I see Oppo in forum sigs at, say, AVSForums all the time.
I don't understand. Why would a $500 blu-ray or CD player (like the Emotiva ERC-3) be any better than a $50 one? I'm not saying that it isn't, just asking how it is.

In doing some reading, claims of superior DACs and video processors come into play. Why would the HDMI video signal need to be processed at all, other than perhaps a menu overlay?
And why would fancy DACs be used? DACs convert digital to analog, important for RCA outputs, but anyone buying a $500 blu-ray player is probably using HDMI (or, in the case of CD players, digital coax/optical).

I understand that some Oppos have preamp-like capabilities, where the DACs make sense, but most Oppo users seem to have a dedicated pre-amp.
Do these fancy players yield a testable benefit?