converting

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Please explain what you wish to do with the standard definition content or what you are attempting to connect. Digital TV is delivered as standard definition and high definition in several different resolutions between.

If the digital video is standard definition when it is received, the only way to make it look better on a higher resolution screen is to use a line multiplier (line doubler). This will increase the lines of displayed resolution, but the image will still be limited by the acquisition or delivery resolution.
 
squeezing that turnip:

Technically, the HD TV sets do up-convert the lower resolution video before displaying it on their screen.
I won't argue whether some sets do it better or worse than some external boxes.
I have a cheap DVD player that can put out 720p, 1080i, or 1080p signal, all of which look quite striking.

BUT, one of the secrets to getting FTA signals, regular DVD video, or other standard resolution sources to look better on an HD TV, has to do with careful adjustment of the TV.
I'd read this before and was uncertain, but when I got my first HD TV, all the standard def inputs looked terrible.
Careful adjustment of brightness, contrast, and sharpness, improved them considerably.
(the TV remembers all these settings independently for each input!)

Ya can't get back what you lost, but you can make the most of what 'cha got.
 
I'm in a little bit better position than some to assess this. I have a good Sony 1080p front projector (3 chip LCOS) projecting onto a ten foot diagonal screen.

My Home theater receiver is an Onkyo model - top of the line three years ago, but today the upconverting technology has apparently seeped into less expensive receivers.

I have a Sony DVD recorder and a Sony Blu ray player.

I can tell the difference between the 1080p output of the Blu Ray and the output of upconverted standard def dvds. But it isn't a big difference.
I should be able to see any resolution issues on my very big screen.

I can tell, but in buying movies, I mostly can't justify the two and three times as costly Blu Rays on the grounds that the picture is only slightly better.

I think if you have good upconversion, you are going to get good quality video that is better than standard definition and not quite as good as 1080p Blu Rays.

The difference is much greater for SD satellite programming and HD satellite programming (on the true fta side usually 720p or 1080i) . In football, for instance. It's a big difference. The 1080i NFL game feeds I get are spectacular but the sd football?

My friend calls it "fuzzy football" .
 
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