I don't have experience with the Samsung (I own a Sharp) but I remember reading it's definetly one of the better brands.
Updacaling is well worth the money. I once did a comparison between my two DVD players and the upscaled image is really substantially better. I do wonder though why you think you need and upscaling player now and then a Blu-ray player soon.

Wouldn't it be more cost effective to buy the Blu-ray player right now? I bought an upscaling player, but only because my PS3 is region coded for DVDs...
With a 40" full HD LCD screen you will watch even less TV than you do now; the TV image gets really ugly when stretched too much. Not a loss really, though, I suppose. And for news it doesn't really matter, does it?
I agree that gaming time definitely cuts into your movie time

(still enjoy my gaming time just as much, heck, some games feel like you are reenacting a movie).