So if I get the A3, which only does 1080i, what exactly does the TV do?
 

If I get the A3 as opposed to the A30, it puts out a 1080i signal, as opposed to a 1080p. First off, is there a noticble difference on a 40" LCD? And secondly, on a TV that does not do 1080p such as the Sony KDL-40S3000 40" BRAVIA, which I am looking at buying, does it change the signal coming out of the A30 to a 1080p?

Just wondering.

What is the native resolution of that set, 720p? If so, you can change the output on the player to match the TV (eg. the A3 can send out a signal up to 1080i, but you can also adjust to a lesser resolution if you wish). Maybe it would depend on the TV which looks better, 1080i or 720p, but you can always try both and see what looks best to you.

No I get that part...but I heard something about the fact that the TV will convert the output of the DVD player from 1080p to 1080i, if the TV does not accept 1080p.

Correct, if the TV only does 1080I, it will down convert so to speak from 1080p to 1080I. Or you could set your TV/DVD player to 720p as another option.

All current flat panel and microdisplay technologies (such as DLP) are fixed resolution, "progressive scan" devices. None of them display an interlaced image. But, all of them can accept an interlaced image, and de-interlace it prior to displaying it.

The question is, whether it is better to have the player send the progressive signal directly to the player, or to convert it to an interlaced one, and then have the TV de-interlace it.

Obviously, in a perfect world, keeping the signal progressive from start to finish is desirable, since the likelihood of problems is lessened. However, in most cases the problems introduced by interlacing and then de-interlacing the signal are not noticeable, but the cost of the player will be quite a bit less. The only really significant exception is if you have a display that is capable of accepting a 1080p/24 signal, in which case the difference will be noticeable.

In your case, since the KDL-40S3000 has a resolution of 1366x768, and does not support 1080p/24, you can feed the set either a 1080i or a 720p signal, and the resulting image should be virtually identical when viewed. Both will be converted to the sets native resolution.

Yes, that's why it's best just to try the different player output settings. To see if there is a difference, in case either the TV or player does a better job with conversion (deinterlacing, scaling, etc). I have a 720p TV in the bedroom with an A3 attached to it. I found it looks best to have the player output the picture at 720p (but YMMV depending on the television)

Very good point. You really do need to compare both settings for yourself. Don't rely on what works for other people with their setups. Yours may be just different enough that what works for them won't work as well for you.

In the end, as RoboDad said, you shouldn't notice much of a difference on the 1080i or 720p output to your specific TV. Just try them out and see what your eyes say.