Blu-Ray on Standard Definition television

[tkyuofl]

For starters, let me apologize for my ignorance of the media - I am totally new to it and am attempting to learn about it. Secondly, I will say sorry if this question is one that has been asked a thousand times; unfortunately, the search function of the forum wasn't working properly at the time.

Here is my current dilemma: I do NOT have a high-defintion television, but I DO have a burned out DVD player.

While I am searching the market for a suitable replacement for my now defunct DVD player, I can't help but see all the Blu-Ray players on the store shelves slowly replacing anything SD.

My question is this: I understand that a Blu-Ray player will play my normal (SD) DVDs, but my question is will it play them on an SD television? I am not talking about Blu-Ray discs; but normal DVDs.

My general idea was that instead of buying another soon-to-be-outdated DVD player, to go ahead and purchase a Blu-Ray Player now. And then whenever the funds are available, I will finally be able to upgrade the TV to HD as well. BUT the obvious problem becomes whether or not it will perform on an SD television at all, or if you HAVE to have HDMI/composite video inputs on your television.

Any input here would be greatly appreciated, as trying to ask one of the tech gurus at a big box tech store doesn't yield any answers, only them trying to talk me into buying more equipment that I cannot afford.

Another somewhat unrelated question, if anyone could give input - does anyone know of a specific player (SD or Blu-Ray) that has something like a sleep or auto shut-off function? My biggest problem is that I go through DVD players quickly by using them so much at night. Every DVD player I have ever owned has an auto shut-off function if you PAUSE the disc and leave it there long enough, but none that will do so if any menu screen is on too long. But when you turn one on and play a movie and go to sleep, the DVD will return to the menu and loop all night until you turn it off in the morning. If there was a DVD player with a sleep or shut-off function, it might solve a lot of my problems, although company or tech store websites don't list things like that in any of their product specifications - making it hard to research.

Sorry about the length, and thanks for any feedback. I hope to someday soon find the funds to upgrade to a good 1080p television, but am looking to make due until that time arrives.