DLNA client versus USB DAC ??

Ah... turns out it's a moot issue for me now.

DNLA players are not the same as DNLA Renderers. Both boxes play files.... the Renderer box can be controlled by a third program/box called a DLNA controller.

So .. unless the blueray player is a renderer... you will have to use it's own hardwired control menu.... Ugly for large collections.

AVSforum said In principal... the jitter in the DNLA stream would be identical to that of the CD or USB DRIVE modes.... Ie nothing added by the interface.

No measurements of the interface were public

I read both of those references and I still don't quite get it.

DLNA is a consumer based streaming protocol which will deliver bits to a DAC. So you could hook your AV receiver up to your server and stream files to the DAC on board the receiver and get music. Occasionally you need to transcode the music file on the fly to in order to feed the box an acceptable format.

Interestingly, The Oppo 93/95 has a codec for FLAC presumably on the chip. I surmise that DLNA network functions like a network and essentially downloads the file to a large buffer. The Oppo would then unpack the FlAC file using their chip and then pass the music data to the DACs in the OPPO. I expect the OPPO would be using the internal clock to spin out bits to the DAC. Jitter would be a function of the DAC and the internal clock. The DACS could alternatively be fed by spinning a Disk in the player or going through a USB hard drive mounted by the Oppo player.

Asynch USB on the other hand has your music player on the PC unpack the FLAC file and have the DAC control transfer through the USB interface and this implementation minimizes jitter.

Do I have a fundamental misunderstanding of DLNA streaming?

Assuming that I do understand the basics... Are there differences or limitations between the two schemes..
For instance,
Network traffic could choke the steaming. Real or imagined?

Basically it comes down to Value for price.. upgrading from a 93 to a 95 for 500 bucks gives you the ability to feed their highly rated DAC chips with the DLNA streaming.

Is this a great deal or save your money?

It is not entirely clear what you are asking. My guess is that you are asking a questions which like comparing "apples and oranges" about two things that are not the same. You might like to get more informations here:
http://www.dlna.org/digital_living/how_it_works/
and here:
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/faq

Forgive me if I have misunderstood.