Knife, Yujiro Ishihara and fellow top Nikkatsu star Akira Kobayashi play former hoodlums trying to leave behind a life of crime, but their past comes back to haunt them when the authorities seek them out as murder witnesses.

Take Aim at the Police Van
Seijun Suzuki, 1960
At the beginning of Seijun Suzuki’s taut and twisty whodunit, a prison truck is attacked and a convict inside is murdered. The penitentiary warden on duty, Daijiro (Michitaro Mizushima), is accused of negligence and suspended, only to take it upon himself to track down the killers.

Cruel Gun Story
Takumi Furukawa, 1964
Fresh out of the slammer, Togawa (Branded to Kill’s Joe Shishido) has no chance to go straight because he is immediately coerced by a wealthy mob boss into organizing the heist of an armored car carrying racetrack receipts. (This sounds very similar to The Killers with Sterling Hayden - another great film)

A Colt Is My Passport
Takashi Nomura, 1967
One of Japanese cinema’s supreme emulations of American noir, Takashi Nomura’s A Colt Is My Passport is a down-and-dirty but gorgeously photographed yakuza film starring Joe Shishido as a hard-boiled hit man caught between rival gangs.

These look cool! I've read about most of these movies, but the only director that I'm familiar with is Suzuki.

I'm tempted to check these out, although since I upgraded to Hi-Def, I've been avoiding expensive SD DVDs... hmmmm...