Will a standard def TV play an HD input ?

[jonnyquest]

I'm considering getting one of these HD media player devices (http://gizmodo.com/5397986/) to watch my various computer video files on my TV. My TV is a standard def TV with RCA jacks (yellow-red-white) input. Will this work, will I be able to watch HD video on my TV? I know the image will not be HD, due to the native resoultion of the TV. But...will the video show OK, or will I get wacky video, or snow, or what? I've googled this and found conflicting answers.

[Superman07]

It depends on the output capability of any one of those specific devices.

My GF has her cable box hooked up to her 4:3 CRT through component and can receive HD channels on the box. Oddly, they will show up letterboxed on her tv. I'm honestly not suer how this is happening, but I'll assume the box is downconverting for the tv. However, I assume if I were to hook the same two up through composite the same results would not happen.

[jonnyquest]

I'd have to use composite (yellow-plug). I'm leaning toward the Patriot device. The product description on their website (http://www.patriotmemory.com/products/detailp.jsp?prodline=6&catid=69&prodgroupid=159&id=895&type=20) says:
HDMI and composite video connections - The High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) port lets you connect to the highest quality HDTV or home theater. Additional composite (RCA) outputs ensure compatibility with virtually all television sets. So maybe this is one of those "It depends..." questions, as you said.

[DRG]

I own the Seagate FreeAgent Theater+ in that review. Although it isn't obvious from looking at the connections on the device (or Seagate's own descriptions), there is a composite option/cord that comes with the device. It plugs into the small input to the left of the component connections and branches out into the the composite RCA plugs. I have it hooked up to my TV via composite right now and it works like a charm for playing XVID and various other formats. I haven't yet tested playing a HD-specific file format (like H.264) on it yet to see what it does through the composite connection.