Just some minor tweaks to that text (I have an XBR 400 and HD100):
> I think it's the Sony XBR TV's that are requiring the input switching. The 1080i input on the Sony is fixed at 16x9 on a 4x3 screen. So you already lose quite a bit of screen. Then most TV channels (including OTA digital)broadcast in 4x3, so now the picture has black bars top & bottom and gray bars right & left. The only way to reclaim all that screen is to switch to one of the 4x3 480i (s-video) inputs on the TV. From what I understand, the DST3000, the Hughes & the Sony are all basically the same box from Hughes.
The component input on the XBR 400 can detect 1080i and 480i and switch the display between 16:9 and 4:3, so you don't need to switch over to the s-video (unless you want to record). This work great when surfing and deciding to watch HBO HD, CBS DT or any of the hybrid 14:9 broadcasts. But if it is a 16:9 broadcast of a 4:3 picture, then you can either watch it in in 1080i with black bars all around, or (if you have a box that will downconvert, like the HD100) you can force the 16:9 digital broadcast to be displayed as 4:3 480i on the <i>same</i> component output. No switching the sets inputs, just the output <i>mode</i> on the HD100 with the remote. Piece of cake.
Dave