I'm not sure if you're being obtuse or facetious, so here's a reply that addresses both. For the record, I did not "attack" your reply. When it comes to "region-free", the high-end players are often woefully inadequate. Multiple TV systems, regions, VCD compatibility, etc. are not the purview of high-end players from name brand companies.

My Philips is attached to a 20" TV and replaced a dying Sony POS. It is not combined with my HT or the Denon and it was an upgrade to the Sony PQ. I was originally going to get the $150 Pioneer universal player for this TV, but ultimately decided I didn't need to play my high-rez discs at this location. Any other questions?

You seem to think it is easy to get ONE player that does EVERYTHING. Please name all the DVD players that can do what I listed above without hardware modifications. The Pioneers you listed cannot.

I'm sick of CUE, so most Pioneers are out of the running for my house, anyway. I agree they are very smooth, but their other issues are annoying. This is changing and the 59avi would have been a contender if it had been available when I purchased my Denon.