Here's a couple more UK A/V forums to check out,
AVForums &
AV Talk, and another article about
24p.
You've got a nice TV/blu ray player & I'd try and spend a bit more than 500 on the audio side, maybe get an amp & (shitty) pair of speakers now then go for a speaker package in a few months, or get a decent pair of speakers that you can expand on at a later date.
If you can stretch to 745 now
amazon has a pretty good deal on a onkyo receiver, Q accoustics speakers and cable package (Agros used to sell some speaker stands for 40 a pair).
If you have a
Seven Oaks hi fi shop (or any other dedicated A/V shop) it may be worth going to have a chat with them, although 500+ quid is maybe a bit to low of a budget as far as they're concerned.
I don't really know what could be causing you picture troubles, especially if it's not happening without 24p, maybe try another hdmi cable? Firmware update for your player (
Panasonic site)?