ive been thinking of getting an oppo since theres no layer change pause but now ive been looking for an HD player and was wondering if they (specifically the A2) pause during layer changes. thanks

No, they don't. I believe that the formats have a provision for a seamless layer change if the disc is authored properly.

HD discs of both formats have seamless layer changes, however when playing back standard DVDs the players are not necessarily seamless.

I think on my A1, I may have noticed 1-2 layer changes on my dvds. Most aren't noticeable for me.

There is aslight pause on the Clerks 2 HD DVD that is reproducable, and I know others have seen it too (it's when the van(?) is pulling out of the Mooby's lot). Not sure if that's a poorly authored disc or some other problem.

The Layer Change has everything to do with the players firmware, not the disc authoring!

I also remember Clerks 2 having a slight pause, but that's the only pause on an HD disc that I've encountered.

Yup, me too on the same disc!