A question on video interconnects (1 Viewer)

[Tom Boucher]

Having realized after getting my new Outlaw 990 and the cabling options that I've slept since I last understood the interconnects of home theaters I thought I'd ask a question.

Is there an advantage in quality comparing Component, DVI, and HDMI?

Meaning I ordered DVI because my TVs have it, only to discover that when Time Warner told me the new HD DVR had 'DVI' on it they meant HDMI and I didn't check before I ordered a little 0.5m jumper cable to go from the box to the 990.

But I've got component outs, component switching in the 990 with upconvert, and component on my TV as well.

Do I bother buying a DVI to HDMI cable and using DVI to run my TV ? or just go with component and for what I have now it's fine?

My TV is about 3 or 4 years old, got it in late 2001. My DVD player is a few years old and it has no DVI/HDMI, and then my SA 8300HD DVR has component, and HDMI out.

Thanks for your help

 

[ChristopherDAC]

DVI and HDMI are equivalent as far as video goes: the difference is that HDMI will also pass an audio signal.

As for whether there is an advantage over a component connexion, in principle keeping a digital signal digital is the cleanest route. Your TV, after all, will almost certainly apply analog-digital conversion to the component inputs in order to do its processing tricks, so rather than run the digital CATV signal through a digital-digital decoder, then a digital-analog convertor, than an analog-digital convertor, then another digital-analog convertor [assuming this is a tube set], one can just connect the two endpoints with a digital cable. In practice, results vary; HDMI/DVI somemtimes have "handshaking" issues and so forth.