I have the new Elite DV-48AV DVD player. It has HMDI 1.3 and will be played on an Elite PRO-150FD which accepts HDMI 1.3 inputs. Right now, I have it hooked up via component and the picture looks really good. When I get my HDMI cable, should I expect a noticeable difference in PQ?

Depends on your definition of "noticeable" and if the player is outputting correct video via component (i.e sometimes "white" is not within 1 or 2 IRE of 100 IRE, or YC delay is present). You should be sending 480i to the plasma so it can do 3:3 pulldown at 72hz. Calibrating for each input should show PQ that looks the same and if there are differences you'll probably have to look hard unless something is just "broken" or poorly implemented.

larry

HDMI could be better in that you are avoiding a digital to analog and back again conversion.

Most people don't like doing this for audio, so why do it for video?

You have go analog for audio somewhere... :) The biggest problem with analog "anything" is implementation.

larry

I have the new Elite DV-48AV DVD player. It has HMDI 1.3 and will be played on an Elite PRO-150FD which accepts HDMI 1.3 inputs. Right now, I have it hooked up via component and the picture looks really good. When I get my HDMI cable, should I expect a noticeable difference in PQ?

Usually, yes. The direct digital video connection (bypassing all the analog sampling and processing hardware) usually results in a bit sharper, more detailed picture. For a $4 Monoprice.com HDMI cable, it is certainly worth checking out. Also try the upscaled output settings on your DVD player (particulary 1080i). Fixed pixel HDTV's like yours generally benefit from a quality upscaling player. Keep in mind you may have to tweak your TV picture settings a bit with DVE or Avia when using the HDMI connection. It will probably look a little different than through the component video input.