questions on progressive scan (2 types)

[Tom Nugent Jr]

Hi all.  I'm new to the list, but have been browsing the archives a 
bit.  I have two unrelated questions on "progressive" scan:

1) Someone told me that progressive scan DVD players can better deal 
with scratches on DVDs than those that don't.  But from reading the 
list discussion (archives from a week ago) about progressive scan, it 
sounds like that's not the case at all -- progressive scan only 
refers to non-interlaced recordings.  Is that true?  Is there any 
difference in how DVD players deal with scratches on discs they're 
playing?  I.e., if I were to buy a DVD player, would I care much 
whether or not it was a progressive scan one?

2) My wife and I are about to buy a DV camcorder, and I was thinking 
that we'd want a progressive scan one, so that if we wanted to grab a 
frame for some use, we could.  Also, for sports action (ballroom 
dancing, in our case), it would seem to be better for reviewing those 
high-speed motions.  But the discussion from a week ago seemed to 
suggest that video from progressive scan DV camcorders wouldn't look 
so good when played back on regular (non-HD TV) televisions.  Is that 
a reasonable interpretation?  I'm not a pro user by any means, so is 
the effect on regular TV screens something that non-pros wouldn't 
generally notice?

Thanks!

  -- Tom