[leftnose]

Yes, there is a monthly charge to legally have a satellite or cable subscription.

The charge depends on the deal you have with your cable company but I think I pay around $130/month for over 100 channels including HD but that also includes my broadband internet cable connection.

 

[necropimp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leftnose /img/forum/go_quote.gif I can't remember if it will upscale DVDs to 1080p over component or if that also requires HDMI.

dvd upscaling cannot be done over component... HDCP compliant connections and VGA are the only ways to pass upscaled DVD video to a display device (i know... it makes as much sense as a blind man buying a TV but that's how it is)

 

[markl]

I just spent a maddening couple hours trying to figure out which picture looked better, the new HDMI signal, or the original component video from my cable box.

Observations:

1. The volume level on audio is MUCH higher through HDMI than from the cable box. Does that mean the audio and video signals are more powerful through HDMI than through the analog outs of the cable box, or does it just mean the cable box gain is lower than my TV set's?

2. At first, I was pretty pissed I sprung $35 for an HDMI cable. Suddenly, everything looked blocky and pixellated on regular cable channels (not HD) through the HDMI. Then I started to adjust the "sharpness" function on my TV and sorted that out. My TV allows you to have individual picture settings for each input in the rear, a really nice feature as the output of your DVD player, cable box, and now I see HDMI is very different, and the picture has to be adjusted separately for each one. Needless to say, this makes apples-to-apples comparisons harder.

3. Now that I eliminated the extra blocky-ness I could try to compare. I was very disappointed in that detecting these differences is incredibly hard. Complicated by the fact that it takes my TV a good 15 seconds to cycle between the HDMI and regular component outs with a black screen in between, so I can't do instant A/B. And when the switch finally happens, you are no longer looking at the same picture you were before (you get new camera angle or whatever).

4. In any case, these differernces are miniscule. I was expecting that using the pure digital signal of HDMI would clean up graphics and prevent ghosting or bleeding or other artifacts, but it doesn't. At first, I thought black levels were a bit better on HDMI, now I can't vouch for it. One thing is for sure, the colors on HDMI are more bling-bling and in your face, especially red. Again, this requires some extra tweaking of the picture to normalize it. But once you do, trying to detect differences is almost impossible.


Bottom line, I was hoping for obvious differences that could be easily detected but didn't get them.

Maybe, *maybe* HDMI is a hair cleaner with a miniscule amount of fewer artifacts, but that may be wishful thinking/placebo at work...

 

[tot]

I have always wondered why the default settings tend to be useless. I have a Samsung and found that "Movie" presets are very good and require very little if any additional tweaking.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by markl /img/forum/go_quote.gif 1. The volume level on audio is MUCH higher through HDMI than from the cable box. Does that mean the audio and video signals are more powerful through HDMI than through the analog outs of the cable box, or does it just mean the cable box gain is lower than my TV set's?

HDMI is digital, so the audio DAC in the TV is doing the conversion. The implementation in the cable box probably outputs a lower volume. My cable box's analog outputs are weak even with heavy compression enabled in the settings.

 

[leftnose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tot /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have always wondered why the default settings tend to be useless. I have a Samsung and found that "Movie" presets are very good and require very little if any additional tweaking.

The default settings are intended to be used in the store when the TV is in demo mode. It makes the thing as bright as possible so that it looks better in the store environment. Once you get the thing home, though, it'll burn your retinas on default with the lower ambient lighting in the average home.

 

[c8h8r8i8s8]

As far as HDMI vs. component, on most sources, you are only going to be able to carry up to a 1080i picture via component. Since most channels are only broadcasting at 1080i at the time that I am writing this, you probably won't see much difference in the picture. However, most stations will be broadcasting in 1080p by the end of 2009, which will give you an advantage in picture.

As far as right now, you will be able to get a better sound via HDMI. If you have surround sound, I would highly recommend using HDMI over component. Also, HDMI carries multiple signals over a single wire, which will reduce the amount of cable clutter, and give you a cleaner looking, and less confusing setup.

 

[leftnose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by c8h8r8i8s8 /img/forum/go_quote.gif As far as HDMI vs. component, on most sources, you are only going to be able to carry up to a 1080i picture via component.

I'm sorry but this just isn't true. Component definitely, without a doubt, can carry 1080p. Some devices do not support 1080p over component, though, and devices like Blu-Ray players require HDMI for 1080p because of DRM but a component cable is capable of carrying a 1080p signal.

 

[zotjen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by marvin /img/forum/go_quote.gif As for CC, it's not a HDMI thing so much as it's a HD thing. HD output from sources, whether HDMI, VGA, or component, don't have provisions for a CC data stream. Instead, it's up to the player to convert the CC data into video data and overlay it onto the video stream before sending to the TV.

I believe this is incorrect as I have no problem with closed captions using component. It's when using HDMI that CC is not displayed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by markl /img/forum/go_quote.gif Bottom line, I was hoping for obvious differences that could be easily detected but didn't get them. Maybe, *maybe* HDMI is a hair cleaner with a miniscule amount of fewer artifacts, but that may be wishful thinking/placebo at work...

I think I mentioned that I couldn't tell much of a difference between component and HDMI either. One possible reason could be that you are limited by your cable company's bandwidth. The HD picture being sent through your cable box is somewhat compromised by compression (i.e. cable companies use compression to maximize the number of channels they can offer). A better and more accurate comparison can probably be done with a Blu-Ray player. FWIW, the quality of OTA HD is supposed to be much better that what you can get from cable.

 

[necropimp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leftnose /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm sorry but this just isn't true. Component definitely, without a doubt, can carry 1080p. Some devices do not support 1080p over component, though, and devices like Blu-Ray players require HDMI for 1080p because of DRM but a component cable is capable of carrying a 1080p signal.

to be fair he said most sources... remains to be seen if cable boxes that can do 1080p over component will be made available...

 

[zachary80]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leftnose /img/forum/go_quote.gif Where the HDMI cable becomes truly necessary is with the new "HD" audio codecs. Optical and coax do not have the bandwidth and you cannot (period) make use of the new codecs without HDMI.

What is your source for that information? HDMI is not some sort of magic. Typical digital audio connections have lots of extra bandwith

 

[leftnose]

A TOSLINK can carry the TrueHD data but it needs to be transcoded first. HDMI, I believe, is the only current interconnect standard that can carry the raw bitstream. Do a google search for truehd hdmi and you'll find it.

 

[leftnose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by necropimp /img/forum/go_quote.gif to be fair he said most sources... remains to be seen if cable boxes that can do 1080p over component will be made available...

Oops! He did! Apologies!!!!

 

[necropimp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zachary80 /img/forum/go_quote.gif What is your source for that information? HDMI is not some sort of magic. Typical digital audio connections have lots of extra bandwith

they may have the bandwidth but in the end it's the device not the cable that decides what can and can't be sent through a specific connection