Unlike LCDs or DLPs, CRTs are not fixed-pixel displays and thus do not have a "native" resolution. CNet's definition of native resolution explains more:

http://ecoustics-cnet.com.com/4520-3173_7-5084364-8.html

Despite being listed as "1080i" CRTs should be able to display a 720p signal with no problem. In this case 1080i most likely refers to the maximum resolution of the display.

I bought one of these players last year, and it's quite good. PQ was excellent for DVDs, DivX, and MPEG Transport Stream files. I had a lot of problems playing back higher bitrate MPEG2 TS files but the most recent firmware update included a feature to spin the drive faster, and that solved the problem. If you want one with a digital output JVC sells an identical model as the SRDVD-100U. And as far as I know the player will pass a DTS signal with no problem. The only drawback I found was the player only supports external USB drives formatted in FAT16 or 32, which limits file sizes to 4GB. But you can hook it up to a network and stream files from a PC or Mac.