1080p vs 1080i Didnt See Much Difference..

[CRMA]

I was interested in upgrading my Sanyo to a 1080p projector. I was in Ultimate Electronics and saw the JVC, forgot the model #, but it was their big dog. They had it in the demo theater playing Live Free or Die Hard on Blu. It was a great demo disc and they had it on a 100 in screen. I was about 12 or so feet away , my normal viewing distance, but I really didnt notice a huge difference between mine and theirs. Mine is a cheapy with 600:1 contrast ratio. I can really notice the differences on the from 80i to 80p on the plasmas but it starts to get grainy at that projector size. I was looking into the Panny AE-2000u or the 3000. Would I be better off going with an 80i projector and a good quality screen and not worry about the 1080p at this point. Is it just me or is there a quality projector out there that will impress me?