You won't be sorry. I have an older Pioneer elite 50" plasma TV that is 1080i. I went to a lot of struggle before decicing to buy the Pioneer 05 Blu-ray. I couldn't be happier! The regular DVD look about 25% better than on a regular DVD player, and the Blu-ray DVD's are outstanding!!! I don't think you'll notice a difference in between a 1080p and a 1080i TV with Blu-ray. i know I didn't. Btw, I bought about 8 blu-ray DVD's for $20 and less from Best Buy right before the holidays.
Good luck!
Good luck!