I do. Comcast. Data cap.

Of course, what I would -prefer- is to ditch Comcast, and yes, watch at a higher resolution, and I will at the first available opportunity. But can't. Because monopoly.

nonsense. there is no monopoly in capitalism.

/sarcasm

If there was Capitalism you'd actually be able to compete.

There is Capitalism ... but it's been corrupted. Economic systems are morally neutral. How people employ them determines the morality. The U.S. is, in general, pushing Capitalism to its logical end, in which the system consumes itself in the name of its constituents' "best interests."

I only buy HD on iTunes, but I only watch SD for 99% of my TV shows. Movies it depends. If it's a kid's movie we've seen already: SD. Also if it's the latest action rental: SD. I rarely rent in HD unless cinematography plays a large role in the film.

480P looks surprisingly good on iTunes. Much better than DVD typically. I'm OK with that for the most part.

OTOH Netflix's auto-scaling is clearly the future.

Or can.

My 5mbps AT&T DSL struggles to load Hulu and Netflix on a daily basis, even at just 480p

There are several situations where I would be perfectly fine with 480 if it meant I didn't have to deal with loading issues. Watching a cartoon in a lower resolution doesn't detract much from the experience (IMHO).

On my phone I do.