HDMI vs. Component Video

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Just incase anyone’s wondering: HDMI is noticeably better quality than component even though they are both HD. I had figured since VGA isn’t noticeably better than DVI, the same would apply to HDMI and component, but this just isn’t the case.

All this came about because my monitor only has one HDMI input which is normally used by my computer, but I wanted to hook up my PS3 as well. So I bought a cheap HDMI switch off Newegg, but my monitor would drop the signal from time to time (I’m guessing loose cable connections on the back of the switch) and that’s just not something that you want in the middle of a video game. So, I decided to use the component inputs on my monitor for my PS3. I got the new cables for my PS3 the other day and finally hooked them up and I can indeed tell the difference. Sure, it’s technically 1080p still, but the fine detail just isn’t there. The screen is also noticeably darker. I guess I’ll go back to my switch or just manually switch out my cables (ugh).

So yeah, incase anyone’s wondering whether to hook something up to their HDTV with either HDMI or component cables, without a doubt use HDMI. Don’t learn the hard way like I did.

8 thoughts on “HDMI vs. Component Video”

  2. [quote comment=”154797″]Just get an HDMI-to-DVI cable, and hook your PS3 up to the DVI port (assuming you have one…).[/quote]

    I don’t which is the whole reason I have my computer plugged into my HDMI port via a DVI-to-HDMI cable. If I had a DVI port, I’d just use it for my computer which would free up the HDMI port. 😉

  3. [quote comment=”155760″]I don’t which is the whole reason I have my computer plugged into my HDMI port via a DVI-to-HDMI cable. If I had a DVI port, I’d just use it for my computer which would free up the HDMI port. ;)[/quote]

    Oh, I thought you just had a video card with HDMI output…

    Just don’t cheap out on the HDMI switch then. 😛

  4. [quote comment=”158185″]Oh, I thought you just had a video card with HDMI output…[/quote]

    HDMI is just DVI + audio so if that was the case, I could flip around my current HDMI/DVI cable and plug it into the DVI port you thought I had.

    Although do they even make video cards with only HDMI out? I have a 8800 GT with two DVI outputs + S-Video/composite/whatever.

    [quote comment=”158185″]Just don’t cheap out on the HDMI switch then. :P[/quote]

    It was like $40 as it was. >_< I'm gonna rip the thing apart and see if I can strengthen the cable connections so they aren't loose.

  5. [quote comment=”158409″]HDMI is just DVI + audio so if that was the case, I could flip around my current HDMI/DVI cable and plug it into the DVI port you thought I had.

    Although do they even make video cards with only HDMI out? I have a 8800 GT with two DVI outputs + S-Video/composite/whatever.[/quote]

    I know that HDMI is just DVI with Audio. They make video cards with DVI and HDMI, not sure about just HDMI.

    [quote comment=”158409″]It was like $40 as it was. >_<

    I’m gonna rip the thing apart and see if I can strengthen the cable connections so they aren’t loose.[/quote]

    For something that involves HDMI, $40 seems cheap to me (since manufacturers always make things with HDMI more expensive, for whatever reason). It’s just one of those things where price = quality.

  6. [quote comment=”161311″]For something that involves HDMI, $40 seems cheap to me (since manufacturers always make things with HDMI more expensive, for whatever reason). It’s just one of those things where price = quality.[/quote]

    I have this one. There’s tons on Newegg for about the same price and most are well reviewed, so I didn’t think there would be any problems. *shrug*

  8. Pingback: Is HDMI really better than the standard red/green/blue connectors? - QuestionBin - Intelligent Answers for Smart Questions::Answer

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