Chess, where you will (or maybe “should” is a better word than “will”) see a difference between I and P is with video and sports. Most sports are video based….btw. If you do decide to do a test, try ESPN HD. In truth, the only way to really appreciate a good video processor / scaler and understand why some people are as anal about video as Axiom board members are about audio, is with the use of test patterns and specific scenes in movies where there are known artifacts and other undesirable flaws that only a really good processor/scaler can get rid of. But who in the hell wants to sit around and watch test patterns all day??? I do not find that enjoyable.

But if anyone is really interested in doing a simple and cheap “test”, pop in Mission Impossible III / HD/DVD. I forget the scene number, but it’s the staircase scene when the crew is breaking into Vatican City. This is where you can most definitely see the difference between true 1080P/24 and all other formats. The stairs look flawless without artifacts on my display at 1080P/24 and almost as good at 1080P/60. If I bypass the VP-50 and send 1080i to my projector which will scale it to 1080P/60 (Pany 1000U), the staircase looks like a waterfall almost. It looked even worse with the Pany 900 outputting 720P.

……..I’ve learned to not look for these anomalies. Once you start, that’s all you see and the movie watching experience becomes less enjoyable. Just enjoy what you have and don’t get sucked into watching test patterns.

Axiom Man,

I am not advocating anyone dump extra coin to get a 1080P display device. Quite the contrary and I agree with you. It’s just not worth it.

If there is anywhere worth putting some extra coin down, that would be with a display that has excellent contrast, blacks, accurate color and lumen output. I would rather put an extra grand into a 720P projector with these traits than a 1080P projector with crappy blacks. For example, Sim2 has some outstanding 720P projectors on the market that will blow away most 1080P units, but they are proud of them….

I am happy with my 1000U and would not go back to the 900, but that’s not because of its resolution. It just has a better picture and it’s a better projector. Plus, it can be bought for $3800 on line and Panasonic just raised the rebate from $400 to $1000 and bumped up the warrantee to 3 years. And if you buy one from Projector People, they throw in an Oppo 981 for free. For that price it’s hard to pass up.