1080p switchable 720p for SD?

[quick72toy]

I know this is a newbie type of post, but I am a newb when it comes to all of this. I have been doing a ton of searching and reading, and have learned a lot, but am still a bit overwhelmed and confused.
I'm looking to upgrade from my old 27” CRT to a flatscreen. For my room size and viewing distance, it looks like a 47” TV is pretty close to optimum. The room will have some light in it, so I'm looking at a plasma.
I don't watch a lot of TV, am on SD cable, and really don't want the expense of upgrading to HD cable, not huge on Blu-ray, but may watch the odd movie here and there, and wont be playing any games, so I heard that a 720p vs 1080p would be fine for the screen size, and viewing distance, as well as have less up conversion from the SD 480 lines of resolution cable feed. Just trying to get the best picture quality I can from SD (Have searched and read a ton of posts, and FAQ's, and do understand a lot depends on signal quality, the actual TV, and setup, but am hoping to make an educated choice based on what I have)
Am I making a mistake thinking about going with an 720p unit that I may regret later?
Do they make 1080p TV's that are switchable between 1080p and 720p?

Thanks for your patience

[JamesK]

Digital sets can display any format of digital signal, but will convert to the native resolution (720 or 1080). Another thing to consider is whether you'll be watching Blu-ray discs, which can deliver 1080p. Depending on your viewing distance, you may be able to notice the difference between 720 & 1080 lines.

[57]

Do they make 1080p TV's that are switchable between 1080p and 720p?

No.

If you wish to save some money, you may consider the less expensive option of a TV with less resolution (768P actually - see the FAQ below).

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=73528


However, how good the SD signal looks is more dependent on the make/model and optimization of the TV as discussed in the following FAQ, which you have probably already read based on your comments:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=18580

If you can afford to get the higher resolution, you may wish to consider it to future proof yourself a bit and to get a higher quality TV overall. Once you have an HDTV, you may want to watch true HD on it...


Here's a post useful for those new to the forum - FAQs, Search Tips, Optimization, etc:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=57741

[hugh]

No, there is no such thing as switchable. Once you get past about 4 feet, it's pretty much impossible to distinguish whether you're watching a 720p broadcast signal on a 720p or 1080p screen.

If your primary source is going to be SD then just get an inexpensive 720p plasma and stop obsessing over it.

[quick72toy]

Thanks for the input. Much appreciated