HDMI vs. Component

[abrg923]

Would there really be any difference if I hooked my DirecTV up via Component instead of HDMI? I've heard that there's no notable difference at all...can anyone confirm?

[JustinCleveland]

HDMI does allow better color, blacks, and sharper lines. It's not a night-and-day difference, but noticeable. I had two identical TVs and two DVD players playing the same movie, one connected via component, the other HDMI. The contrast was subtle, but noticeable on a 32" monitor; it's much more pronounced on larger sets.

[RocShemp]

There some minute electronic ringing on component vs. HDMI and on larger screens (about 52" onward) component looks "fuzzier" than HDMI.

[yellowlt4]

Using my HD-A2 HD DVD player I find that on my 65" Toshiba the component connection looks better than HDMI.

[musick]

I had my Directv hooked up via HDMI but just recently got a PS3
my tv only has 1 HDMI hook up and I don't have a switch so I decided to hook the PS3 up via HDMI and switch the Directv HD-DVR to component

I switched back and forth between the two inputs and couldn't see any noticable difference at all

this was on a Sony 36" Wega CRT (KD-36XS955)

[DVD Polizei]

Maybe someday I'll find out, but on my current component hookup, the picture looks great. Of course, I can't upconvert retail DVDs because of the HDMI stipulation, so I'll probably be getting an HDMI "module" for my 50" plasma in the future.

[naitram]

I was actually doing a PIP side-by-side comparison today of the same HD DVD (Transformers) running through component and HMDI at the same time from the same player. I have a 51" 1080i CRT RPTV. Here's my humble analysis:

Component:
slightly better color reproduction which I couldn't fully match with changing video settings
slightly deeper blacks

HDMI:
noticeably better black/shadow detail
slightly better white detail

So, though I still think the color is maybe 5% richer and deeper with component, it tends to crush the blacks more. I switched to HDMI mainly due to the better shadow detail. Also sharpness seemed exactly the same between the two.

[DVD Polizei]

Yeah, once I get the HDMI module for my TV I look forward to having the same type of ability to compare HDMI vs. Component as I have PIP abilities.