playstation 3 blueray and 1080i

I bought a 50" Pioneer elite plasma (1080i) last year
I sit 10' away and have excellent resolution with upsampled dvds.

I'm considering getting a ps3 for my son ($600) that would also do blueray. I here they now have a remote (don't have to use the controller) and it now upsamples

anyone have one and want to comment on it's video and audio

also how much am I loosing in 1080i versus newer 1080p

thanks
tom