If Im on ESPN's or NatGeoHD, the box is on 720p. If Im on any other HD channel, the box is set to 1080i. Im more comfortable allowing my TV to do the work, which is why I think not having native passthru is galacticly stupid on E*'s part.
But that's not what's happening.
If you set the box to 1080i, then:
622: 1440x1080i -> 1920x1080i
TV: 1920x1080i -> 1280x720p
If you set the box to 720p, then:
622: 1440x1080i -> 1280x720p
TV: No conversion needed
So, if you keep your box set to 720p, then:
- 1 conversion instead of 2 conversions
- TV scaler is not used
- No upconversion (which introduces more distortion than downconversion, because it has to add content that is not present)
I bought a model of TV that was $100 more because it had a better scaler, and yet it always looks a little better - even on 1080i channels - when the box is set to 720p (which is also my TV's resolution).