thanks for teh advice.
i spoke to local b&o dealer and they said that an expensive DENON would have the same sensititvity to scratches because like B&O it follows the 'red bokk' standard. this is load of nonsense! i have tried a Denon and it copes superbly with scratched DVDs.
i wish dealers would stop coming up with fantastical excuses. why don't they just say "yes, B&O drives and error correction is not as adaptable to scratches as similarly priced machines from other manufacturers". i much prefer honesty than twaddle - one respects hiensty more when one is a lifelong customer...
we have to live in the real world and although badly scratched DVDs will never play on any machine the rental company does occasionally send me ones that have mild scratches and i fail to see how after spending so much money i should be disadvantaged.
next time i buy a DVD machine i will test 'real life' DVDs on a prospective machine and if it doesn't play then i will pop down the road and buy a Denon....
Bang Olofsen sort it out !!!