sbiddle:
You should certainly spot a difference going from component to HDMI. Component is only delivering a SD picture - HDMI is delivering a HD picture which will either be native HD or upscaled to HD. Both look far superior to a regular SD picture.

Given the dearth of HD content on Freeview I figure I can either let TVNZ / TV 3 scale up for me on Freeview or alternatively let my Panasonic do the upscaling. Either way I end up with approx 720 on the screen. And as for TV3 with its 1080i which is arguably inferior to 720p my tv still has to scale this back down to 720. Once we get true HD on Freeeview, perhaps then the HDMi will prove its worth. Incidentally I’m running 1.5 m cables between components and then a 10m run to the TV.