I bought a Sony Projection KP-51HW40 51" TV from my friend. He said it was an HDTV monitor. I have it hooked up to my regular DTV (non-HDTV) and the picture sucks. It is capable of 720p and 1080i according to the manual. It does not have the DVI plug in the back, but does have component video-- not the other fancy new HDTV connection, but again the manual says it is capable of up to 1080i and 720p with the appropriate receiver. My question is this: 1: Will any DTV HDTV receiver with component video give me 1080i or do I have to buy Sony...or some proprietary receiver....or one that specifically says component 1080i? 2: Will I be happy with 1080i through component video, or will I see a huge difference when I go back to my friends house with his new HDTV with DVI connection and want to shoot him? 3: Finally, how much better would the sitcoms be with a HDTV receiver running 1080i or 720p through my component video compared to my cheapo DTV receiver that I currently have with s-video and regular rca capability. 4: Oh yeah, one more question. Will there be a big difference between a new DTV HDTV running component video in 1080i vs my new Sony DVD player with progressive scan currently going into the TVs component video.
I do notice a pretty big difference with the DVD vs my current crapy DTV non hd receiver. Would the 1080i be even more noticeable, or just subtle and a waste of money? I just want to buy the cheapest ebay DTV HDTV receiver that will do a really good job and not open it up and find out it "wasn't the right receiver."
You can use any brand DTV receiver thats HDTV, all will output 1080i. There's very little if any difference between DVI and Component, in fact some experts actually argue a better picture through component. Keep in mind not all TV shows are in HD. If your a fan of sitcoms though, many of the ones on ABC and CBS primetime are now in HD. And yes you should notice a significant difference between HDTV and DVD, especially if the show is shot in HD.