Q: We are putting together an entertainment system with the
Marantz NR1403 receiver you have suggested, along with a
GoldenEar soundbar and Panasonic ST-series plasma. The dealer is
heavily pushing an Oppo Blu-ray player over the Panasonic player
we had chosen, saying Oppo is much higher quality. This
supposedly higher quality comes with a much higher price, $500
instead of about $100. We are not electronics buffs; we just
want to have a system that looks and sounds very good.  Do you
think the Oppo is worth the extra investment?  -- D. and H.M.,
River Falls, Wis.  A: What makes the Oppo different and better
than other players is the premium quality video and audio
circuitry, advanced features, and its ability to play a wide
variety of disc and digital formats. The model you are referring
to is the BDP-103 and it can be seen at www.oppodigital.com.
Oppo's video processing is some of the best in the business and
does a wonderful job of upconverting DVDs to high-definition
resolution. It's a difference you wil