I'm looking to go 1080p. Xbox is 1080p compatible, but it only has a cvideo output! Most plasmas that I see only give you 1080p via hdmi. Which would mean I need to get the xbox elite, which is hdmi and way too much $. Boo.

or both?

FWIW, the XBox will only output HD-DVD at 1080p over RGB(HV) (via a HD15 VGA connector)

so the component video cable from the xbox goes to the receiver. and out hdmi. so I think it'll work right?

and supports transcoding it to 1080p on HDMI

change it to the native - that is close to 720p (depending on the tv)

So ideally you want to supply the tv with the native resolution so that there are fewer conversions.