[Sonnie]

I think it is a situation of half a dozen to one, six to another. I do not see there being any improvement... if anything possibly less (though I doubt) since the signal has to go through an extra path. If you want video upconversion from 480i or 480p to 1080, you will need to go up to the 875. Then you might see some improvement in your image.

If you have more than one source, such as the cable box and a DVD player, then connecting them both through the receiver and then out to the plasma will keep you from having to switch inputs on the plasma... and you would no longer need the optical cable.