HDMI or Component A/V??

strick284

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Aug 12, 2009
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Hi, I have a bit of a technical question about video cables. I have an 80GB PS3 and a 4-5 year old 4:3 aspect ratio HDTV. The TV displays in 1080i. I'm wondering whether I should buy an HDMI or a Component A/V cable (you know, it has 5 plugs instead of 3). From what I've read online, they both support all resolutions from 720p to 1080p (including 1080i), and they are about the same price for a standard one (though there are some pricey HDMI cables out there). What are the differences between the two types of cables, and which one should I get? I know nothing about this other than what I have read on BestBuy.com, and I am in desperate need of some help.
 

TheViper

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HDMI gives you audio, HDCP for 1080i Blu-ray playback (provided your TV is HDCP capable as well), easy cable management.

And don't buy the expensive HDMI cables. A digital signal is a digital signal so you don't get the signal degradation you can get with analog cables so the expensive HDMI are pointless.
 

strick284

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Oh, I'm sorry, I just checked my TV to make sure, and it doesn't even have an HDMI port. So I can't use those cables anyway. I guess my TV's just too old to have that kind of port. You mentioned signal degradation in analog cables; is it worth the money to buy expensive component A/V cables? Or will I be ok with the $25 Best Buy special? Again, I'm talking about A/V cables with the 5 plugs (2 for audio, 3 for video). Sorry if I'm using the wrong terminology.
 

TheViper

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You have the correct terminology. Component cables are the ones with 5 RCA jacks.

The best idea is to buy the shortest cables that will reach (plus some room to work with). If you need 3 feet, don't buy a 25 foot cable. The longer the cable and the more coiled up it is, the more susceptible to signal degradation it becomes.
 

dust2dust

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Nov 27, 2009
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Hi all, my son has an xbox 360 and a LG lcd tv.
He was using the component cables he got with the xbox but i bought him an HDMI lead as i thought the pic would be better, also for the smaller size of the cable would be tidier.
After setting it up for him he came to me complaining about the picture not being anywhere near as good with the HDMI cable so i switched the cable back to component.
He was right, by the way, the pic is far better with component cables, HDMI pic sucks big time!
D2D
 

dust2dust

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I did actually, was a cheap one though, the tv set it up at the highest res that it could display, 1366/768 i think but with the component cable you have to go into the xbox settings and change the res there, which resulted in a sharper picture.
Probably was just a rubbish HDMI lead, the colours were bad but as the viper says, "A digital signal is a digital signal" so component is just as good just bulkier.
D2D
 

TheViper

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Component isn't digital. Well, the YPbPr 3 cable iteration isn't digital but that's immaterial for the purpose of hooking up a video game system which makes use of the analog standard.

The 2 digital standards for consumer video are DVI and HDMI.

If HDMI gave you a poor image, it is likely either your cable or your TV. I'm guessing it's the latter as some TV's simply don't handle HDMI very well.
 

dust2dust

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Thanks for that, should have known it anyway!
D2D