3 Responses to “HDMI vs. Component?”  

1. 1 Rob Oct 3rd, 2007 at 4:48 pm

   The referenced article was terrible. The fact that you recommended it reflects poorly on this blog. I hope you didn’t recommend it after reading it. Then again, why would you recommend an article you hadn’t read?

   Here’s a quote from the article which illustrates its technical level, “In other words, the stuff that’s going on inside these crazy cables is whacked, no matter what kind of cable you’re using.”

   On the bright side, this is the first thing in your blog I thought wasted my time.

   Peace,

   Rob:-]

2. 2 Matthew Jeppsen Oct 3rd, 2007 at 8:28 pm

   Oh come now Rob, in the context you are quoting it sounds like the article was written by a groggy twelve year old. But that’s not the case. In the very next paragraph it reads:

   “Because of its universality with one single input for audio and sound, HDMI has become the much preferred standard for HDTV hook-ups. That doesn’t mean it necessarily has a huge leaps-and-bounds advantage over component, though. Component video provides a more reliable picture, carries a more robust set of standards and generally works better for long-range professional-type set-ups.”

   Clear, succinct, well-written and accurate. As I stated in my short summary, people tend to assume that digital is better, and therefore HDMI is better than component. While this article may not be the perfect writeup on the topic, it certainly addresses those issues. Add that to the fact that Toms Hardware has a pretty good reputation for solid technical articles…and I ask you to cut it (and us) a little slack, eh? :-)

   Thanks for reading!

   -Matt Jeppsen

3. 3 Scat Nov 1st, 2007 at 9:55 am

   Matt,

   For HD, you need HDMI. Hollywood is doing everything they can to protect their revenue stream, and this protection is called HDCP. High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) is a form of Digital Rights Management (DRM) developed by Intel Corporation to control digital audio and video content as it travels across Digital Visual Interface (DVI) or High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) interfaces.

   Here’s the fine print–it’s quite small, actually–on HD-DVD from Toshiba’s website: “Viewing high-definition content and up-converting DVD content may require an HDCP capable DVI or HDMI input on your display device.” Basically these players may not output full resolution video over the component analog output. Many players (or HD set-top boxes) limit analog component outputs to 480p. No HDMI, no HD!

   In defense of Rob, this is exactly the type of useful information that the T’s HW article lacks.

   Scat