1080p --> 720p convertor box (like RFU adapter) ?

[billsif]

I'm looking at two 37" LCD HDTVs at Best Buy:

the philips 37PFL5322D for $825
the toshiba 37AV500U for $850

They're both 720p TVs, but the philips mentions in the manual that one of the resolutions it accepts is 1080i. What happens if I hook a 1080p signal up to this tv? Will the screen just be blank or can this tv down-convert/scale it to 720p? The manual doesn't seem to say.

I would like to buy one of these TVs because they seem like good deals, but I'm concerned about not being able to use them with 1080p in the future.

Can they down-convert/display 1080p signals?
Is the lack of this ability a valid concern or would there ever be a 1080p to 720p/1080i downconvertor box available in the future if 1080p gets really popular kind of like the AV convertor boxes you can buy for old TVs that convert RCA to Coax?

Is either of these TVs a decent price?
Which would you get and why?

Thanks,
Billsif

[billsif]

I was wondering, if I get a TV that has support for handling 720p resolution and is unable to display 1080p signals at any resolution, is there any chance that in the future a 1080p --> 720p down-converting box would become available that could take over where my TV lacks, should 1080p become widely popular and my 720p set is still working, sort of similar to RFU adapters for older TVs that take RCA cables and output a coax cable if your TV doesnt have RCA-in.

Or does this already exist?

[Ratman]

All 1080p capable devices can output at 1080i (or lower). So it's really not an issue since the TV will accept 1080i input signals. If the native resolution of your TV is 720, then all/any resolution is displayed at the TV's native resolution regardless of the input signal.

[Ratman]

If the TV cannot "accept" a 1080p input signal... it will display nothing.

It really is not a valid concern, since the TV's native resolution is 1366 x 768p. All accepted input signal are display at this resolution.

P.S.
Please do not double post your questions/topics. Your duplicates have been removed. Thanks...

[57U]

Please also see:

http://www.hdtvoice.com/voice/showthread.php?t=33975