Right. You have to remember that the HDMI interfaces and cable is a lot more than a means to send video and audio from one device to another. It's main purpose is to insure that the hi-def signals cannot be recorded and original digital quality DVD copies made. It's all part of Digital Rights Management which incidentally is also the reason behind Vista, another disaster for the same reason.
The video on the HDMI cable is encoded and there is communication also back and forth between the source and monitor (TV). If the source hears back from the monitor that it is HDMI compliant (capable of communication with the source and of accepting an encoded signal) the video is sent together with a key for the monitor to un-encode it. If the monitor is not HDMI compliant either a lesser quality version of the video is sent or in some cases nothing at all.
While all this is supposed to work in theory there are problems and I think that's what you are seeing. I know I have a cable box that worked fine for awhile then began to be intermittent. I changed the box and all was well but I went back to the component inputs and outputs because I didn't want to be bothered by it again. (The five RCA jacks labeled Y, Pb, Pr and L,R are called component inputs and outputs.) For the record, although component is analog I can see no difference between it and HDMI and I really did try. Component supports the full 1080P resolution so I would not be concerned if you had to use it instead of HDMI.
As far as I know the only source of 1080P so far is the Blue Ray player. The best you are going to do otherwise is 1080I.
-Hal
