I just bought a Sony 42 inch LCD rear projector (4KF42WE620). So far I'm quite happy with it. However, I've been doing some experimenting with connections. The guy who installed it (Sony Store) hooked up the DVD player with a very expensive composite TV cable, and it looks good. I have tried S-video and Component video with progressive scan set on the DVD, and neither makes any apparent difference. Is the difference in connections just hype, or am I missing some subtle difference not detectable to the human eye?
Component video + progressive scan will give you the best picture (there's also DVI and HMDI if you have those). I can definitely notice a difference, but DVD looks good anyway, so it might be hard for you to tell. If you get nuts about the picture quality like I do you start to notice the little details.
Component and progressive scan is definitly the way you want to connect your DVD player. There is a big difference between it and svideo. The progressive scan is what makes the biggest difference, and it only functions through the component outputs. Try this to see the difference. Hook your DVD player up to both svideo and component at the same time and switch the tv back and forth between the two inputs...I think you'll see the difference then. If you still have a hard time seeing the difference, pause the dvd and switch back and forth.