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HDMI Question

1099 Views 15 Replies 11 Participants Last post by wonderboy905, Dec 31, 2005

Burtgtp1973

Discussion Starter · Dec 28, 2005

OK.. I have read up and down the board here and everyone seems to have an opinion about it . My question is this , Is there any factual evidence to say's that HDMI is BETTER than using components ? I have spoke to 2 different stores and they are giving me conflicting information . One says the HDMI is the equal to HD , the other says there is no difference to speak of .. Neither store had a player hooked up to compare for myself .. Iam wanting to "upgrade " but want to know facts before buying . My PQ is pretty respectable now (Hitachi 65S500 w/ Pioneer DV-563A) but I'am just trying to get the most out of my set .

TIA !

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BillP

· #2 · Dec 28, 2005

Unfortunately, the correct answer is: it depends. It depends on the specific player and the specific display. Most claim that HDMI makes more of a difference for fixed pixel displays (plasma, LCD, and DLP) than for CRTs like you have. In addition, it depends on which has the better deinterlacer/scaler, your player or your display. The only way to know whether you will see a significant difference with your equipment is to try out an upscaling player and compare for yourself. The only thing for sure is that the salesman who told you that upscaling over HDMI is as good as true HD is wrong! The PQ of current DVDs is limited by the 480i resolution of the actual DVD - no upscaling player will look as good as a true HD broadcast. But with my high end upscaling player (Denon 3910) and my DLP, yes, HDMI does make a difference.

quickfire

· #3 · Dec 28, 2005

If you'll check back here tomorrow afternoon ...i'll let you know what differnce that I see between HDMI and Component....I have a HDMI cable coming from Monoprice and I'm going to compare the 2 .....I have a Sanyo Z3 with 106 Graywolf screen .....If it does make a difference Im going to purchase 2.... 3 feet HDMI cables & 2x1 HDMI switcher from Monoprice tomorrow night.......but i have to make sure there is indeed a difference first!I hope there is..but i to have read conflicting stories on this subject

.....well see tomorrow

Burtgtp1973

Discussion Starter · #4 · Dec 28, 2005

Thanks for the response BillP.... the sales person I had spoken with wasnt familiar with MB either , so I didnt put much value into what the guy had to say .

Quickfire : I will be looking forward to your reply tomorrow as well.

swifty7

· #5 · Dec 28, 2005

in my experience, HDMI makes the difference of night and day when it comes to picture quality.

quickfire

· #6 · Dec 29, 2005

I just hooked HDMI to Z3 a few minutes ago.....stay tuned!

quickfire

· #7 · Dec 29, 2005

Okay.........I'll tell you my setup and then well go from there....i have a Samsung TS 160 D* HD receiver...with DVI out....and Sony 995 DVD mega changer.....I have tried every HDMI output and my opinoin is THAT THERE IS A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE..IM NOT KIDDING.....BUT IN ORDER OT GET THE BEST PICTURE WITH MY SETUP.I have to run 720p out of Samsung 160...the Z3 is setup to auto detect signal....the Z3 will also give me a 1080i and 480p signal.....the 1080i signal is BELIEVE IT OR NOT A TAD BIT SOFTER THAN THE 720P .......this may be because the Z3 is a 720p PJ..I DUNNO........the HDMI out of 995 is cleaner but not extodinary like a HD feed.......I'M TOTALLY conviced that with my setup there is indeed a differnce....I then switched back to component and DANG >>>>the pictuire was GREAT but not no were near the HDMI 720p feeed to Z3.....I would advice everybody to get HDMI cable and try it for yourself.....Im tickled to death........i8f you have any ???Ill try and answer them ......

..P.S.my wife told me that she could even tell the differece when i was switching from component to HDMI.....she said it was a lot cleaner and sharper:::

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BLloyd

· #8 · Dec 29, 2005

Burtgtp1973 - I don't want to rain on anyones parade here but I think BillP is giving you the real answer to your question - It Depends...

I don't have a Z3 like quickfire, but the previous generation Z2. I read all these post about the amazing difference folks on this forum saw when going to an upconverting player over HDMI. So I started with a Sony NS90 but it wouldn't sync over HDMI with my Z2 for some reason. Posted the situation on this forum but no one had any solutions that fix the problem so I sent it back. Next I tried a Samsung. It sync'd fine with my projector but I couldn't tell a difference between component and HDMI (nor could I tell a difference between HDMI (720p or 1080i) on the Sammy and component on my old JVC $50 player). So I sent it back too. Then tried the Panny S77. To my eyes it did look slightly better than the Samsung, but not the night and day some folks get. And again, I really couldn't tell a whole lot of difference between component and HDMI (at 720p or 1080i) even though logic would make us think a digital connection is always superior to analog. I ended up keeping the S77 anyway.

So...I say all that just to set your expectations appropriately. Maybe you will be like quickfire and with your setup see a vast improvement with HDMI. I hope so. My improvement was much more modest. In any case, best of luck to you....!!

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Byron Walter

· #9 · Dec 29, 2005

I have a 2 1/2 year old Panasonic DVD player (not sure of model number) going to the component connection on my Zenith 50 inch plasma (Z50PX2D). I tried a Samsung 850 DVD player via HDMI to HDMI and component to component. The 850 seemed superior to the Panny with respect to the dynamic color range (?). The whites were whiter and blacks deeper and better defined. OTOH the overall picture was less sharp. I detected no difference with 480p, 720p, or 1080i via HDMI.

Ended up going back to the Panasonic DVD player and intend to return the Samsung tomarrow. Will probably try either the Oppo or Panny S97.

Byron

quickfire

· #10 · Dec 29, 2005

To me theres more clarity to the picture...even the D* display/info banner was sharper.The text was as clear as I have ever seen it......when I switch from component to HDMI ...the component is not as detailed in the shaded areas..and has a slight softness to it when compared to HDMI......I was discouraged at first because I coudlnt tell the difference ...but I went into the Z3 menu and set it to display 720p instead of auto detect......and set D*160 to 720p....and then I could tell the difference..so I have to agree with Swifty7...that there is a difference with HDMI over component (with my setup).

LUNASDUDE

· #11 · Dec 29, 2005

I have to agree with BillP it does depend on a lot of things.

I have a Panasonic 50in DLP display and my Sony DVPNS70H is hooked up by HDMI cable and the PQ is much better than running through component!

But... On my DishN*** High Def receiver using DVI is no better than using the component mater of fact it looks a little grainier!

So it Depends on Display, Equipment, Your preference etc..

Clepto

· #12 · Dec 29, 2005

Also keep in mind that the biggest thing in favor of HDMI over component is HDCP. Since the content providers (studios) will control whether or not a BD/HD DVD Title is allowed to output HD over component, there will definitely be some titles where component will be dramatically worse than HDMI, because it will be downrezzed to 480p while HDMI is transmitting up to 1080p

asagarra

· #13 · Dec 31, 2005

I agree with the night and day expression. My expierence is that digital video output (HDMI or DVI-D) beats components with even hi-end players when connecting different players into a plasma.

hope that helps

quickfire

· #14 · Dec 31, 2005

Burt....as you can see some see a difference and some dont.......try it for yourself and BE SURE to test all availible resolutions.It took me about 30 minutes to figure out that I had to set my HD 160 D* receiver to 720p and set Z3 to 720p to get the best picture......you would think tha the auto detect would work but its most definately not as crisp/sharp as 720p to 720p.......the only way your going to know for sure if it works with your setup..is to try it

Damnationdoormat

· #15 · Dec 31, 2005

I will also say it depends:

Denon 2910 on a Sammy 50" 85W DLP:

Component: Solid image

DVI: Slightly better

"standard" HDMI RGB: Basically the same as DVI

HDMI YCrCb*: Noticable improvement over all above, more accurate coloration, sharper.

...but it all depends on the player and display combination.

*Sidenote: I'm pretty sure this mode on the 2910 outputs the correct SD 601 colorspace for DVDs, while DVI and HDMI RGB do not.

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wonderboy905

· #16 · Dec 31, 2005

You also need to have both your inputs calibrated in the same way, otherwise your findings that one is better than the other is useless. At first HDMI looked HORRIBLE on my tv, blacks were anything but, after using AVIA I got it as close as I could to my component inputs. After all was said and done, whether it was through DVI on my cable box or HDMI on my dvd player, I found component always looked the best. That doesn't mean component is better, it just means for ME it is better.

I certainly wouldn't lose any sleep if I had to go with one over the other, they're both fantastic.

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