HDMI cables vs Components?

Question

Quick question...I have a 60" sony rear projection that I purchased mainly to watch movies and play Xbox360 and PS3 on.

Can you really tell the difference between using HDMI cables vs component cables?

Another thing I want to bring up on the HDMI cables are...I notices at local electronic stores like BEST BUY and CC Monster cables(HDMI) are going for like 200.00 I went online and found HDMI cables for 4.00..can someone PLEASE explain that??

Answer 1

Not sure if you're tv is 1080p or 1080i....the difference isn't a big one between component and hdmi cables. Your picture will be a little sharper, and colors a tad more vibrant with HDMI cables. If you have the ability to use HDMI, I say do so. Now, as far as the Monster cables go....AVOID THEM. They are over hyped and over priced. They are a complete ripoff. Since HDMI is a digital connection, it's either ON....or OFF. NO IN BETWEEN! Those monster cables are going to work EXACTLY THE SAME WAY as cheapie cables. The picture quality and sound quality will be identical. That being said, the only time I would EVER recommend using "High quality" Monster cables would be at distances over 30 ft. If you need a cable that long, invest in buying Monster cables if possible. At those lengths, digital transmissions might fade and you'll lose quality. But in the range that MOST people need an HDMI cable (3-12ft) do not bother with monster cables. The only other advantage to monster cable is that they have a lifetime warranty, and if your cable ever goes out or connector breaks or something like that, they'll replace it for free. The build quality of them are better than the cheapies, but you'll get the exact same quality of transmission with ANY HDMI cables. Check out monoprice.com they have amazing deals on HDMI cables!

Answer 2

HDMI or HIGH DEFINITION Media interface is a technology that carries high quality video (1080 interlace or the better progressive scan data) and audio in an all out "digital" transfer. Cables that uses the "component" technology carries only video signals; no audio, in the analog domain, that split into 3 color data info: black & white; red; and green;...streams video signals in 480p, 720p and 1080i scan data.

Answer 3

Apparently, at 1080p, you notice a difference, but any resolution below that and it's not a big deal.

Some readings:

http://www.ps3news.com/General_OffTopic/...

http://www.hdmi.org/learningcenter/faq.a...

And Monster Cables are c**p -- they serve the same function and cost a lot more because people don't research it like they should and assume that they are better.

Answer 4

The only main difference between component and HDMI is that HDMI is digital, most HDTVs are digital and most HD sources are digital (blu-ray players, HD set-top boxes, HD game consoles, etc.), with HDMI, it stays digital from beginning to end, so you don't lose quality from the conversion from digital to analog, then back from analog to digital, when you use component, component is analog, so you take a digital source, convert it to analog to send through component cables, then back to digital on the television, some HDTVs, like CRT HDTVs, are analog, making component perfect for those kind of televisions

The second difference is that HDMI carries 7.1 surround sound, optical only supports 5.1, and RCA red/white connections technically only support 2.0 stereo, but some decoders can decode 5.1 out of RCA red/white cabling, when using component, you usually use RCA red/white cabling, in some rare cases optical, but none of those can support 7.1 surround sound

The third difference isn't that important to us, but it's to preven p****y, so the video companies are trying to push us to use HDMI, making it harder to make copies

A lot of people say that HDMI is the only connection that supports 1080p, this is not true, component CAN support 1080p, except it's not a standard to have to support it, so while some devices can output 1080p over component, it dosen't mean that all televisions support it