It looks like my DVP642 has died. What DVD player should I buy? Mandatory features:

1) Plays mp3s on a DVD.
2) Plays most common codecs used in avi and mpg files.
3) Toslink output

I am using it with component video.

Toslink will be the difficult feature; for example, the obvious successor to your 642,the Philips 5960, does not have it.

I believe the Oppo 970 and Denon DVD-557 both have Toslink, and are good for avi etc. - DR

It is upsetting that the 5960 drops Toslink. It seems like such a step backward, and for years I have been planning on more Toslink devices than coax. But the 5960 is much cheaper than the others, and an adaptor is about $13.

I have emailed Oppo and Denon, asking if their players support MP3s on a DVD. It is ridiculous if they don't, but the Oppo documentation is ambiguous and the Denon implies not. If neither does, I will buy the 5960 and a spdif coax to toslink adaptor.

I would like a higher quality in general DVD player than the Philips DVP642 was. But it seems the "better" DVD players often lack really obvious features.