HDMI or Component: Which is Best?

HDMI or Component: Which is Best?

You've just bought a new HDTV, complete with HDMI connector and are delighted
that you had the foresight to buy a DVD player with HDMI interface a while ago,
even though you couldn't use HDMI at the time.

So you can ignore those component outputs and inputs and plug an HDMI cable
between your two favourite bits of home theater kit. After all, HDMI, being all
digital, is bound to be better than component, isn't it?

Well, no, actually. Not necessarily. It's true that convering a DVD signal to analog,
sending it over component video and then switching it back to digital in the TV will
result in a slight degradation of picture quality. And it's true that HDMI removes this
issue. However, the degradation in the signal over component is virtually
imperceptable and HDMI does introduce a few problems of its own.

Firstly, although DVD players "up-convert" video from 420p resolution to the native
resolution of the HDTV (720p or 1080i), the signal still has to be "re-clocked" in the
television before it is displayed. Some experts suggest that this re-clocking
introduces more artefacts than the process of digital-to-analog-to-digital
conversion. And the quality of the processor in the DVD player doing the "up-
converting" is important here, if it's not up to scratch that could have a negative
impact on picture quality.

Secondly, any equipment with HDMI (or DVI for that matter) connectors must
support an anti-piracy measure known as HDCP (High Bandwidth Digital Content
Protection). This takes the form of a code which is embedded into the digital video
signal when its sent from a content player, such as a DVD player, and must be de-
coded by the HDTV or HD projector. This puts additional pressure on the TV's video
processor with no benefit to picture quality and so could, potentially, result in a
slight loss in picture quality.

Using component video connections means that no anti-piracy protection is
necessary.

None of this means that you should avoid HDMI. However, it does mean that you
shouldn't take it for granted that HDMI will always be better than component. The
only way to find out which is best for your equipment is to try both and see which
one you prefer.

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