8300HD component vs HDMI

I have compared both HDMI and component on my 8300HD DVR with the INHD and HDNet calibration programs. There is no question in my mind that the HDMI is far superior in resolution to the component connection for the 8300. I measured about 150 more lines of resolution in the HDNET test pattern. Yes you have to tweak the color settings for each input but that should not matter. Just adjust the settings till it looks right. I have also compared the over the air HD tuner in both my TV and my computer(Via component cables at 1080i) to the 8300 HD DVR. With the component cables my computer looks exactly like the tuner in my TV and the HDMI cable from my 8300. The component cable from the 8300 is the only one that does not look good to me. It appears that the 8300 does not have a good digital to analog converter because my computer can output the 1080i analog signal just fine.

I actually tried the component vs. HDMI comparison as well. I found exactly what silverfx found - the picture thru HDMI looked flat and "washed out". Had to crank up the color settings to get back to what I felt was "correct", which was thru the component output.

I don't doubt mpg's measurements, but to my eye, there was no difference in the sharpness or crispness of the picture. And I have a CRT tube that can theoretically resolve all 1920 lines of resolution (Sony 34XBR910). One possible reason is with all the rate shaping and filtering TWC does, they're delivering far less than that to my screen in the first place.

There is one Huge difference between the displays we are using. Your TV is a 1080i native TV mine is a Sony Rear projection LCD native 788p TV. Both TVs are made by Sony but they handle and display the HD signals entirely differently. You might find that component looks great with your TV but HDMI looks better on the LCD. I have never tested a tube HDTV so I am not sure how they look. What resolution do you set your 8300 to output to? Theoretically you should set it to only output 1080i. However, 720p might look better in some cases if your TV accepts 720p. Have you tried 720p?

Most CRT HDTV's are native 1080i, as is mine; it won't accept 720p signals (or, it will, but it will upconvert them to 1080i). I set my 8300 to output everything at 1080i, which means I rely on the 8300's upconverter for standard def content. I watch very little SDTV, so that works well for me.

I just connected my 8300 to my tv (40" lcd 1080p) with HDMI and the picture does look washed out compared to component. Even after adjusting all the settings, it just doesn't look as good as component - maybe a little sharper... might be my imagination. Which is disappointing b/c I have like 16 other things I need to connect via component and the tv only has 2 inputs. Looks like HDMI will have to wait for a PS3 or an upconverting DVD player that doesn't break halfway through it's first DVD (thanks philips).