HDMI vs Component

[SackoHammers]

Are HDMI connectors just a consolidation of conductors?

Lets say 2 years from now I have a 1080p television with HDMI input and Component input.

Is there an advantage to using HDMI on my HD cable box and HDMI on my DVD player over simply using Component from my cable box and Component from my DVD player?

Does it offer something that Component does not in the way of bandwidth? For example, will I find out that I can't do 1080p through component, then necessitating HDMI?
If all it's doing is consolidating wires then I'm not going to waste money on making sure my AVR purchase does HDMI switching.

Your help is greatly appreciated.

 

[3x10^8]

Not sure what you mean by "a consolidation of conductors," but they are essentially two different ways of getting the same job done...

Here's an interesting read:

http://www.projectorcentral.com/component.htm

 

[SackoHammers]

Interesting read. Thank you. It still does not really answer my question in entirety and I still have a little doubt.

Will HDMI offer an advantage over Component when it comes to 1080p video?
Or, is it just a fancier connector.

Consolodation of conductors = does the same job with less wires.

 

[MDS]

Consolodation of conductors = does the same job with less wires.

Yes, the touted advantage is that it can carry both audio and video so you only need one wire. The reality is that there are a lot of bugs, the spec is changing and the cable companies, receiver manufacturers and tv manufacturers blame each other for incompatibility problems. While I'm not a conspiracy theorist in general, I do believe the main reason the industry is pushing for the adoption of HDMI is simply because it is an all digital connection and with a digital connection you can implement copy protection schemes. HDCP is the copy protection scheme being used with HDMI. That is another can of worms with similar problems.

If you search the forums you will find many discussions of HDMI and HDCP. When it works it is wonderful but I personally would not make a requirement for any device I would purchase in the near future due to the numerous problems that people seem to have with it. Component Video cables will carry 1080p no problem.

Now when HD video and high resolution audio becomes mainstream you will be forced to use HDMI...but that day is a long way off.

 

[farscaper]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe its the DRM (Digital Rights Management) that is and will force us all go to HDMI or DVI connections. All the new video players will only provide 1080i/p through either the DVI or HDMI connections. They will downgrade the signal if it goes component.
It not a question which is better (or capable) but how the movie companies will restrain us.

 

[MDS]

Digital Rights Management = Copy Protection. (HDCP = High-bandwidth Digital Copy Protection).

While some studios have said publicly that they will not (at least initially) support the Image Constraint Token which will cause the player to downrez the signal, who knows what will happen down the road.

 

[3x10^8]

Ahh, yes... Just as MDS stated (and to answer your question), HDMI does "consolidate conductors."

In terms of picture capabilities, there is no difference as far as I know. Both are capable of carrying a 1080P signal. In the end, it's simply a matter of what capabilities the manufacturers of either format choose to endow each with.

In terms of what the "wave of the future" is, it will probably be HDMI, as this format can handle the copyright limitations as mentioned in some of the posts above. Furthermore, there are different versions of HDMI and it will not be until HDMI 1.3 that there will be the possibility of carrying the Dolby TrueHD sound. IMO, component video will become obsolete when everything converts over to HD.

 

[SackoHammers]

Thank you very very much everyone.

 

[3x10^8]

Another interesting read, if you're interested....

http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/122868.html

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Furthermore, there are different versions of HDMI and it will not be until HDMI 1.3 that there will be the possibility of carrying the Dolby TrueHD sound. IMO, component video will become obsolete when everything converts over to HD.

Component only carries video. It's possible coax or toslink will be able to carry the new audio formats.

 

[3x10^8]

Component only carries video. It's possible coax or toslink will be able to carry the new audio formats.

I sure hope so.

 

[JMO_PWR]

HDMI also carries audio, however you can think that if HDMI carries both audio and video signals does that reduce either's quality? Im not sure. However i would still rather go with Component + Optical.

 

[Pyrrho]

Are HDMI connectors just a consolidation of conductors?

Lets say 2 years from now I have a 1080p television with HDMI input and Component input.

Is there an advantage to using HDMI on my HD cable box and HDMI on my DVD player over simply using Component from my cable box and Component from my DVD player?

Does it offer something that Component does not in the way of bandwidth? For example, will I find out that I can't do 1080p through component, then necessitating HDMI?
If all it's doing is consolidating wires then I'm not going to waste money on making sure my AVR purchase does HDMI switching.

Your help is greatly appreciated.

HDMI is a digital connection, and component is analog. With a digital source and a digital display (such as an HDTV), if you use component, the video is converted from digital to analog and then sent via the component wire, then converted back to digital again. With HDMI, it is digital all the way. Whether you will see a difference or not will depend upon the particular equipment involved, but the extra conversions back and forth between analog and digital with component video are not going to do the picture any good.

So, no, it is not merely a consolidation of conductors.

Yes, there is an advantage to using HDMI for an HD cable box and a DVD player. The signal remains digital all the way.

1080p can be sent either way. However, not all products are compatible with 1080p inputs, even if, for example, it is a 1080p display that upconverts all incoming signals to 1080p. There are also the copy protection issues, that can make it so that a product will automatically downconvert for the component transfer. Also, there have been bugs in the system, causing problems in some cases with HDMI.

You may not need the switching, if your TV has two HDMI inputs, or an HDMI input and a DVI input, as an adapter can be used to hook up HDMI and DVI (though then it will only be the video that is passed, as DVI is video only).

 

[jonnythan]

HDMI also carries audio, however you can think that if HDMI carries both audio and video signals does that reduce either's quality? Im not sure. However i would still rather go with Component + Optical.

No, it does not reduce the quality.

HDMI is a digital connection, meaning that all of the data sent is received exactly as sent. The cable and interfaces don't care whether the bits they're receiving are meant for audio or video. Any loss of data wouldn't manifest as a loss of quality, it would manifest as noticeable skips and jumps in the audio or video.

HDMI is capable of transmitting more audio bits per second than a Toslink connection, I believe. Toslink is not capable of the new lossless audio formats for HD-DVD/Blu-Ray (as I've been told).

I also thought Component maxed out at 1080i, but I've read people talking about using component for 1080p. I know HDMI certainly does 1080p.

Anyway, in transmitting video data digitally, from, say, an HD-DVD player, you skip the digital -> analog -> digital conversions of component, which could possibly introduce some imperfections in the picture. I hear that's debatable though

 

[Daz3d&Confus3d]

So really what it comes down to right now is: It's all a BIG MESS!!!

Conclusion: Wait and see!