Then is the Replay TV FAQ wrong? All I know is that the picture quality using component outputs is terrible and jittery compared to either direct coaxial or S-video outputs. To answer Hover's question, the progressive DVD player component output looks fantastic. The main issue I have is that the ReplayTV instructions don't give any hint that perhaps you shouldn't use the progressive inputs with a digital TV. Here's a quote from the FAQ:
"Yes, the ReplayTV transmits a progressive scan signal and the menu system and picture is very crisp. However, the digital video that is stored on the hard disk has been sampled from an interlaced signal and the ReplayTV does not further process this video. The result is that when the video is played through the Component Output to a digital TV, you see the original interlacing from the source MPEG movie file.
Digital televisions usually incorporate a technique called line doubling or deinterlacing when taking input from an interlaced signal. This technique combines parts of the next frame with the current frame to remove interlacing, the visible flickering that you see. However, when a digital tv receives a 480p component signal, it turns off this processing as it assumes that since the source signal uses progressive encoding, it does not require any reprocessing.
Switching to the SVHS input turns this processing back on. The SVHS signal is interlaced and requires line doubling to be displayed well on a digital tv.
So in effect, the progressive scan feature only applies to the menu system, freeze frames, and picture viewer. The videos that the unit records will contain interlacing inherent in the source and though its transmitted through the progressive scan output, the frames are still interlaced. This makes the "progressive scan" output somewhat useless unless your TV has a way to line double component inputs, or you can accept the jitter inherent to interlaced video"
Perhaps at a future time Sonic Blue may add a line doubler feature to the MPEG encoder, or to the decoder when the video is played through component outputs. Without this, the progressive scan output will continue to transmit the interlaced mpeg video, which will result in a flickering picture"