What SD-DVD player for my Halo system - moving it all to a dedicated HT Room

[Jon SS]

I am setting up an HT system in the basement currently have in my family room a 720p JVC LCOS TV, Pioneer Elite DV-59avi dvd player and Halo C2/A51 sytem.

I plan on moving the Halo C1/A51 system to the basement (adding the A23 for 7.1) and use a PS3 as my blu-ray player. I will either buy the Pioneer 6020 or Panansoni 58V10 plasma.

Deciding what to do with the DVD player, should I use the Pioneer Elite DV-59avi in the basement and buy either a second hand Oppo dv-980H / DV981HD or Pioneer DV-420V for the family room or vice versa?

Any recommendation. I have read through countless posts and reviews trying to compare the Pioneer Elite DV-59avi (which I really like) to the Oppo DV-980H and DV-981HD and also the Pioneer DV-420V.

The family room is mainly used for the wife and kids, so I would like the better DVD player in the basement HT room. Leaning towards buying the Pioneer DV-420V for the family room as it is the cheapest route but thought if the Oppo DV-980H and DV-981HD is better than the Pioneer Elite DV-59avi then might sway to Oppo.

Not much happening in the Halo thread so thought I would add some action by asking here

Thanks!

[Hammie]

Well, the Oppos have been rated as some of the best upconverting players. Any reason you are not looking at BD players? The Oppo BDP-83 will be the best at upconverting SD-DVD's and gets you ready for the big jump into BD. They can be had for $499 right now.

[Jon SS]

I was going to get the oppo bd player and use for both vd and dvd but then got the ps3 for games and bd for use in the new ht room. Don't know if I wanted to get another bd player for the family room yet.

[kmcheng]

The PS3 has decent up-converting capabilities, so there is no reason not to use it as your SD DVD player.

I say get the Oppo 83 or nothing. Sooner or later you will "need" a BD player in the family room. You may also decide to move the PS3 to the family room and need a BD player in the HT room.

[Chris D]

Agreed, there's no reason nowadays not to get a SD-DVD upconverting player that also does other stuff, whether it's Blu-Ray, universal player, PS3 gaming, or a mixture of the above. If you already have a PS3 and don't want to spend any more money, that will be just fine for you.

Otherwise, if you want a 2nd dedicated player, I'd probably go for the brand new Oppo. Got lots of people pleased right now.

Who knows if we'll ever get the Halo BD-1, but that'd be cool!