Greetings, this is my first post here after reading all I can about Vp's and interlacing/scaling etc.

I am in the process of building my theater and I have the SONY KDS-R70XBR2 , Directv HD DVR, Rotel 1098, Rotel RMB 1095, Aerial 6's, Aerial CC3 center and Velodyne DD18, ERA Design 5's. I still need a dvd player and I am in quite a quandry.

Do i get a really nice dvd player such as the Arcam DV139 or do I go with a VP50 and a cheap player such as OPPO 970 that outputs a 480i signal?

Would the VP50 coupled to the OPPO 970 would have a comparable PQ to the DV139 with no external VP?

Would the VP50 improve the PQ when viewing Directv SD and HD material on my SONY?

Going with the VP50 / OPPO I would save about $1000 vs DV139.

I am really hoping someone can share their experience with VP50 and SONY XBR2 70.

I use a VP30 (w/ABT102 upgrade) with a KDS-R60XBR1. Obviously not the same setup as you, but similar, and I think I can offer some help/advice.

The DV139 uses the ABT102 deinterlacer, the same algorithms are loaded into the VP50 for processing of SD signals. So in the end, the performance should be pretty much the same (assuming there is little difference between the Zoran chip in the DV139 and the Mediatek chip in the DV970.)

The DV139 will most likely offer better audio performance than the 970 (or newer 980) for DVDA and SACD, so you'll have to make the judgement call there. The big advantage to the VP is that is it will act as a total A/V hub for your system, and improve the picture quality from your Directv as well as the DVD player, plus you'll get the added bonus of HD signal processing. I suspect that the improvement will be more noticeable on SD content vs. HD. I know that the ABT102 does a great job cleaning up most SD cable shows I watch.

Another option would be to hold out for Oppo's upcoming DV-983H. It has pretty much the same specs as the DV139, but for only $300-349.

I'm also one of the many Oppo 970 going into VP30/ABT102 owners with a R60XBR1. My main issue with the XBR1 is that it overscans a good 4-5% which makes PC gaming challenging at times. Also this is a bit odd, but according to the DVDO my screen is closer to 1.76:1 than 1:78. Fortunately the VP corrects both of these issues in the XBR-1 which I don't know if the Arcam DV139 does. Also the Sony is 0,-3 off center (my old OB was -2,-5) which is correctable with the VP as well.

Although I don't know which option will give you the better AQ or PQ I will say that the flexibility of the VP is amazing, and that although deinterlacing and scaling tech will get better the options of a VP might not be present. The four HDMI ins are also nice, since I'm a HD-DVD/Blu-ray supporter and use my PC, Comcast and Oppo with HDMI filling all 5 ins available to me.