An amazing article about HDMI vs. componenent video cables

[Taxi]

Amazing, that is, in how bad it is...

Link

I was hoping, from a site affiliated with Tom's Hardware, that I was going to get some good info about the two technologies. What you get instead is a fluff piece with questionable "facts".

[Iguana Man]

I found it ammusing that on page 2 of the artical there is a Best Buy ad along with a HDMI switcher ad.

HA!

[limacharliewhiskey]

Originally Posted by Taxi

Amazing, that is, in how bad it is...

Link

I was hoping, from a site affiliated with Tom's Hardware, that I was going to get some good info about the two technologies. What you get instead is a fluff piece with questionable "facts".

So then what is the real deal with HDMI vs. component? Most articles & opinions I've read state very little difference in terms of video quality. Are they wrong?

I use component for my cable STB (no HDMI outputs, so I can't test & compare), and I think the image looks fantastic. Don't have any hardware yet requiring HDMI. I do know I will need HDMI to get 1080p when I get a HD-DVD/Blu-Ray player, as component is currently limited to 1080i.

[David St. Dubly]

Originally Posted by limacharliewhiskey

So then what is the real deal with HDMI vs. component? Most articles & opinions I've read state very little difference in terms of video quality. Are they wrong?

I use component for my cable STB (no HDMI outputs, so I can't test & compare), and I think the image looks fantastic. Don't have any hardware yet requiring HDMI. I do know I will need HDMI to get 1080p when I get a HD-DVD/Blu-Ray player, as component is currently limited to 1080i.

Considering you can get HDMI cables for $5 now, it isn't much of a bother either way.

[ganthc]

Does analog pass advanced audio codecs like dts-hdma? If not, there is a flaw in analog right there.

[Taxi]

Component cables don't transfer audio. There were never designed to, so I don't know if I would consider that a flaw per se, but instead one advantage that HDMI has over component. (Although I suppose there might be some who don't consider it an advantage... )

[ganthc]

Originally Posted by Taxi

Component cables don't transfer audio. There were never designed to, so I don't know if I would consider that a flaw per se, but instead one advantage that HDMI has over component. (Although I suppose there might be some who don't consider it an advantage... )

Well, you can use analog cables...which is what I'm referring to, and what the article seemed to want to compare, digital vs. analog. Sorry, could have been more clear on that. I know component is only video.

[sub780lime]

It make me wonder, what is the limit on HDMI Cable length? If its like network cable, I don't think I am concerned.

[tomdkat]

Originally Posted by ganthc

Well, you can use analog cables...which is what I'm referring to, and what the article seemed to want to compare, digital vs. analog. Sorry, could have been more clear on that. I know component is only video.

Even still, analog audio cables weren't designed to carry digital audio signals so an analog audio cable (basically stereo RCA cables) not being able to pass any digital audio isn't a "flaw" on the cable side. Coax and toslink cables we use today for DD/dts audio are digital cables and analog cables used for Dolby TrueHD audio are passing analog audio, which was decoded by the player.

I'm with Taxi, it's an "advantage" of HDMI vs being a flaw with the existing cabling technologies.

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Peace...