Will there be a difference connecting a Blu-Ray player 720p with component cables vs. HDMI?

Question

I have a projector capable of 720p. I am looking at a Blu-ray player. I have a component cable to connect with, but not a HDMI. I would have to get an HDMI switch to use the Blu-ray with HDMI as my HDMI is already occupied by my HD Directv. Will there be a noticeable difference using the component cable vs. an HDMI cable?

Answer 1

Some will claim digital is better but the fact is that component can be better than HDMI in some cases.  There should be no noticable difference.

At the moment Blu-ray and HD DVD disks do not include the token that would trigger HDCP ... so you don't need to worry about down sampling of the analog HD signal to sub HD levels.  You might in a year or so ... but not yet.

However, just try it and if it doesn't work for whatever reason then get an HDMI switcher (or upgrade your A/V receiver to have HDMI switching capability and process the audio through the surround system to take full advantage of HD audio formats).