I recently bought an Element 32 in 1080i tv, as well as a Phillips BD player. I'm blown away by how much better the picture looks compared to DVD. My question is this though. Would getting an HDMI cable make the picture quality that much better? My dad keeps telling me to get one, but I dont wanna drop the cash if it isn't that big of an improvement. thanks!

HDMI is the best connection and carries both video and audio. You can get quality cables very cheaply at Monoprice

This

HDMI cables can be had for less than $3. They are a must.

/thread

The only thing you are really missing out on is the up-conversion of DVD through HDMI. That's one of the biggest advantages over component.

honestly ?

theres no point of having BD if you dont have HDMI ...

^Not true. The BD picture using component inputs on an HD display can be excellent. However, as Abe. says above, it does limit DVD upscaling to whatever the display can do on its own (which is sometimes quite good).

Now, if the OP is using S-video, composite, or RF inputs, then I would agree that a BD player would not be much better than a good DVD player.

Like everyone has said HDMI cables improve your viewing pleasure.

It's very unlikely that you bought a 1080i HDTV. Those have been almost completely phased out of the market. Only analog CRT sets can display in interlaced format. All digital displays such as LCD, DLP, or plasma are natively progressive scan.

The TV specs may indicate that it can accept a 1080i input signal, but that signal will be converted to the screen's native resolution.

While I agree with your points, that has nothing to do with the OP's original question about the picture quality using HDMI versus other connections.

Get HDMI - if you like it now, you're eyes will pop out of your head once you have it connected.

Which was answered previously. I'm just trying to provide a little bit more information here.

Again, that may or may not be true, depending on how the OP currently has his BD player connected. If he is using component cables, he'll see no difference with HDMI when viewing BDs. If he uses his BD player for viewing DVDs, then yes he will see an big improvement because HDMI will allow upscaling. If he is currently using composite or S-video, his head will explode when he switches to HDMI, because he isn't seeing HD at all right now.

It'd be nice if the OP would return and participate in the thread he started.

HDMI cables are like $5. Do it.

I was at Fry's last week and someone had a new 50" Samsung LED tv & Blu-Ray player waiting for them near the exit. I wished I'd had some kind of Monoprice.com card I could have slipped into the BR box as they also had a $100 Monster HDMI cable in the pile.

I just bought a belkin HDMI cable yesterday, and from what I can tell, the difference is really negligible at best. I was using the regular red, white, and yellow cords the player came with. Just to make sure, I borrowed my dad's monster cable, and still am not seeing a difference over the regular cables at all.

Dude, you have something set-up wrong, then... make sure you set up your player at full resolution.

my players at full resolution. I know for a fact that I'm getting an HD picture, its just that the difference between regular cables an HDMI isn't at all the "leap" I thought it'd be...

Too bad I didn't see this post earlier, because I would have told you there wouldn't be a signficant difference.

When I switched from component cables (R-G-B) to HDMI...I wasn't impressed, either. In fact, the only reason I switched to HDMI was because my HD-XA2 wouldn't upconvert over component. Hell, I would have stuck with component cables, and might I even say, I prefer component cables, even though they are much more bulk compared to a dinky HDMI cable.

As I've said before, HDMI is not a significant "upgrade" over component. The only reason we have HDMI...is because of digital rights management. Sure, we have audio which is now embedded in the cable as well, but that was an after-thought.

So, just think of HDMI as more convenient because it has a bunch of cables spun into one small cable, but not better quality per se.

Thank you sir! I was expecting an HD revelation, but was honestly a little let down with my new cable....

glass, are you sure you were using regular composite cables and not component?

There is no way you went from composite to HDMI and saw no difference. You can't pass an HD signal over composite. If you had component and switched to HDMI, that would make more sense.

Edit: Also, the larger the size of your TV, the more you will be able to see the benefits of HD. The fact that you've got a 32 inch television is going to be a factor in why you're not seeing much of a difference.

AFAIK component is analog and HDMI is digital. If your display is digital (LCD, plasma, DLP) there will be a major difference between component and HDMI, as is the case with my 32-inch Viewsonic LCD.

Red Alert!

You are not getting HD. Unless you've plugged the yellow/white/red cables into the component jacks (red, blue, cyan)...which will work (albeit the white/red audio cables are likely not properly shielded).

I'm with Polizei on component cables. Component cables are generally regarded as about 90% as good as HDMI - I never saw a difference on my projector at 105". I use HDMI simply for the cable reduction and audio capabilities. And honestly I'm not sure if it's worth the copy protection annoyance (intermittent HDMI issues generally fixed by some power cycling).

I have to agree with some of the posters of not being able to see that much of difference between component cables and HDMI. The difference is noticable, but to the untrained eye (i.e. my parents or my wife) there is no difference at all. The biggest benefit in my opinion is the ability of HDMI to carry a TOTAL DIGITAL audio and video signal through one wire! I've been a home theater buff for about 15 years now, and I always hated connecting 6 or more cables to the back of my TV and Receiver. Now with HDMI, I can pass all my sources through my receiver and then have 1 HDMI cable going to my TV. This is truly a godsend for those who have a LCD/Plasma mounted on the wall or for those of us that also have an HD projector. The only drawback is the price for HDMI cables, but if you're saavy like most of us DVD Talkers, you'll be able to find high quality cables for a few bucks.

Come to think of it, 1saleaday.com had Monster Cable 20ft gold HDMI cables for $14.99. I picked up 5 of them and are going to sell them for $50 each. Not a bad way to make some profit!

That is what I assumed he was doing when he said he doesn't see a difference. That would be the only explanation...