Mike O said:
A few n00b technical questions. When I watch HDTV, isn't it still 60 fields through pulldown like it was in the CRT days, except at 1080i? I assume most TV shows are still shot at 24 FPS (the 25 FPS conversion fiascos which frequently plague Blus aside in Europe) and the converted into what bascially like 30 FPS? If I run 720p, is it running the fields combined and just showing each one twice? Why would 24p Blu-rays be of better quality then? Is the 30 fields vs. 24 FPS a difference my eye could perceive, ala the infamous "soap opera effect?" I know I'm not seeing smooth motion interpolations, as I'm sure I'd be able to tell, but is the difference perceptible to the human eye?

I believe that HDTV's actually display things at the proper frame rate, no conversion done. The 60 is just the max it can do. If it does run them at a faster frame rate, its a setting on the TV called "Motion Smoothing" and having that on around here, if I remember my Simpsons other people quote properly, "That's a paddlin'".