My Philips DVP642 seems to be slowly dying, and I've been trying to find an upgraded replacement for this flexible player and not having much luck. So I'm thinking perhaps I should just build a quiet Home Entertainment Computer to do the job. That way if an issue comes up I can just fix the component that's giving me trouble.

Anyone think this is a good idea? Any suggestions on how to proceed?

With all the added benefits of an HTPC over a conventional player, if you have the cash and desire, I'd say it's a no-brainer. I am considering going this route myself (just sank my spare cash into a gaming PC, so I'll have to wait a while) and have been researching for several months. There are a couple of people here with HTPCs who can shed a lot of light on the subject, but it might behoove you to head over to the HTPC area at AVSForum.com as well as HTPCForums.com and HTPCNews.com. Good luck and keep us posted!

BTW, I've had my 642 for about a year. I had to replace it under warranty after 3 weeks, but this one is still going strong.

I have the desire, but I'm not sure what kind of cash allowance I'd need. I'll check those links.

Any flexible players that are considered an 'upgrade' in build quality and overall quality (responsiveness, etc.)?

Oppo, I believe.

I was looking at the Oppo, and it doesn't seem to be a real step up in build quality. I've seen reviews that there are sync issues and there is no Progressive to the component output. The main thing going for it is great picture quality via Upscaling on the DVI output. With my 4:3 32" CRT HD set I'm not going to benefit much from that.

I'm looking for DivX, XviD, Macrovision disabling, and Region Free, but in a solid player. This is what is making me think perhaps I'm looking for a home built solution.

This may not be what you want to hear....I don't consider anything I've seen under $300 (probably more like $700, really) to be decent build quality.

Not recently. My first player was a Sony, and that was halfway decent at $150 back when $150 was the lowest price around. Now they are all plastic instead of metal and feel like junk. My Denon, OTOH, feels like it could be dragged behind a car for a couple miles and still be ok.

If it helps, I got rid of my Oppo because I couldn't deal with its many shortcomings (which Oppo fans love to call "quirks") and got a Panny S-77 and hooked my PC up to my HD panel. I'm happy.

$700 is tough to hear.

=(

Also, I'm less concerned with Aesthetics from a physical standpoint, and more concerned with the overall 'feel' to the way the DVD player works. Seamless layer change, fast startup, fast loading, short time to access (menu loading, playing the film). I also long for the little niceties the 'better' players have, like resuming a film where it left off (with a 5 yo in the house this is a real missed feature), non-intrusive dispay features (I hate the 'multi angle' icon on the Philips), responsive remote (I'm sick of button mashing and remote waving).

This is more what I mean by a 'quality player'.

I'm 100% not clear on what you mean. You're using the Panasonic DVD-S77 for DVDs and a computer for other files (DivX, XviD, etc.)?

Exactly right.