I have a samsung DLP, and I am connecting a upconvert Phillips DVD Player through component cables. I cant tell any difference at all from a DAEWOO progressive scan player hooked up through component The player didnt come with the HDMI cable, but I have heard that they are of the same quality and it really doesnt matter when it comes to component vs HDMI. My surround sound only supports optical and digital, which poses a problem for the Phillips player.?? any suggestions or thoughts?

I also have been debating to switch to a hdmi cable box instead of just the plain old component box, is there really a difference, and I am watching this on a 42 samsung dlp the S model
(new model)

6/30/2006 9:51:13 AM

"Upcoverting" is just marketing hype for the most part. A normal DVD isn't HD, no matter how you spin in. Progressive scan is going to be progressive scan no matter which player (to an extent obviously...a Pioneer Elite would outshine lower models, for example).

There honestly is not much difference between HDMI and component. I have never seen a visable difference in any setup. I use component from my HD-DVR and DVD player and think it's excellent. I hate HDMI because I don't want my video & audio in one cable; I want video running to the TV and audio running to the receiver via a optical cable.

Stick w/ component, return the POS Phillips, and don't buy into marketing hype.

6/30/2006 9:56:13 AM

Thanks,

that was my thoughts exactly

6/30/2006 10:01:19 AM

Quote :

"There honestly is not much difference between HDMI and component. I have never seen a visable difference in any setup."

Plenty of places online that used tests discs and probably have more experience than you report improvements with upconverting. And I don't mean in a hyped way either, stated plainly, it seems to help.

Quote :

"I hate HDMI because I don't want my video & audio in one cable; I want video running to the TV and audio running to the receiver via a optical cable."

So let me get this straight, you'd rather run 3 thick cables with older connection technology to your TV + another cable to your receiver rather than running 1 thick cable with better connection technology to your TV + 1 to your receiver?

Yea, that makes sense!

6/30/2006 10:47:15 AM

My reciever does not have a HDMI input...as most peoples dont. therfore i would be sacraficing sound through my reciever. As for the pic quality [And I don't mean in a hyped way either, stated plainly, it seems to help.] (doesn't sound very plain and clear to me haha IT SEEMS TO HELP??? they are in fact very close in comparison from every real user messae board that I have seen. Maybe through test centers or 6,000$ televisions u may be able to tell a differene but in most cases not to the naked eye. HDMI is convienent if your reciever has the input but if not its not worth forfeiting the sound! plain and simple

6/30/2006 10:59:48 AM

I was bummed when I found out my HD set didnt have HDMI or DVI at first, but Component is just as good to the naked eye


there's a website out there that does screen captures of digital vs. analog (HDMI/DVI vs Component) and the difference was minimal. you won't be able to tell

6/30/2006 11:11:39 AM

Quote :

"My reciever does not have a HDMI input...as most peoples dont."

Exactly.

And I'm not about to go out and replace every component cable I have w/ an HDMI cable for a .30239% increase in clarity, or whatever they say. If I personally can't see a noticeable difference, I'm not buying it. I could care less what the specs say. Monster Cables also say their "gold plated" tips make the signal look better. Hah.

Each person is different; if you go out and view a test setup and can SEE a difference that would be worth your money, go for it. I'm just saying I doubt the normal viewer can.

6/30/2006 11:15:30 AM

I mostly agree about hdmi vs component, not much difference usually.

But connecting my computer to my Tosh DLP through HDMI is 1000X better than components, for some reason.

6/30/2006 11:52:23 AM

^ I haven't had the greatest experience trying to get good component signal out of computers/HTPCs. I'd always stick to VGA, DVI, or HDMI out of a PC.

6/30/2006 12:20:05 PM

Quote :

"My reciever does not have a HDMI input...as most peoples dont. therfore i would be sacraficing sound through my reciever."

Huh? Ok, maybe I am a little clueless here, but can you not connect HDMI to the TV, ignoring (or muting) the sound, and connect SPDIF to your receiver for the DD/DTS at the same time?

6/30/2006 12:22:20 PM

Possibly, but the player would have to support dual audio to pipe it out through HDMI and the optical-out at the same time.

Still, the point here is that HDMI isn't worth the money visually; it just doesn't make a visable difference.

6/30/2006 12:23:48 PM

For DVD's, HDMI is not worth it

For XBOX360, HDTV, PC Connections or any other high-def source, HDMI is VASTLY better

6/30/2006 12:52:47 PM

every player i've ever dealt with (quite a few) has been able to output audio over HDMI + optical/SPDIF at the same time.

YMMV.

6/30/2006 12:53:26 PM

well anyways I need a 25 foot or longer digital auio cable... optical or coaxial.. I would be willing to pay cash or just trade out this dvd player away for it..anyone know where I could get one that long?? I dont want to deal with the web, I would prefer to get it asap at a store somewhere!! thanks

6/30/2006 1:17:10 PM

You are going to pay 100-200% more (that two to three times more) if you buy it in town, versus off of ebay or the web somewhere.

If you are in suuch a hurry just go plop down 150 bucks for a monster cable

6/30/2006 1:19:09 PM

I dont want a monster cable??? I want a 25 foot digital audio cable

6/30/2006 1:20:51 PM

You don't want an fiber optical cable that long, they just aren't made to operate in runs of that length.

As for a digital coax audio, you can honestly use any ole RCA cable. It's just a pimped out RCA cable that's probably got a broader range, but for the time being just use any RCA cable and order one from partsxpress.com.

Why? Because ANY retail place you go trying to purchase one will rip you the hell off.

6/30/2006 1:21:06 PM

Uhhhh.

What?

6/30/2006 2:47:18 PM

Toslink cables don't work well with long runs. They'd need repeaters to work well at that distance.

I'm instructing him to get a 25ft. coax digital cable, but to order one online to save $alaska. In the meantime, you can use a vanilla RCA cable and it'll serve the purpose.

6/30/2006 4:08:49 PM

Digital:




Analog:



Standard Def:




I think component is good enough for HDTV, there's probably little visible difference given viewing distance

PCs and XBOX systems will benefit more however

[Edited on June 30, 2006 at 4:16 PM. Reason : hfd]

6/30/2006 4:11:07 PM

Upconvert players generally don't output the upconvert signal through the component output, you have to use the HDMI. You wouldn't see a difference between the component out on one player, and the component out on an upconvert. For a DVD player though, unless you have a crappy TV (like a Westinghouse), you probably won't notice a difference anyway.

Quote :

"every player i've ever dealt with (quite a few) has been able to output audio over HDMI + optical/SPDIF at the same time. YMMV."

Exactly right. ANY player WILL output the digital audio through the HDMI AND its respective SPDIF output. In fact, some players don't even output the surround sound through the HDMI, and if they do, some TVs don't route that digital audio stream properly out its own digital audio out so you can send it to your receiver, so the only way to get the full surround sound anyway is to run the separate audio cable.

[Edited on June 30, 2006 at 4:17 PM. Reason : ]

6/30/2006 4:12:56 PM

haha

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/ele/177056995.html

6/30/2006 4:44:34 PM

Yeah, Best Buy was giving that player away for free with the purchase of HDTVs.

Outside of the HDMI capabilities, it's actually a pretty decent player... it has good DivX compatibility.

6/30/2006 11:34:01 PM

*scratches head* ok Im new to all of this and using HDMI. Are ya'll saying I can run a HDMI cable straight from a set-top box*satellite/TWC* into the back of my tv, but then I could use a optical cable to run from the box into a receiver as well???? I recently bought a HDTV but my receiver doesn't have any inputs/outputs for HDMI. I dont want to go out and buy a new receiver unless I have too. The optical sound is fine as long as I can still run video through HDMI straight to the TV.

9/12/2006 5:03:09 PM

I have an upconvert for my HD, but it says it only upconverts via HDMI, the quality is not bad on component but not worthy of the extra money over progressive scan.........Blue ray on the other hand is ridiculous!!!!!!!! but not worth the 999 best buy is charging especially with the disk price at 30 each

9/12/2006 11:46:32 PM

^^ Yeah, you can have HDMI and a separate optical/digital coax hooked up and it'll work perfectly fine.

I don't get why this is such a difficult concept for some people...

9/13/2006 1:11:00 AM

my only deal is I really cant tell a difference between progressive scan and "upconvert".

9/13/2006 9:53:50 AM

The difference is minor, but you probably just don't know what to look for.

Also, being able to use HDMI simplifies the cables a lot for some people.

9/13/2006 10:50:37 AM

Question about hdmi.....when I hook it up to my dads tv I get NO sound.....had to run a audio cord to get any......is the cable f-ed up?

9/13/2006 10:53:58 AM

No, on some devices you have to specify where you want the sound to go, HDMI, optical/spdif/digital coax, and sometimes both (the audio signal through the HDMI is the same audio signal that goes through the optical/digital coax, so it's no big deal for the manufacturer to make it do both).

This is done in the setup menu.

[Edited on September 13, 2006 at 11:52 AM. Reason : ]

9/13/2006 11:52:23 AM

i have a samnsung upconvert dvd player for my hdtv and it works/looks/plays great. for some reason dvds on a regular dvd player on progressive scan looked like complete shit but i got this dvd player on sale so its all good

9/13/2006 12:01:12 PM

^means your HDTV's signal processing chip is shitty (what brand is it?)

9/14/2006 9:11:12 AM

Quote :

"For XBOX360, HDTV, PC Connections or any other high-def source, HDMI is VASTLY better"

Vastly better enough to not exist.

9/14/2006 10:20:58 AM

wait wait wait... did someone just said a fiber optic toslink won't work at 25 feet? what the hell are you smoking? I've seen runs of up to 100 feet that work fine.

The only cable I've had experience with where the signal shows a serious and noticeable problem is S-video and that's generally because of the interference after 50 feet. I've never once seen a fiber optic cable have issues.

Correct me if I'm wrong but it's a light being reflected and it doesn't require much power to go far. Most of time warners infrastructure is fiber optic.

[Edited on September 14, 2006 at 2:57 PM. Reason : gah spelling ]

9/14/2006 2:57:29 PM