component vs. hdmi vs. dvi??

tecmo04 · July 2005

just recently upgraded my tv to a 32 inch lcd. im not sure which cord i should buy for my digital cable box??

What are the advantages/disadvantes of each???

i am currently running my xbox through component video and it looks great, so should i buy that for my cable box too??

any help would be greatly appreciated!

thanks,
rob

PolkThug · July 2005

RCA makes a nice DVI cable that can be had at Target for $36, give it a shot.

unc2701 · July 2005

DVI and HDMI and roughly the same for video. I've heard that HDMI cuts back the DVI bandwidth slightly, but whatever- they're cross compatible.

Component is kinda clunky to deal with- contributes to the rats nest of wires behind the TV and the DVI/HDMI picture is better. Does your cable box actually have HDMI?

tecmo04 · July 2005

im not sure yet and unfortunatly im at work. when i get homw i will relay more info so you can help me more. btw right now i have it hooked up through component (i just used the one from my dvd) and some hd channels look great, others look decent. is it the tv, or the channels?

billbillw · July 2005

Most HD cable boxes have DVI, but not HDMI. Does your TV have HDMI or DVI (or both)?

I ask because many, including myself, have some troubles when using a DVI/HDMI converter.

Most of the time, the component connection will be just as good as the DVD/HDMI. You might see slightly more detail and less noise with the digital connection, but most people don't notice a difference.

So in the end, you don't really have a choice on HDMI vs DVI, you are limited by whatever connection you have available to you.

I recommend Ram Electronics or BlueJeanCable for reasonably priced high quality cables. DO NOT PAY extra for MONSTER CABLES! They are a rip off. 3x the price for no better quality.

unc2701 · July 2005

It's the channels. just 'cause it's HD doesn't mean it's all equal. F--king Fox sports doesn't shoot the college basketball games in HD, so they all look like crap. Discovery channel will look great 24/7.

and +1 on everything Bill said.

Toxis · July 2005

Originally posted by billbillw
Most HD cable boxes have DVI, but not HDMI.

Time Warner Cable's new DVR box here in KC has HDMI out and is activated for sound to run through it.

Shizelbs · July 2005

Comcast in Seattle has HDMI out the box and it blows component out of the water. Yes, we compared them.

Huge difference.

lomic · July 2005

They probably spent all of 50 cents on the video DAC's for the component out since they figure most will use HDMI, or they want to encourage people to buy an HDMI TV. You'll probably still get good video through component if it's the "best" choice for output on the box.

Toxis · July 2005

I'll stick with Component until HDMI becomes the industry standard, as component has been for AGES. Til then, I'm not going to get all looped up into these cable debates/wars. Have your fun. Mine will always work.

Gaara · July 2005

Post I did for a different site, hope there aren't any issues with it.

Now the main difference between DVI and HDMI is that HDMI can do more. HDMI can not only handle the HD signal up to 1080p, but it can also handle 7.1 surround sound, control information between components, and is bi-directional. Think about having a DVR hooked up to your tv with one cable, thats it one cable. Through that one cable the DVR records HD broadcasts from the tv, as well as digital surround sound info, and can go back and forth to the tv. SO with that one cable you can record the show in hd and surround sound, and then play it back on the tv whenever you please. You also don't need a separate remote because the control info travels through that same cable as well.

Now lets talk about audio, since HDMI can do up to 7.1 audio and DVI has no audio. If you are connecting a component with DVI you use DVI for video, and optical or coax for the sound. Last I checked HDMI had more then enough bandwidth to carry a uncompressed Dolby Digital Plus or DTS-HD signal.

So now we know that HDMI vs. DVI you gain 7.1 digital surround sound, control information, and bi directionality, on top of a wider bandwith (not much 4.95gbps vs 5gbps). Now for a dose of reality, HDMI can do all this, but is not implemented as such as of right now. The most I have seen it being used for is uncompressed digital video, with 2 channel sound. So as of right now the only real advantage being taken advantage of is the ability to send sound with the video.

On to component vs. HDMI. On top of everything listed above, HDMIs bandwidth is much larger then component, not sure component videos spec of the top of my head, but I thought it was around 1.5gbps. Now to transfer 1080i you need around 1.3gbps, so that is no problem with either connection, but 1080p requires 2.6gbps, to much for component video. So now we know that component cannot handle 1080p, the only other big advantage of HDMI is that it is all digital, which is not really a advantage in all situations.

If you have a fixed pixel set such as a dlp or lcd, then you have a set resolution the tv works at. Lets just say you have a 720p dlp, and want to watch hd on it. If you have hd you have a digital signal, so lets say you want to watch hd in 720p. Using a analog connection like component the box has to take the digital signal, transfer it to analog, and then the tv takes it from analog, and converts it back to digital. Thats two unnecessary conversions. With HDMI it takes a digital signal and transfers it digitally, no conversions require.

So now to recap HDMI over component, there is a much larger bandwidth (roughly 3x), it can handle 1080p signals, it can handle up to 7.1 of uncompressed digital audio, it can send control information, it is bi-directional, and it is fully digital..

So now you see why HDMI is better then DVI or Component Video.

Jared

maggiefan · July 2005

Not trying to disagree with you, but think about this. Why would you want to send the audio to the TV, any TV? The audio needs to go to the HT receiver or pre amp. HDMI doesn't really provide an advantage over DVI in that respect.

SCompRacer · July 2005

I have a 32" LCD HDTV and a DirecTV HR10-250 (Hughes manufactured) HDTV sat box. I stayed with componet cables for numerous reasons.

My AVR doesn't have HDMI capability, and connecting the HDMI cable from the sat box to the TV disables the component out on the sat box. If the women in my house want to watch a DVD movie, they would have to remember to switch inputs on the TV to component from the DVD player cause I don't have a fancy remote to do all the switching automatically. (A small thing perhaps but on the right day with a woman:D....)

I also tried an HDMI cable from the sat box to the TV and couldn't honestly tell any difference from component cables on an HD channel. Maybe with a larger TV, or perhaps a test pattern from the Avia DVD, that opinion could change.

Toxis · July 2005

Originally posted by Gaara
On to component vs. HDMI. On top of everything listed above, HDMIs bandwidth is much larger then component, not sure component videos spec of the top of my head, but I thought it was around 1.5gbps. Now to transfer 1080i you need around 1.3gbps, so that is no problem with either connection, but 1080p requires 2.6gbps, to much for component video. So now we know that component cannot handle 1080p, the only other big advantage of HDMI is that it is all digital, which is not really a advantage in all situations.

But when you say component video will only do 1.5gbps, is that per cable or all three combined? Reason I say is because most component video cables (from custom to premade) will carry 2.5 to 3.0gbps. So I'm not sure where you got your numbers but I don't think it's the actual cable that is having the problems. If anything, it'd be the players output device.

Still don't see a reason to send 7.1 digital audio to your tv. Now I know a lot of these TV's have digital outs but they do NOT work for the incoming HDMI signal. It's purely for CableCARD situations. So as stated above, why send digital audio to your TV??

Pro for DVI: It actually locks onto your TV.
Pro for Comp: It is pressure fitted onto the RCA plug.
Pro for HDMI: It can fall out very easily for when you need to quick disconnect something. Wait... is that a pro?

tecmo04 · July 2005

so unfortunatly my tv doesnt have dvi

. i see that there a lots of cords that have one side dvi and the the other hdmi. is this a good route to go or should i keep things simple with component and an optical? another quick question, i was looking online and found some component thx certified cables for 35?? this seems kind of cheep.

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=300596&pfp=cat3

link to cables...

should i just buy these and be done with it?

Gaara · July 2005

Ok a time for a little clarification.

As for the 1.5gbps number, I actually got that from a recent meeting with our Monster Cable rep, but like I said I wasnt sure of that number, since he feed us a lot of bull. The number was the total bandwidth of all three cables combined. He was very adamant that one of the advantages of HDMI/DVI was 1080p capability, while component cables simply didnt have the bandwidth to handle the signal. Guess I should have checked up on that tidbit of info before posting, but thanks for the heads up.

As for the audio

Now for a dose of reality, HDMI can do all this, but is not implemented as such as of right now. The most I have seen it being used for is uncompressed digital video, with 2 channel sound. So as of right now the only real advantage being taken advantage of is the ability to send sound with the video.

like I said right now HDMI is only being used for 2 channel audio. I know most people here would never do this, but I have had lots of customers very happy with not going with a audio system, and being able to use one cable to hookup to their tv is a godsend.

As for the 7.1 capability, if it was used to its full extent this would be a great feature since it is bi directional to. Think about a simple system, dvd player with HDMI, tv with HDMI, and receiver with HDMI. You could hookup the dvd player to the tv via HDMI, then tv to receiver via HDMI. (You could also do dvd to receiver to tv, or any other combo you can think of) Your dvd player could send the unconverted signal to your tv, as well as 5.1,6.1, or 7.1 (not really used yet) audio to the tv via the cable. Your tv would take the video signal, and pass the audio on to your receiver, where it would decode the signal, for your full surround sound. Since it is bi-directional you could also display the OSD on the tv from your receiver through the same cable. And since we have control signals being sent you could just aim the remote at tv and wouldnt have to have the components exposed, the signal would be sent through the HDMI to the receiver and dvd player. Of course if they were all HAVi enabled components to you could just select DVD on your tvs OSD, and the dvd player would turn on and start up, the receiver would turn on and go to the right input, and the tv would be on the right input.

So in the end HDMI has the capability to do so much more, but as of right now it really isnt used as such. As of right now the only real advantage of HDMI over DVI is the 2-channel audio that can be passed on the HDMI cable, which for most here is not really a advantage.

madmax · July 2005

If you have component video you are not out of the game. You do not necessarily have to have the latest and greatest as many would like to have you believe. Some seem to prefer component vs DVI or so I've read. I'm sure that depends upon the particular set of components you are tying together. Of course with analog (component) there is a possibility of picking up noise in the cables if placed poorly or if the cables are inferior.

madmax

kberg · July 2005

Excellent question for a thread, and great responses, as I was wondering the same thing about comparing these types of connections while doing research on getting a new big screen TV. Thanks!

Emlyn · July 2005

The bottom line from Bluejeanscable concerning this question is it all depends on the equipment being used. HDMI/DVI is more convenient, component can be used for longer runs. Picture quality depends on the equipment being linked together, with neither always have an advantage. I'd suggest trying out the digital HDMI/DVI hookup method and the analog component method to see if there is any difference in picture quality. If you get the cables from Bluejeanscable, you can keep the one you prefer and send the other back. Reasoning below:

Component v. HDMI v. DVI

component vs. hdmi vs. dvi??

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