My objective here is to have a HT with minimal number of components. It will have a plasma display (Panasonic TH-42PWD6UY), a HD cable box and (hopefully) an integrated receiver+DVD.
Most of use of this HT is for watching DVDs, with some peeking at local HDTV channels offered by cable co.
This HT will be on a small room (about 150sqft), so I don't need any powerful receiver. But good sound is required.
I'm set to buy that panny because of its video quality and good value.
Because it only offers one component input (standard config), I believe I'll have to do the component video switching at the receiver.
I like the idea of switching at the receiver because it simplifies the system operation for the rest of the family. I specially like the idea of not have to use the remote for the plasma display. To complete this simplicity, I would actually prefer a single disk instead a multi disk unit. I'm not going to use this HT for much music listening.
Now questions:
First of all, is component video switching at the receiver a good idea?
I couldn't find much information if the PQ is actually compromised or not.
Second, are there good quality receivers sub $600 (street price) that do what I want?
Thanks.

Most of use of this HT is for watching DVDs, with some peeking at local HDTV channels offered by cable co.
This HT will be on a small room (about 150sqft), so I don't need any powerful receiver. But good sound is required.
I'm set to buy that panny because of its video quality and good value.
Because it only offers one component input (standard config), I believe I'll have to do the component video switching at the receiver.
I like the idea of switching at the receiver because it simplifies the system operation for the rest of the family. I specially like the idea of not have to use the remote for the plasma display. To complete this simplicity, I would actually prefer a single disk instead a multi disk unit. I'm not going to use this HT for much music listening.
Now questions:
First of all, is component video switching at the receiver a good idea?
I couldn't find much information if the PQ is actually compromised or not.
Second, are there good quality receivers sub $600 (street price) that do what I want?
Thanks.