Does HDMI cables work better on DVDs?

Question

I bought an HDMI cable and connected it to my HD cable box and HDTV, but it actually looks worse. It is grainy and so much worse looking than the regular HDTV cables(green,blue,red). I rather stick to those. So i was wondering if HDMI is better for DVDs not for cable? The thing is my DVD player doesn't have where to connect the HDMI cable to. I'm thinking of buying a Bluray DVD player soon, but is it worth connecting the HDMI cable or should i just return it?

Answer 1

Perhaps you need to change one of the settings on your cable box to get the HDMI output to work properly for your system. HDMI should give you the best possible picture. There may be a setting for resolution on the HDMI output and it should be set to the highest resolution your TV is capable of. There is also the possibility that you have a bad HDMI cable but I doubt it. See if you can find a setting on your cable box for the HDMI output.

Answer 2

You don't mention the resolution or models of TV or other source equipment. Reason being that HDMI doesn't always give you the best picture. Let me explain, a set requires some signal processing to display a 540i DVD on the screen, problem is that HDMI makes the set do all of the processing, your DVD can't do any of it. It has been my general finding that component to a TV doing the conversion is the best way to go, for standard DVDs. Now you mention Blu-Ray as a future purchase. In that case you should evaluate HDMI only if you have better than 720p for a set. Reason being that the only reason to use HDMI is for 1080p resolution.

I will also add that HDMI cables are not created equally, and changing the HDMI cable is a low risk fix for issues. Now some who have already answered refer to Digital is Digital and it doesn't matter, just know that the DDWG (that's who set the standards for TDMS, the foundation for DVI and HDMI BTW) require 4 differential shields for HDMI 1.3, whereas component video requires only 2. The reason is that digital is better but it is not immune to errors and in most cases require a much better physical transport. Better cable makes a better system, just how much cable is a matter of return for investment.That will vary by set up components and the application, requiring the viewer to audition cables on a case by case basis.  

Answer 3

In a properly adjusted system - a HDMI cable and HD rated component cables should give you nearly identical pictures.

I suspect your TV has separate brightness/contrast/color settings for each input.  Using a good HD image - try adjusting these so things look more natural, similar to the component input.

If that does not work - it could be your cable box is doing a poor job of converting the cable TV signal to feed the HDMI output.  You should not notice grain/artifacts with most digital connections unless you are getting errors.  

As was stated - a cable can be poorly constructed/have errors. (Even a expensive cable can have a poor solder joint/bridge that causes occasional errors).  Trying a different cable is a fairly easy test.

Answer 4

Lord Greatmane is correct with his statement 'HDMI should give you the best possible picture.'

The problem your having is more than likely a switching/setting issue.

It appears you have your cable box connected directly to your HDTV.

None of the HDTV's that I'm familiar with need to be set to receive a signal thru the HDMI socket - though maybe your does. Sometimes you have to read the owner's manual very carefully to solve this type of issue.

You might consider calling you cable vender's customer service for help.