Are there limits to the maximum resolution you can view using component outputs vs. HDMI? Can you view 1080i or 1080p using component outputs to your monitor? I thought I read that you can only view 1080p using HDMI, so I want to know what is the max resolution you can view using component video outputs? Can you at least view 1080i using component? How about 720p?

Thanks.

Either component video or HDMI can do 720p, 1080i, or 1080p, but no Cable, OTA, or DBS HD STB outputs 1080p on component video.

The most common 1080p source is Blu-ray, so unless you've got BD, component video is usually fine.

Either component video or HDMI can do 720p, 1080i, or 1080p, but I don't know of any HD device that outputs 1080p on component video.

Further, only Blu-ray has native 1080p output, so unless you've got BD, component video is fine.

Thanks! I had heard that Blu-Ray was the only way to get full 1080p. Your answer solved a theoretical dilemma I had in my head, and will make my search for a 1080p LCD television easier.

General component video definition
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Component_video

1080p over component information
http://www.hdtvinfo.eu/news/hdtv-articles/1080p-over-component-video-standard-proposed-to-the-cea.html

The limits are in the equipment not the standards. AFAIK all HD component inputs and outputs will work in 480p, 720p and 1080i modes. SD DVD players will normally only provide 480i/p even if they also have HDMI upconvert outputs. There are some CRT based sets which only accept 480i/p and 1080i from their component jacks. All flat panel sets should accept 480p, 720p and 1080i from their component jacks.

Hooked up a new 1080p plasma with HDMI but switched to YPbPr when I discovered component provides slightly better effective resolution than HDMI (using HDNet's resolution-wedges test patterns via NYC's TWC). 1080p delivering 24p movies, BTW, doesn't necessarily provide more or better effective resolution (resolvable detail) than 1080i sources--except Blu-ray's higher bit rates generally offer better PQ, and 1080 24p can be delivered without the vertical filtering needed to minimize twitter with 1080i sourcing. -- John

1080i 60 and 1080p24 provide exactly the same data from 24fps film. The result seen on the set depends on how accurately the player and set processes the signals. A 120Hz set could process 1080i60 and display the film without any 3:2 judder. I don't know if any do that however. 1080p24 does require less processing since deinterlacing is not needed.
As far as component versus HDMI that depends on the processing of the signals by both the DVD player and the set. Both paths have the same DVD encoded digital data on the DVD as their source. The decoded data is processed into the digital HDMI formatted pixel level signal and also processed into the analog component signal in the player. The set processes the HDMI signal for its panel and converts the component analog signal back to digital before processint it for its panel. How HDMI and component connections compare depends on the respective processing of the player and set for each connection type. Generally you would expect the PQ without any digital to analog and analog to digital processing to be the best but it wasn't in your case.

If you do use component video with 1080p, you need to be very careful to make sure that the cable shunt capacitance does not roll off the highest frequencies, thereby softening the picture. All cables have a upper limit, or high frequecy "cutoff". This is determined by such factors as cable length and shunt capacitance per unit length, usually specified in picofarads per foot, for a given type of cable.