I have a 1080i CRT (Mits 65W813) which is still providing a great picture so I'm not looking to replace it anytime soon. But we've got a PS3 hooked up to it which of course doesn't upscale 720p only games to 1080i but instead down converts to 480p. Is there a low cost (read < $400, but the lower the better) option that would allow 720p to 1080i conversion as well as 1080i pass thru over HDMI? And w/o significant video processing lag to effect game play?

Bonus points if it could switch HDMI as well as I have 2 D* DVR's I'd like to switch as well, although if I have to keep my current HDMI switch in the system so be it.

Thanks for any tips on a low cost scaling alternative. There look to be some nice scalers available, but I can't justify dropping ~$800 to make 720p games look better unfortunately. A used market suggestion is fine as well as long as it supports HDMI inputs w/HDCP support and does 720p to 1080i and doesn't degrade 1080i pass thru...

This might work:

http://www.atlona.com/products/d_3755.jpg

Atlona HDMI-to-HDMI Frequency Converter and Scaler. Model: AT-HD560 (http://www.atlona.com/Atlona-Pal-HDMI-to-NTSC-HDMI-Converter-1080p-p-17375.html)

Theoretically, you could set your PS3 to output each content's native resolution and let this little baby convert everything to 1080i. HDCP is supported.

Caveats: no mention in the documentation (http://www.atlona.com/pdf/AT-HD560.pdf) (792kb *pdf) if game lag exists. It would probably be worth the time to query their support prior to purchase.

MSRP $239

There's also this Gefen box for $299.
http://www.gefen.com/gefentv/gtvproduct.jsp?prod_id=5284

Also, I assume, by the language in your post, that you've already told the PS3 that your TV can't accept 720p (in the video settings for the system), which will force 1080i when available; if you haven't you should do so. I'm not sure how many games don't support 1080i output from the PS3; I'm sure there are more knowledgeable PS3 users on this forum, probably in a different section.

There's also this Gefen box for $299.
http://www.gefen.com/gefentv/gtvproduct.jsp?prod_id=5284

Also, I assume, by the language in your post, that you've already told the PS3 that your TV can't accept 720p (in the video settings for the system), which will force 1080i when available; if you haven't you should do so. I'm not sure how many games don't support 1080i output from the PS3; I'm sure there are more knowledgeable PS3 users on this forum, probably in a different section.

Thanks for the suggestions - both of those options are at an attractive price point.

And yes, I currently have the PS3 configured to output 480p and 1080i only so 720p games display at 480p. I'd guess only ~30 to 40% of PS3 games support 1080i natively currently which means I tend to select titles carefully to get HD support although some games are good enough, we live with 480p in order to play them currently.