Hi Mervyn
Yes I've got an Idea 500 and it is a nice bit of kit. HD is a little noisy (you can hear it clicking away when tv volume is low) but apart from that it's great. ANd yes there is a VDF display on the front that shows track/dvd title/tv programme name.
However I am looking to sell mine (interested?) as I've given up trying to connect it to my Pioneer plasma via the HDMI/DVI. It won't boot up when connected via the HDMI output (to either HDMI or DVI on the plasma). It will only boot if I conenct via PC input and then I have to swap the connections and change resolution to connect via HDMI. THis seems to be a well documented problem and it's beaten me.