Pope Flick Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Okay, guru's... can one of you break down Component Video and Digital Audio (optical) vs. HDMI (A/V) ?How great a difference is there? My DVD player is a little older and only has Component (Red, Green, Blue) and my Receiver only has Optical or Coaxial for digital audio. Am I missing the full HD experience with having this type of hookups? I will be having DirecTV connecting HD for the first time tomorrow (to my first Full HD LCD) and was curious on what I can get away with before spending money I don't have upgrading my audio and DVD players. IF your players isn't HD-DVD (now obsolete) or Blu Ray then no cable will give you HD whatsoever. HD can travel through both HDMI (one cable for audio and video) or component which is 5 cables: Red, Green, Blue and stero left and right. It's the mechanical source that needs to provide an HD signal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keggerz Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 But do they last as long? I would tend to doubt it, and I work with the stuff nearly everyday - just not in living rooms. you buy one for $70 and I will buy one for $6...do you think I would really have to buy 12 over the next 10 years to exceed your cost? actually you would probably never have to buy another one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twiley Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Apparently they don't around here. I specifically requested them when I went in to pick up a HD box. Had been told by several people around here that I wouldnt be able to get one. Sure enough when I asked, I was told our boxes don't come with HDMI. That sucks, I wasn't aware of HD Specific areas for Charter. I can look into that for you, just give PM me your billing area. I have an inside connection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pope Flick Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 you buy one for $70 and I will buy one for $6...do you think I would really have to buy 12 over the next 10 years to exceed your cost?actually you would probably never have to buy another one Truthfully? Perhaps not 12 in ten years but I'd be willing to bet you'll go through a few for 6 bucks each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azazello1313 Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 popular mechanics “We tell you an expensive HDMI cable will give you a better picture,” a Circuit City TV salesman informs PM—but do brand-name cables really deliver a better picture? To find out, we pit two of them against a cheap generic cord in a blind test. Generic cable | $13 for 13 ft., newegg.com Claim: This cable lacked a label, let alone lofty claims. Monster Cable Advanced HDMI 1000 HD Cable | $200 for 13 ft., monstercable.com Claim: “Sharpest picture, deepest color and smoothest video.” Honeywell HDMI Cable With CURxE Light Technology | $300 for 16 ft., honeywell.com Claim: Embedded chip “self-heals” audio and video problems. The Results None of our editors could tell the difference. The fact is, HDMI is digital, meaning you either get the feed or you don’t. High prices and gimmicks like gold-plating don’t affect 1s and 0s. Our advice: Purchase your wiring online for cheap, and use the saved money to upgrade to a larger flat screen. paying a lot of money for HDMI cables is just dumb dumb dumb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keggerz Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Truthfully? Perhaps not 12 in ten years but I'd be willing to bet you'll go through a few for 6 bucks each. this is a test we wont be able to prove but even if you were right a few at $6 is better then one at $70+ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avernus Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 The Wii does not have a HDMI plug in it. I just hooked my Wii to my LCD using the cables that came with the Wii (the red, white and yellow one). you can purchase component cables for the Wii...it will look a little better... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pope Flick Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 this is a test we wont be able to prove but even if you were right a few at $6 is better then one at $70+ Then buy a couple at once, because if it goes down what's the value waiting for a replacement with no HD? More than 6 bucks a day for sure. Cheap chit is and always will be cheap chit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pope Flick Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 you can purchase component cables for the Wii...it will look a little better... Most people won't be able to tell. In fact, what I've notcied is that the component cables really only help if you have a SD television with component in. The colors really pop out compared to composite (yellow only). Hooking a Wii up to an LCD blows up and washes out any signal it receives to some effect and really diminished the look of component - even if you set it to 480 progressive. Screen size goes up about 150% and really takes a hit quality wise. I've got Speed Racer for the Wii and at home my SD television rocks it, whereas I play on a HD tv set to 480p and it isn't as colorful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azazello1313 Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 avsforum discussion pcworld article...interesting snippet: HDMI Licensing, which oversees the HDMI spec and ensures that companies comply with it, requires that no more than one pixel per billion be lost in transmission. "Even if you lost one out of a thousand pixels, you wouldn't notice it," says Leslie Chard, HDMI Licensing president. that means, for it to even be sold as an "HDMI cable" it has to have fault tolerance way beyond what the human eye could even pick up. bottom line, if you buy expansive hdmi cables you are basically paying pure markup to snakeoil salesmen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egret Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Then buy a couple at once, because if it goes down what's the value waiting for a replacement with no HD? More than 6 bucks a day for sure. Cheap chit is and always will be cheap chit. Expensive doesn't always mean better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keggerz Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Then buy a couple at once, because if it goes down what's the value waiting for a replacement with no HD? More than 6 bucks a day for sure. Cheap chit is and always will be cheap chit. was just trying to make a point that as a worst case scenario(which i doubt would ever occur) the expensive crap is just that, expensive crap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pope Flick Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 (edited) Expensive doesn't always mean better. I have never found an electronic piece of equipment that costs less than 10% of the 'going rate' to be anything but something that breaks down. Just sayin'. I'm not saying go and buy gold plated Monster cables either, those are rips as well. But what czar went and bought may or may not perform well in the long run. Especially that 3rd part Wii Component cable. Already had poor experience with cheap, 3rd party knock offs. The Nintendo one is 25 bucks and worth it. Edited December 8, 2008 by Pope Flick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millerx Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 IF your players isn't HD-DVD (now obsolete) or Blu Ray then no cable will give you HD whatsoever. HD can travel through both HDMI (one cable for audio and video) or component which is 5 cables: Red, Green, Blue and stero left and right. It's the mechanical source that needs to provide an HD signal. Thanks for the reply. So is there any particular advantage (picture-wise) with Component vs HDMI then? Is the only problem being that I have to hook up 4 cables ( one for digital audio instead left/right cables)? Is component video sending digital signals (1's and 0's) just like HDMI and therefore they should have the same quality? If so, is the only inconvenience having to switch the TV and receive audio and video to be on the same source? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pope Flick Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Thanks for the reply. So is there any particular advantage (picture-wise) with Component vs HDMI then? Is the only problem being that I have to hook up 4 cables ( one for digital audio instead left/right cables)? Is component video sending digital signals (1's and 0's) just like HDMI and therefore they should have the same quality? If so, is the only inconvenience having to switch the TV and receive audio and video to be on the same source? Sounds like you're wanting to use optical audio which I don't use meself. HDMI is digital, component is analog. I'd be surprised if your eyes could tell the difference, really. Then again, my main experience with HD is routing it through Xbox 360's and PS3's, not from cable boxes FWIW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millerx Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Sounds like you're wanting to use optical audio which I don't use meself. HDMI is digital, component is analog. I'd be surprised if your eyes could tell the difference, really. Then again, my main experience with HD is routing it through Xbox 360's and PS3's, not from cable boxes FWIW. with optical you are able to get 5.1 surround sound, DTS, etc. (like with HDMI) whereas with RCA you do not...at least that is what I understand. I just want to get the best sound and picture I can with what I have at the moment... Eventually I will have the funds to upgrade other things, but in the meantime I want to know what I missing out on and if there is a huge difference from what I have now and HDMI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keggerz Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 I have never found an electronic piece of equipment that costs less than 10% of the 'going rate' to be anything but something that breaks down. Just sayin'. I'm not saying go and buy gold plated Monster cables either, those are rips as well. But what czar went and bought may or may not perform well in the long run. Especially that 3rd part Wii Component cable. Already had poor experience with cheap, 3rd party knock offs. The Nintendo one is 25 bucks and worth it. go to the avs forums and see how many of the technophiles use monoprice and are happy as pie with their stuff...seriously...as for the Wii cable I have no idea what it is or what it does so I wont argue any points about that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Czarina Posted December 8, 2008 Author Share Posted December 8, 2008 Hmmm. You might want to be careful - no offense. A good, solid HDMI cable runs $70+ at last check. Under 10 sounds too good to be true IMO.... Also, you got the RGB component cable for the Wii? Yes, some sort of component thingy made especially for the Wii. It was $3.50 so I'm not out a ton if it isn't better than the standard cables that came with the Wii. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylive5 Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 ....component thingy ... Is that an industry term? May want to get me one of those just to have on hand. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keggerz Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Is that an industry term? May want to get me one of those just to have on hand. LOL make sure you pick up a "thingamabob, thingamajig & doohickey" too cant have one piece of the collection without the others Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocknrobn26 Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 make sure you pick up a "thingamabob, thingamajig & doohickey" too cant have one piece of the collection without the others What no love for a "Whatsis", "Flamwanger", or "Doojiggy"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azazello1313 Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 just, whatever you do, don't pay extra for the monster gold-plated dongleberry doodad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Czarina Posted December 9, 2008 Author Share Posted December 9, 2008 I'm too freakin lazy to look it up Wii Component Cable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylive5 Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 I'm too freakin lazy to look it up Wii Component Cable Just joshin' with ya Czar. Was a line out of a movie.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pope Flick Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 I'm too freakin lazy to look it up Wii Component Cable Once you get this, be sure to go into your Wii settings and change resolution to "480p" or you won't be getting the full benefit. And while you're there be sure to set the wii to widescreen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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