You always have better picture quality for less money with a rear-projection TV if you have the space behind (and the right RPTV). Of course, the best bag-for-the-buck is CRT rear-projection. If you absolutely must have a flat-panel due to space limitations, then you picked the right one. I hope you're not going to make the most common mistake I see today; that is, "flat panel over the fireplace." I don't know who started this, but whoever it was definitely was NOT a videophile. Believe me, I've been doing this for over eight years now, and I know of only one client that's happy with his, because it's in a room adjacent to his kitchen and they primarily watch while standing and cooking. I try to talk clients out of this configuration; I usually get called-in after they do this to "make it better," which is usually not possible. Save your money with an RPTV and spend it on a nice sound system. Think about it.
Regarding DVD players I don't think you can do better than the units from Oppo Digital. They have gotten rave reviews (The Perfect Vision and others) and are extremely reasonably priced. Their nice universal player is $149, and an upgraded DVD-video player with Faroudja upscaling for $199! (These prices are direct from their website.) I recently put one in a client's system and was so impressed that I'm going to buy one for my demo/family room! They even throw in a DVI cable! Check them out at oppodigital.com.
Regarding DVD players I don't think you can do better than the units from Oppo Digital. They have gotten rave reviews (The Perfect Vision and others) and are extremely reasonably priced. Their nice universal player is $149, and an upgraded DVD-video player with Faroudja upscaling for $199! (These prices are direct from their website.) I recently put one in a client's system and was so impressed that I'm going to buy one for my demo/family room! They even throw in a DVI cable! Check them out at oppodigital.com.