HDMI VS Component
Okay, this is a topic that almost everybody has an opinion on. Before you can really have a fair fight between the two, there are a few things you need to know first. I’ll start with some basic explanations just in case your not totally clear on how each connection works.
HDMI
HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) is an uncompressed, digital audio/video interface with a bandwidth of 5 Gbps. Now, before you A/V geeks out there start posting blogs about how HDMI can carry 10 Gbps, I am referring to HDMI 1.1 not 1.3. In addition to carrying uncompressed video, HDMI carries 8-channels, of 192kHz, 24-bit uncompressed audio. HDMI can also carry compressed audio formats such as Dolby or DTS. HDMI has a recommended max distance of 30’
Component
Component is an analog connection, delivering the signal as a set of varying voltages representing the red, blue and green components of the signal instead of sending it as a bitstream like HDMI. Component video is the only analog video connection capable of carrying a progressive image. Component is capable of running long distances up to 200’ without losing signal quality.
So……….Which is better? This is where it gets confusing.
I’m sure you’ve heard people say HDMI is better because it’s a digital format, therefore it can be delivered directly to the display without having to undergo any kind of conversion. The result being a no loss, no alteration, perfect reproduction of the signal. That’s not really the case, digital signals are encoded in different ways and have to be scaled and processed in order to be displayed. So, in either case there are conversions happening, whether its digital to digital or analog to digital. Which one looks better really depends on the quality of the processor and scaler in your gear. Now, remember to keep this a fair fight, the source that your comparing the two formats on cannot exceed 1080i. For example, if you have a 1080p display and a blu-ray player, it wouldn’t be fair to compare the HDMI output and the component output since component wont send 1080p. But wait????? Didn’t you just say component will display a progressive image? Yes, component will display a progressive image and YES component is capable of sending 1080p BUT….thanks to the AACS (Advanced Access Content System) your blu-ray player wont output 1080p from component because its not copy protected. If you want to do a fair comparison of the two make sure your source gear is outputting 720p from both HDMI and component. I say use 720p instead of 1080i since it is progressive and will look smoother when it comes to faster moving images.
So………Who wins?
Unfortunately, I cant say which is better because they both have their pro’s and con’s. Try them both, see which one looks better. You have to be the referee in the this fight since it’s your display and your source gear that are variables in the equation.
by Jay Sorrells