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Thanks for your question; we get quite a few along similar
lines.
As you have an SD TV, it would be a waste of money to upgrade
to an HD STB, as no matter what, the output will not be higher
than what the set is capable of producing. As standard definition
set top boxes produce interlaced signals only (576i), some people
claim that you will see a difference with an HD STB if your
plasma is capable of handling progressive scanned inputs (e.g.
480p, 576p), but unless you have a very discerning eye, we doubt
you will be able to tell the difference.
The reverse is somewhat true — HD sets will upscale a
standard definition input, but that will always result in a close
approximation, not a true HD signal. The picture quality will be
dependent on the capability of the TV’s image processor.
An HD STB will also give you Dolby 2.0 and 5.1 audio, which
would be a benefit for those few programs that are broadcast with
surround sound, but of course you’d need to be hooked up to more
than the set’s two channel speakers as well.
As you note your plasma has an HDMI port, you may get a better
picture by making sure you’re using it — so a new STB with HDMI
out may be worth your while, as you will probably notice an
improvement with an all digital signal.
