HMDI Cable Worth it?

Question

Does a HDMI cable deliver better audio/video than the HD AV Component cables that came w/my HD Cable box? If so, can someone recommend a good brand of HDMI as I don't know where to start. Thanks. :)

Answer 1

Try-

Answer 2

Basically, no ... but there are some advantages re simplicity, and you don't have to spend a fortune.

HDMI carries HD digital video and multichannel audio on a single cable. It is the best way to connect a Blu-ray player, but unless you have one of them or other 1080p sources (e.g. some game consoles) component video (red/green/blue RCA triple cable) will give you excellent video up to 1080i (which covers all TV signals). Component doesn't carry audio, so you need a separate cable (typically optical or digital coax) to carry that.

The disadvantage to HDMI is that it sometimes doesn't work well at longer distances, and there can be "handshake" issues whereby one component doesn't "see" the other, but generally for short connections it is the best choice simply because it is simpler and more "future proof" (although it doesn't necessarily give better quality video or sound).

If you are hesitating because of cost, note that budget HDMI cables ($10-$20) will work just as well as the expensive cables the salespeople tell you that you "MUST have".  See the links for why, and a reputable source (look for 24 awg, HDMI 1.3 category 2 certified cables, no longer than you need).