HD TV Display

[Fiasco]

I wouldn't focus to much on HDMI switching capability. If your receiver will switch component, it's good enough. Component cable provides equal signal quality and it doesn't suffer from all the BS HDMI handshaking issues that arise.

HDMI is OVER-RATED garbage.

 

[Fiasco]

I should have known.

The 'rear projection' is the key word. oh well keep on looking. That word cuts price in half, can't be a good thing

Nothing wrong with rear projection. You just can't hang it on the wall because it's not a flat screen. You pay a premium for the novelty of being able to hang it on a wall. It doesn't mean it will have a better picture or feature set then a RPTV because it costs twice as much.

 

[Linderbee]

I wouldn't focus to much on HDMI switching capability. If your receiver will switch component, it's good enough. Component cable provides equal signal quality and it doesn't suffer from all the BS HDMI handshaking issues that arise.

HDMI is OVER-RATED garbage.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I wouldn't focus to much on HDMI switching capability. If your receiver will switch component, it's good enough. Component cable provides equal signal quality and it doesn't suffer from all the BS HDMI handshaking issues that arise.

HDMI is OVER-RATED garbage.

I would have agreed with you 2 years ago. HDMI has come along way. There is no problem with focusing on HDMI switching. Why would you not want one cable to handle all of your audio/video?

Yes, some devices have handshaking issues, but I don't. Never have.

Oh, and component does not provide equal signal quality. It does not with my setup, and thousands others.

 

[FischerKing]

I would have agreed with you 2 years ago. HDMI has come along way. There is no problem with focusing on HDMI switching. Why would you not want one cable to handle all of your audio/video?

Yes, some devices have handshaking issues, but I don't. Never have.

Oh, and component does not provide equal signal quality. It does not with my setup, and thousands others.

Right - the hdmi cables keep getting better with each new version and you only have the one cable to deal with. the only caveat is to ensure that the components that you purchase have the hardware to support the 1.3 cables. or whatever the latest version is. just because a tv or a dvd player is hdmi compatible does not mean that it will be able to take full advantage of an hdmi cable rated at 1.3, etc.

shawn

 

[dreamcastrocks]

Right - the hdmi cables keep getting better with each new version and you only have the one cable to deal with. the only caveat is to ensure that the components that you purchase have the hardware to support the 1.3 cables. or whatever the latest version is. just because a tv or a dvd player is hdmi compatible does not mean that it will be able to take full advantage of an hdmi cable rated at 1.3, etc.

shawn

1.3 cables is a marketing gimmick. The 1.1 cables can handle all of the new specs of 1.3.

 

[nidan]

While I think I will likely go HDMI, I might go component as an interim step to spread the purchase load.

Does the DTV HR-20 have Component outputs ? I would imagine so

 

[puckhead]

Does the DTV HR-20 have Component outputs ? I would imagine so

It does, indeed. As far as the HR20 is concerned, the component and HDMI output is the same. However, some TV manufaturers may have used better electronics on the HDMI input, the component, or perhaps they are equal. It just depends on what the engineering team gave higher priority within their design budget. It is certainly preferable to have both options. If you do have both, try them both and see which you prefer. You may be surprised that a "lower quality" input looks better.

Whatever you do, don't buy expensive cabling. It is not necessary. Many e-tailers have quality cabling at very reasonable prices. I personally have used monoprice.com and partsexpress.com with excellent outcomes.

 

[Fiasco]

I would have agreed with you 2 years ago. HDMI has come along way. There is no problem with focusing on HDMI switching. Why would you not want one cable to handle all of your audio/video?

Yes, some devices have handshaking issues, but I don't. Never have.

Oh, and component does not provide equal signal quality. It does not with my setup, and thousands others.

I assure you, a quick look at AVSforum will demonstrate that HDMI handshaking problems certainly do exist. Perhaps not with your equipment but then again, you only own .00001% of the possible equipment choices out there. Thousands of others might not have problems but there's millions upon millions of setup possibilities.

The ONLY benefit of HDMI is having a single cable.... thats it.

Any discrepency you see between component and HDMI on your equipment is a problem or shortcoming with your equipment, not the ability of the hdmi/component cable to pass the same data equally well.

HDMI is all about DRM and copyright protection and limiting your fair use rights in the name of combating piracy... not getting the best picture on your television.

Just google "DVI vs HDMI" or "Component vs HDMI".

Also google "HDMI Handshaking"

 

[nidan]

You mean like the gold connectors on digital wire scams ?

 

[puckhead]

I assure you, a quick look at AVSforum will demonstrate that HDMI handshaking problems certainly do exist. Perhaps not with your equipment but then again, you only own .00001% of the possible equipment choices out there. Thousands of others might not have problems but there's millions upon millions of setup possibilities.

The ONLY benefit of HDMI is having a single cable.... thats it.

Any discrepency you see between component and HDMI on your equipment is a problem or shortcoming with your equipment, not the ability of the hdmi/component cable to pass the same data equally well.

HDMI is all about DRM and copyright protection and limiting your fair use rights in the name of combating piracy... not getting the best picture on your television.

Just google "DVI vs HDMI" or "Component vs HDMI".

Also google "HDMI Handshaking"

Other than a couple of advanced audio codecs and "deep color" that only affect a small amount of bleeding edge users, I would completely agree with this post.

I, too, am disgusted with HDMI and DRM when much better solutions are being used in the production world. HDMI starts crapping out ~20feet! What good is that?? Plus the un-Godly amount of money the big-box stores are charging for HDMI cables is nearly criminal IMO.

 

[Fiasco]

Other than a couple of advanced audio codecs and "deep color" that only affect a small amount of bleeding edge users, I would completely agree with this post.

I, too, am disgusted with HDMI and DRM when much better solutions are being used in the production world. HDMI starts crapping out ~20feet! What good is that?? Plus the un-Godly amount of money the big-box stores are charging for HDMI cables is nearly criminal IMO.

All of this extra hassle in the name of combating piracy has only made using the actual product we paid for more convoluted and difficult to use with additional points for failure.

And it has done exactly what to combat piracy? Absolutely nothing.

That's a whole 'nother thread though.

 

[Covert Rain]

Unless your a videophile like the above poster said, you will be hard pressed to see a difference. Logic dictates though that a digital connection will be better the analog. It's just a matter of how much better.

I personally do see a difference between component and HDMI on both of my HDTVs. More so on the 65 inch. It's subtle but mainly I see a difference in textures and edges of objects on the screen. Component tends to soften things a bit.

So I maintain I can see a difference so it's worth it to me to have HDMI no matter how subtle the difference. However, I also would have no problem using component if my setup dictated that.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I assure you, a quick look at AVSforum will demonstrate that HDMI handshaking problems certainly do exist. Perhaps not with your equipment but then again, you only own .00001% of the possible equipment choices out there. Thousands of others might not have problems but there's millions upon millions of setup possibilities.

The ONLY benefit of HDMI is having a single cable.... thats it.

Any discrepency you see between component and HDMI on your equipment is a problem or shortcoming with your equipment, not the ability of the hdmi/component cable to pass the same data equally well.

HDMI is all about DRM and copyright protection and limiting your fair use rights in the name of combating piracy... not getting the best picture on your television.

Just google "DVI vs HDMI" or "Component vs HDMI".

Also google "HDMI Handshaking"

I never said that handshaking issues don't exist. I just said that I've never experienced them, and they shouldn't keep someone away from using HDMI.

I am more than familiar with avsforum. I also disagree with you in saying that there is no difference in PQ.

 

[puckhead]

I also disagree with you in saying that there is no difference in PQ.

I don't think there is any doubt your equipment shows an improvement in PQ via HDMI, as the case will be in many HT setups. I think what Fiasco is saying is that either connection can carry the signal equally well (in some ways better in component's case, i.e. distance) but the PQ differences are an implementation of DRM, and not a limitation of a connection. For example, HDDVD players "upconvert" SD DVD's to "1080p" but only with an HDMI connection. This doesn't mean component can't do the same thing, it's just the powers that be don't want you to be able to do that. Although that hasn't hampered many a hacker to enable 1080p via component on tons of boxes.

 

[Fiasco]

What I'm saying is, giving the same source, component should have the same picture quality as HDMI. Often people will believe that with HDMI the PQ is better because they want to. Monster cable anyone?

It is possible, on a given setup, that HDMI will have a better PQ then component (or vice versa) but as a hard rule that HDMI gives better PQ then component.... no.

If HDMI was all that, we wouldn't be going through yearly revisions of the spec and there wouldn't be over 10,000 hits on google for "hdmi handshake".

 

[dreamcastrocks]

What I'm saying is, giving the same source, component should have the same picture quality as HDMI. Often people will believe that with HDMI the PQ is better because they want to. Monster cable anyone?

It is possible, on a given setup, that HDMI will have a better PQ then component (or vice versa) but as a hard rule that HDMI gives better PQ then component.... no.

If HDMI was all that, we wouldn't be going through yearly revisions of the spec and there wouldn't be over 10,000 hits on google for "hdmi handshake".

Anyone who buys Monster cable gets what they deserve.

 

[nidan]

I'd assumed that changes to the HDMI spec affected devices [TV, DVD etc] not just the cable.

From what I'm reading here it implies the cable is a the active component ?

 

[Covert Rain]

What I'm saying is, giving the same source, component should have the same picture quality as HDMI. Often people will believe that with HDMI the PQ is better because they want to. Monster cable anyone?

It is possible, on a given setup, that HDMI will have a better PQ then component (or vice versa) but as a hard rule that HDMI gives better PQ then component.... no.

If HDMI was all that, we wouldn't be going through yearly revisions of the spec and there wouldn't be over 10,000 hits on google for "hdmi handshake".

Actually it shouldn't have the same picture quality as HDMI. Does it is another argument. Also, I just don't believe I can see it because IMO it's there. It's just so subtle that anybody without an HDTV or a TV large enough to see the difference would never notice. So for lots of people in that vein I would say it's true.

I have been a Home Theater buff for years and I don't care what some press statement or marketing crap is laid out there for me. I have owned a ton of equipment over the years and have tested extensively every possible connection type and scenario. I use what I think looks the best regardless of what the industry spews out in marketing garbage.

Also, in terms of HDMI revision, that doesn't mean anything. It happens whenever a new technology comes out. Things get rushed to market before being able to utilize it's full potential.

Don't get me wrong. I HATE DRM. I know there are handshake issues. However, having said that for my situation HDMI is worth it.

 

[MadCardDisease]

Well I just finished setting up my new HD system last night and all I can say is WOW! I love it!

Right now I have a huge stack of old cables that I replaced with 3 HDMI cables. Everything is so much cleaner behind my system and the Video and Audio out of the box looks and sounds great. I haven't even done any configuring yet.

I'm very happy with my HDMI cables and my new HD setup so far.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

I'd assumed that changes to the HDMI spec affected devices [TV, DVD etc] not just the cable.

From what I'm reading here it implies the cable is a the active component ?

Yes. You are correct. The HDMI spec changes do not affect the cable. The have v1.3HDMI cables available, but 1.1 cables can handle all of the bandwidth of the 1.3 cables.

 

[nidan]

Hmm, this sounds like potential obsolescence with future HDMI stds for devices

 

[MadCardDisease]

Hmm, this sounds like potential obsolescence with future HDMI stds for devices

I think that many of the new HD devices have the ability to upgrade the firmware on them. This is usually done through an internet connection or a upgrade CD.

I know that my Tivo Series 3 and my HD DVD player are both capable of firmware upgrades should the need arrise. All I would need to do is to connect them to the internet and install the new firmware patch. Actually I have them both already connected to my LAN so I'm good to go.

 

[nidan]

So now I have to patch my DVD player

I'll just have to hope Bill "the Cat" Gates didn't build it

 

[Fiasco]

Anyone who buys Monster cable gets what they deserve.

But if you don't get monster cable, what are you supposed to hook your Bose speakers up to your Bose head unit with?