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View Full Version : Hi Def TV help for a friend-please?



Frisco
Sep 21, 2007, 09:25 AM
Hey!

I just an e-mail from a friend. Does she need an HDMI cable or not? Her cable company just came over to hook up her HD signal for her new HD TV.

Her email: "When I bought the iPod at Best Buy I was there to return the HDMI cable (which of course I should have bought on line for probably a third of the cost) and the guy there asked me why I was returning it so I told him when Time Warner came and I showed them the cable he said it wasn't needed. The guy at Best Buy said absolutely not true and we are not getting a true HD picture without it!! He was very nice and showed me how to hook it up and then change the setting on the tv set. Then I was talking to my girlfriends husband who's an engineer and he said he doesn't see why I'd need it since the signal comes in thru the cable wire!!! So you see how confusing this all is to me. I'm going to try to hook it up today unless YOU tell me I don't need it! I do have to say I somehow didn't think the HD channels were quite as great as in the store but the picture is so far superior to our 20 year old tv's that I figure it just has to be HD. HELP!!"

Thanks!


liketom
Sep 21, 2007, 09:37 AM
cables are all about output

if your TV is a Scart cable - it's Standard def, DVI,VGA,Component or HDMI then your in luck as they all can do HD from 720i/p to 1080i/p

(scart is European AFAIK)
Frisco
Sep 21, 2007, 09:39 AM
cables are all about output

if your TV is a Scart cable - it's Standard def, DVI,VGA,Component or HDMI then your in luck as they all can do HD from 720i/p to 1080i/p

(scart is European AFAIK)

Thanks for your help. I am not sure what you mean though. Sorry
liketom
Sep 21, 2007, 09:40 AM
Thanks for your help. I am not sure what you mean though. Sorry

what cable is he using ? to plug from box to tv ?

not this is it????http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ac/Bellingleeconnectorjack.jpg/180px-Bellingleeconnectorjack.jpg

or any of these ?http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/ca/reviews/2005/1220/x158KD26XBR-b_MT.jpg
jsw
Sep 21, 2007, 09:43 AM
I'm assuming she's using component video and audio cables (so five plugs, altogether). Given that cable HD signals are compressed anyway, she'd be hard pressed to see any difference at all between the component and HDMI cables.

She should save her money. The only real plus to HDMI, especially with respect to cable TV, is that it's a much smaller cable.
Frisco
Sep 21, 2007, 09:46 AM
what cable is he using ? to plug from box to tv ?

not this is it????http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ac/Bellingleeconnectorjack.jpg/180px-Bellingleeconnectorjack.jpg

or any of these ?http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/ca/reviews/2005/1220/x158KD26XBR-b_MT.jpg

I am not sure. I just sent her an email to ask her.

Thanks for helping me out!
Frisco
Sep 21, 2007, 09:50 AM
I'm assuming she's using component video and audio cables (so five plugs, altogether). Given that cable HD signals are compressed anyway, she'd be hard pressed to see any difference at all between the component and HDMI cables.

She should save her money. The only real plus to HDMI, especially with respect to cable TV, is that it's a much smaller cable.

Makes sense. Thanks for everyone's help. Boy I am a Hi-Def idiot!
pilotError
Sep 21, 2007, 10:45 AM
You have to try them out.

HDMI Is usually preferrable, but some Cable boxes actually do a little better using component cables.

Generally speaking, the cable companies usually give you component cables, because the HDMI versions are too expensive.