I'd like to spend $100 or less to send video over HDMI to the new Samsung 46A540 and audio (simultaneously) over either optical or coax to my HK receiver. Must: upconvert DVDs well, play reliably, do MP3 and JPEG. Nice to haves: remote controls TV, USB, maybe video files. I've read all the relevant posts, and my impressions are:

Oppos--best by a smidge, but more $$/over budget
Sony DVP-NS700 or 601. Good value, thin, solid. Universal remote?
Pioneer DV410--new, does what I need, USB
Pioneer DV-48--often second choice to Oppos. Same price as '410. What's the benefit if SACD isn't needed? Why is it as thick as a VHS player?
Phillips 5990/5992 -- surprising for price. Very compact. Good USB. Can't find much else on it.

Due to certain, ahem, spousal constraints on technology adoption, this is likely to carry us until we're the last house on the block with Blu-ray, so any comments are greatly appreciated!

I own an oppo 980 and an hd-a3. Since getting the toshiba I only use the oppo for CD playback (where it excels). My display is an Olevia 537 37" display. The oppo is very nice but uses the same mediatek scaling solution as my display, making it's gains subtle to say the least.

The only reason I mention this is upconversion is a very subjective topic. The 980 is considered one of the better players- and yet my relatively cheap display renders it almost pointless.
If it wasn't for it's audio decoding and price (I got it practically free with a company promo) it would have gone right back to oppo. And again, I rock a 37 inch Olevia! :)

My point is you can only rely on opinion and reviews so much. The only thing that is really going to matter is how it looks to YOU on YOUR display. And remember, you already have an upconverter- your display! The only way one of those players will make a difference is if it does a better job of scaling/deinterlacing than your display does.

That being said, in my quest to find an upconvert worth it's salt I bought/tested/returned all but the pioneer 48 you listed above. Well, kinda- I tried the previous model Phillips, the 5980 I tnink?

Either way, NONE of them seemed worth the expenditure over my ancient 480i Sony. Of all of them only the pioneer seemed to not make the picture any worse. The Sony models (and this pains me to say) were garbage.
The Phillips I actually liked... Slim, sleek, nice interface, plenty of bells and whistles (if I didn't already have a 360 running MC the usb would have been slick) and a decent picture in 480p. I'm guessing the deinterlacer in that model isn't all that good but the hdmi probably helped... At 60 bones I almost kept it.

I also tested a toshiba 6000 and some panasonic... And obviously I ended up with the oppo lol! Which then saw it's duties replaced by the a3...

So, no matter what you do. TRY the damn thing out, test it against your ancient player (you may be surprised), and don't be afraid to return! :)

Avoid the Sony DVP-NS700H - it has a lot of edge enhancement and it can not be turned off. Also it has grainy picture quality.
Philips dvd players has a history of unreliabilty.

I recommend the Pioneer DV-410V for best dvd player for under $100. If you want to spend a little more get the Oppo DV-980H.

i had all of them and can say that paying extra for the oppo is worth it. all the other players were buggy or had some thing about hte picture that bothered me.