1080p upgrade

[AFJumper03]

I have a dilemma and wouldn't mind some educated advice.
I currently have a terrific 1080i home theater. 52 inch Hitachi LCD rear projection TV, Pioneer Elite VSX-72TXV receiver, 5.1 surround sound with Boston Acoustics speakers, and a Panasonic up converting DVD player. The quality is terrific and I have no issues with the setup at all.
My upgrade-ites is kicking, and with most of my system over 4 years old, I was considering going to 1080p and Blu-Ray. This will of course require a new TV and receiver. My receiver will probably be the first to get upgraded, so I can I use it for switching without downgrading to 1080i. I wouldn't mind a new receiver anyway to take advantage of the new Dolby-HD formats. And a new TV would be nice, since my 5 year old LCD rear projection is enormous compared to modern TVs.
All that said, if I want to keep the same level of output from my reciever, I'm going to need to spend close to $1000 bucks and a good TV in the 50 inch range is around $2000. Then a decent Blu-Ray player....

Is the level of quality between 1080i-and 1080p worth this investment, or should I just keep my excellent system and wait a few years until there is a significant jump in technology?
I kind of already know the right answer is to wait, but I'd love to hear a good argument from someone on a budget. I know I will not make much money selling my old equipment, for the same reasons I want to upgrade!

Any advice is welcome!

Thanks!

 

[sholling]

Since you already have a great system I think I'd wait 6 months to a year. For one thing more receivers will be offered with HDMI 1.4. While you may not have any interest in the new 3D formats I'd still hold off on any Blu-Ray player other than the PS3 until they add support - which for the most part will be later this year. 3D isn't something that I'd upgrade to have but if I were upgrading my gear anyway I'd want that capability.

 

[jostenmeat]

Is the level of quality between 1080i-and 1080p worth this investment, or should I just keep my excellent system and wait a few years until there is a significant jump in technology?
I kind of already know the right answer is to wait, but I'd love to hear a good argument from someone on a budget. I know I will not make much money selling my old equipment, for the same reasons I want to upgrade!

Any advice is welcome!

Thanks!

What's your overall budget? Ok, first of all, it is important to note that while your TV accepts a 1080i signal, it is natively a 720p television. I might describe my own opinion on 1080i/1080p, but that is pointless here.

To resolve the difference in rez between 1080 and 720, the biggest factor is how far you sit. I will attach a graph for your convenience at the end of this post.

IMO, the biggest improvement will come with TV, then bluray, then receiver.

IMO, DLP and particularly LDC RPTVs are under performing with black levels, and a quick google shows that CNET/Katzmaier thinks that this display is not up to DLP black standards (which plasma already blows away).

Having your shadow detail tremendously improved will totally change your cinematic experience, and that's completely disregarding resolution for the moment. This is IMO.

You should be able to land a Panasonic bdp in the ballpark of $130, a bit more if you need netflix streaming, today.

This is a tweaking of the well known Carton Bale graph by an AH member:

 

[j_garcia]

Unless you are interested in it, I would not use 3D as a factor at all. There are a number of players on the market already that support 3D and a few that will be upgraded to 3D with firmware updates just like the PS3. They have already said that the PS3 will NOT get 3D Blu-ray capability in the upcoming update; the update will be for 3D gaming only at first.

I went from a 1080i setup to 1080p and the difference is definitely worth it on the better looking transfers. If video isn't your primary focus however, you could easily get away with getting a Blu-ray player now and watching in 1080i until you upgrade the set. The PQ will still be noticeably improved over watching upscaled DVD.