Or: Money for nothing? (there's no bits for free).

I know this situation has been discussed ad infinitum (ad nauseum to most) and
the debate still appears to be raging, but I thought I'd solicit a few more
opinions. Spark some more debate. You know, make trouble. Besides, despite
some searching I haven't seen an answer that applies specifically to my
situation, which may or may not add some wrinkles.

After many years in the low def world, we took the plunge this fall and shelled
out for the above-mentioned HDTV - JVC's 61FN97. We've been very pleased, for
the most part, with the results (ranging from "that's not bad" to "WOW!",
depending, of course, on content). But one of the remnants of my low def past was my DVD player: a reliable but ancient (in technology world) Panasonic A120 - a DVD player so old, it was purchased in a previous century (OK, the nineties. That counts).

So we now have the tale of the May-December romance between the venerable DVD player and the beautiful young HDTV. A romance doomed to fail because the new technological marvel will HAVE to leave it's older partner for a new upscaling
wonder... won't it?

Being the cautious consumer/matchmaker/technology divorce judge that I am, I try
to gather some information first. I brave the jungles of the Brick and Mortar
stores; I dip my toe into the murky waters on the internet, trying to discern,
vainly, the proper course to take before this metaphor collapses of its own
weight. I search and search and find endless opinions, all stated with utmost
confidence and certainty. I believe that they can be boiled down to the
following three responses:

1. "You fool! Buy an upscaling player! Buy it now! Spare no expense! Your
movies will be prettier. Not just prettier: Better! The plots will be tighter,
the characters more interesting and the actors more attractive and talented!
Any time you spend not using (DVD player "X") you might as well be gouging your
eyes with hot pokers!"

2. "You fool! Since all (non HD) DVDs are standard definition, you'd be
throwing your money away! No matter how much you spend, no hardware can create information where there was none! And even if it could, the scaler already
built into your expensive HDTV would surely do a better job than the one in a
DVD player costing a few hundred dollars. It's a marketing gimick! And they're
stealing your soul along with your money!"

3. "You fool! Nothing is that simple! It depends on your HDTV, your DVD
player, the connection used, the content of your DVDs, the day of the week, the
size of your shoes, and whether Saturn's in proper alignment with Venus. Take
with food, check with your doctor, and do not swim for an hour afterward. Do
not fold, spindle or mutilate. Void where prohibited by law or the laws of
nature."

So here's my questions (What?! You mean in this rambling diatribe I had questions after all?):

How DOES the scaler in one of the better DVD players (such as the ever popular Oppo, most likely tops on my list if I do go that way) compare with the one in my specific TV? Although It's not a cheapie, I have no illusions that it's the top of the line. Is there any resource that looks specifically at scalers in TVs and compares them with the good player based ones? What about my specific DVD player? Even if the DVD based scalers are all marketing, does my antique have the capability to feed my TV the signal it needs to do its best work? Most of the comments I see discuss much more recent players.

(Sigh) I think I was happier when I was completely ignorant about this stuff.