Upconvert DVD players for my system

I have recently completed my system with the addition of the Pioneer 50" Elite series plasma display and must say I am very pleased with the performance. I have only entry level components when it comes to my HT gear all Rotel RSP-1066 Pre-Pro, RDV-1080 Progressive scan DVD player and the RMB-1075 5 channel HT amp. I work in electronics sales but only at a low-end level and we sell many of the upconvert DVD players that have begun to flood the market. Now I have always thought as these entry level players to be nothing more than "Smoke and Mirrors and do very little to actually upconvert the true content of your normal 480P DVD. But I have read several articals that say if one is willing to invest in a decent brand of up-convert player than one could definately expect to gain a noticable improvement in their playback of standard DVD's. I wanted to know if anyone out there has any recommendations as to a good player without going over 3k. In the past Arcam has always received very good reviews on there players so I would be looking for something in that type of price range.
Many Thanks,
David