1) Completely worth it. Even if u r not a sports or movie fan. The saas bahu serials themselves look day and night difference so in anycase, any type of family member finds a difference.
2) There is a significant difference. Even for HD ready. Broadcast is at 1080i and not at 1080p. So it will utilize the full potential of ur HD ready. The only signal that an HD 'ready' TV downscales because it cannot process entirely is 1080p which is provided only on blu ray. For HD Cable HD ready still qualifies.
My extremely personal word : LCD or LED TVs are built and meant for HD 16:9 widescreen signals only. I really never understood why should anyone watch SD 4:3 (artificially fattened) signal on LCDs/LEDs just for insulting their capabilities. Full HD or not, LCD or LED, 100 inch or even 22 inch, If I was given an option to watch only standard definition(SD) signals on my TV, I wud happily sell any LCD (no matter how good) and instead buy the old CRT TVs - for heavens sake atleast the aspect ratio 4:3 will match the screen in CRTs. Enough said.
Go for it.
