[Rommel]

Hi all,

I hooked an HDMI cable to a 720P plasma I just bought.

HDMI is concidered the better connection but there are variables according to the manual.
This being, (going by memory here), that HDMI doesn't do well in correcting variables in the signal when its anolog.
Whereas component is better at correcting variables in the signal offering a more consistant image.

This is how I understood it anyway.

What is your perferred connection and why?

I do like the clean uncluttered results using HDMI but I'll trade that for the best overall picture quilty.
This is fios going through only their HD cable box.
I didn't opt for the DVR box but its the same exact box minus the DVR feature.


Side note:
Progrmming the channels was a weird experiance.
2 HDMI inputs HDMI 1 = cable
HDMI 2 = hometheater.

HDMI connection scan found no channels.
Component scan, found no channels.
Varified my connections via verizon online home agent.

Figured I missed a TV config, called panasonic.

After going over the been there done that routine I mentioned that the HDMI cable I am using for cable was just opened from when I purchased it, perhaps its no good.
I suggested I'll switch to the used HDMI cable that I know works so I unplugged HDMI 2 home theater cable, started to pull out the HT unit and all of a sudden the TV came to life.
Plugged the HDMI 2 back in and it has been fine since.

It acted like there was a conflict but the HT unit was off all the time.

Vady intesting I dink.

Rommel

[LincolnSpector]

For anything other than a Blu-ray player, and any resolution less than 1080p, the only advantage HDMI has over component is that you've got one connection for video and audio, whereas component has three big bulky ones just for video.

Once everything is plugged in, I see no difference.

Lincoln

[waldojim]

I don't know how much it would affect you, but I know in my home, the component video cables seem more susceptible to interference.

That could have something to do with the excess of equipment by the big screen too!

[mjd420nova]

I just finished a clients installation of his home theather. The HDMI is the way to go and is readily available on all the new components and I have been bamboozled by the whole ALL IN ONE idea. Neatness is paramount and can go along way to letting an assembled system will last twenty years undisturbed. Planning ahead can allow for future expansion or additions. Plugging and unplugging the HDMI cables will kill the toughest after just over the one year warranty. 720P is the first HD step and 180P will handle the BR player. Don't rely on a game console to play your movies. A stand alone DVD burner is hard to find as a componet without a friendly VHS deck. Far better to use a PC based burner and many hardware come with their own burner software. Meshing with video capture cards can be tricky but is just like my audio PC, it only has one job to do. Anything it can hear, whatever the source, I can record it. The video machine is tied to A VHS standalone, input from composite video, S-video, HDMI or over the air when hooked up to an antenna. I can burn the appropriate media for video or audio. The recordings either video or audio are stored on the home server machine and accessable for burning at any time. I used four 500 GB drives in an array and only protects the files that haven't been burnered yet, I've yet to top over 200GB. When it comes to video, 5GB is normal run times for a two hour movie. Some different Record formats work on certain machine and not on others, Compatablity can lead to enough coasters to cover a bar. CD-R and DVD-R- are the most likely to be the most compatible with the most machine. There are some strange combinations and can in some cases make their disks accessable only on a unit that can read that disk. Back up files burner to DVDs can also include right protection and expanded runs times.

[smax013]

Rommel, on 04 February 2011 - 08:50 AM, said:

Side note:
Progrmming the channels was a weird experiance.
2 HDMI inputs HDMI 1 = cable
HDMI 2 = hometheater.

HDMI connection scan found no channels.
Component scan, found no channels.
Varified my connections via verizon online home agent.

Figured I missed a TV config, called panasonic.

After going over the been there done that routine I mentioned that the HDMI cable I am using for cable was just opened from when I purchased it, perhaps its no good.
I suggested I'll switch to the used HDMI cable that I know works so I unplugged HDMI 2 home theater cable, started to pull out the HT unit and all of a sudden the TV came to life.
Plugged the HDMI 2 back in and it has been fine since.

It acted like there was a conflict but the HT unit was off all the time.

Vady intesting I dink.

Rommel

With both HDMI and component cables, there are no channels to "scan". For such connections, you are not using the HDTV's tuner...the HDTV is just a "dumb" monitor. The cable box is the one that is "tuning" in the channels.

Now, if you are saying that you got no video signal when you hooked up the Verizon box at first by either the HDMI or component, then that suggest that something was going on with the Verizon box such that it was not properly sending out a signal that the TV could display. Then messing with the cables somehow "smacked some sense into it".

As to component vs. HDMi, as other have suggested, the main difference would be if you need 1080p for BluRay. For anything else, either should work fine. The only other big difference is that HDMI can carry the digital audio signal over it as well rather than an analog audio signal that you would typically use with component. If you are just typically listening through the TV's speakers, then it is not really an issue other than one connector vs. 5 connectors (the red, blue, and green video connectors and the left and right audio connectors).

[mjd420nova]

I still have an outside antenna and it gives me local channels far numberous than I can get with either cable or satelite. Setup of the HDMI at the cable box or other box provider can be tedious and often is quicker if you have a second output device. I've even experienced at power on sequence that if it isn't followed will disable the original saved configuration and it all goes back to default. Things will get real frustrating at that point. I have a small flat screen with composite inputs I use for testing and diags. A signal strength meter can go a long ways in helping figure things out but no HDMI device is within my bugdet. A spectrum analyzer is just too bulky to lug around and far to delicate to just toss in the trunk. You'd be really surprised at what is coming into your set top box, It's all RF and the digital extraction by channel is done in the box. At this point I use DSL and only get one tenth of what I was getting off cable and can not imagine trying to download movies at those speeds. I have my satelite box on the wired router but not the phone.

[LiveBrianD]

smax013, on 05 February 2011 - 04:05 AM, said:

Rommel, on 04 February 2011 - 08:50 AM, said:

Side note:
Progrmming the channels was a weird experiance.
2 HDMI inputs HDMI 1 = cable
HDMI 2 = hometheater.

HDMI connection scan found no channels.
Component scan, found no channels.
Varified my connections via verizon online home agent.

Figured I missed a TV config, called panasonic.

After going over the been there done that routine I mentioned that the HDMI cable I am using for cable was just opened from when I purchased it, perhaps its no good.
I suggested I'll switch to the used HDMI cable that I know works so I unplugged HDMI 2 home theater cable, started to pull out the HT unit and all of a sudden the TV came to life.
Plugged the HDMI 2 back in and it has been fine since.

It acted like there was a conflict but the HT unit was off all the time.

Vady intesting I dink.

Rommel

With both HDMI and component cables, there are no channels to "scan". For such connections, you are not using the HDTV's tuner...the HDTV is just a "dumb" monitor. The cable box is the one that is "tuning" in the channels.

Now, if you are saying that you got no video signal when you hooked up the Verizon box at first by either the HDMI or component, then that suggest that something was going on with the Verizon box such that it was not properly sending out a signal that the TV could display. Then messing with the cables somehow "smacked some sense into it".

As to component vs. HDMi, as other have suggested, the main difference would be if you need 1080p for BluRay. For anything else, either should work fine. The only other big difference is that HDMI can carry the digital audio signal over it as well rather than an analog audio signal that you would typically use with component. If you are just typically listening through the TV's speakers, then it is not really an issue other than one connector vs. 5 connectors (the red, blue, and green video connectors and the left and right audio connectors).

Also, component is only stereo (2 channels of audio) whereas digital is much more, probably 7.1. That's only an issue if you have a stereo though, not if you're using the speakers in the tv.

[LincolnSpector]

LiveBrianD, on 05 February 2011 - 02:50 PM, said:

Also, component is only stereo (2 channels of audio) whereas digital is much more, probably 7.1. That's only an issue if you have a stereo though, not if you're using the speakers in the tv.

True, but every device I've ever seen with component output also has optical output, which is digital and can handle DVD-quality surround (6.1 with DTS compression). That's as good as you're going to get on anything other than a Blu-ray disc.

I recommend using the 2-track analog plugs to bring the audio to your TV, and optical to bring it to your receiver.

Lincoln

[LiveBrianD]

LincolnSpector, on 06 February 2011 - 11:30 AM, said:

LiveBrianD, on 05 February 2011 - 02:50 PM, said:

Also, component is only stereo (2 channels of audio) whereas digital is much more, probably 7.1. That's only an issue if you have a stereo though, not if you're using the speakers in the tv.

True, but every device I've ever seen with component output also has optical output, which is digital and can handle DVD-quality surround (6.1 with DTS compression). That's as good as you're going to get on anything other than a Blu-ray disc.

I recommend using the 2-track analog plugs to bring the audio to your TV, and optical to bring it to your receiver.

Lincoln

True...

If you're using a reciever, I recommend using HDMI's audio (if the equipment is new enough), that way you can really minimize the cables. I know a guy with a older reciver, 5.1 speakers, and a new HDTV. All the HDMI cables are connected to the TV directly, then the tv's digital audio out is connected to the reciever (which has an old version of hdmi with audio that doesn't work properly).

[LincolnSpector]

LiveBrianD, on 07 February 2011 - 03:48 PM, said:

True...

If you're using a reciever, I recommend using HDMI's audio (if the equipment is new enough), that way you can really minimize the cables. I know a guy with a older reciver, 5.1 speakers, and a new HDTV. All the HDMI cables are connected to the TV directly, then the tv's digital audio out is connected to the reciever (which has an old version of hdmi with audio that doesn't work properly).

Good point. I should have said "If you have a reason not to use HDMI, I recommend using the 2-track analog plugs to bring the audio to your TV, and optical to bring it to your receiver."

Lincoln

[smax013]

LiveBrianD, on 07 February 2011 - 03:48 PM, said:

True...

If you're using a reciever, I recommend using HDMI's audio (if the equipment is new enough), that way you can really minimize the cables. I know a guy with a older reciver, 5.1 speakers, and a new HDTV. All the HDMI cables are connected to the TV directly, then the tv's digital audio out is connected to the reciever (which has an old version of hdmi with audio that doesn't work properly).

This is basically how I am setup (my setup is a bit more complicated than that, but I use this as "sub" setup for my basic TV watching). This allows me to mainly use the TV speakers when watching TV (they are typically fine for my "casual" TV watching), but then switch on the receiver when I want better sound and/or Dolby 5.1.

This method also has the advantage of you being able to use the TV to switch to any of the HDMI inputs (i.e. different HDMI devices) and have the sound automatically go to the receiver without having to change the receiver input.

Now, I will note that I go this route somewhat because my receiver is older and does not have HDMI inputs like today's receivers. I would likely switch how I did things if/when I get a receiver with HDMI inputs.

[Evildave]

Well, one cable for audio & video is a HUGE bonus.

And it's a serial connection that allows devices to communicate. So (if devices support it), one remote that talks to one device can do everything without programming a 'universal remote'. And the magic box can ASK the TV what resolutions it supports.

The problem you run into with this is different devices may decide that THEY are 'boss' of this little network. Usually the conflict is between a newfangled TV and a newfangled stereo receiver. One or the other can usually be told to quit it. Buried... somewhere... in the menus.

This post has been edited by Evildave: 09 February 2011 - 06:47 PM