This was discussed on AVS by technical snobs WAY before you knew about it. Upscaling 480p material works wonders, we\'ve been doing it for
years to DVD, but I guarantee you this will not look as good as HDTV. Even better it doesn\'t display 1080i, it\'s actually 960i, and Sony has their own method of scaling called DRC that is popular in their higher priced TVs and you know what it scales to? 960i.
"The Hi-scan 1080i is just a scan conversion of 480p. It\'s maximum resolution is only 920i, which is still enough for it to be considered 1080i. It\'s not true 1080 High-definition video images. It runs at 30hz+30hz. much like 480i, but with 920 lines instead of 480."
Look at these comparo shots. If you think the image on the right is true HD you probably don\'t have an hdtv. THe "upsacled" look to me is plain as day.