Just picked up Sony's BDP S350 model and.....

[PatrickL2009]

Your DVDs will have little to no visual difference at all and Blu-Ray disc are going to look like a DVD on a 420p or 420i television (420p is better though) As for your settings, and your SD television, I would just leave the factory settings and watch as is until you upgrade your television. And i'm not sure about the start-up feature you mentioned (My Blu-Ray player is a Magnavox), but I know with nearly all Blu-Ray players, when you start up an actual Blu-Ray disc, it takes a considerably longer loading time than a DVD. It's not terribly slow, but it's certainly not fast. You should really return the player in my opinion and put that money towards a new HDTV because that player will do nothing for you on a SD television. Without a Blu-Ray player, an HDTV still provides great picture, even if your subscribed to regular television channels, as I am.