I use an older version of the 1940, the 1920, and it's a great piece of kit. My main tele is only 720p, and the upscaling works very well on it.
Nice for audio too as I think the 19**'s are classed as universal players rarther than just DVD players so they have used decent quality DAC's.
I've never seen a 2900 in action so I can't compare the two but the 1940 is a sound purchase. I've seen a few for sale on these forums for around £80, and they can be bought new for about £150 i think from superfi etc.