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Got a HDTV and HD service, BUT..... wtf

M

mac000

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 6, 2005
679
0
so i have comcast as my local label company and my gf picked up the HD box. we got the digital cable + the HD service w/ HBO.

I'm setting the thing up but i notice there is NO HDMI connection its just component. Ypb, pr whatever.

What gives? did i get the wrong box, are they jipping me? Arn't i suppose to connect the HD box to the HDTV w/ a HDMI connection?
 
HDMI is a better picture quality than component but you'll still get a very good HD picture with component.
 
Blackheart said:
HDMI is a better picture quality than component but you'll still get a very good HD picture with component.
Click to expand...


Oh i know, BUT i'm angry/confused why this HD box i got from cocast is not being connected to my tv via HDMI
 
Yeah, HDMI is not quite as ubiquitous as you might think... but it's been my experience (from having the same make/model HD cable box connected to two TVs, one with HDMI and one with component) that there is no discernible difference between HDMI and component when it comes to picture quality. The only advantage HDMI has is that it's one cable, versus 4 or 5 for component + audio.

Not to mention, you might want to keep that HDMI port free, in case you ever get an HD-DVD or Blu-ray player and you need to use HDMI to allow full 1080i/1080p playback.
 
clayj said:
but it's been my experience (from having the same make/model HD cable box connected to two TVs, one with HDMI and one with component) that there is no discernible difference between HDMI and component when it comes to picture quality.
Click to expand...
I would agree - especially given that cable is going to compress things a bit anyway in many situations, so it's not like you're unable to get full 1080p quality with component that you'd be getting with HDMI. I see visible improvement watching OTA HD vs cable HD on the same set. Not a dramatic improvement, but discernible.
 
clayj said:
Yeah, HDMI is not quite as ubiquitous as you might think... but it's been my experience (from having the same make/model HD cable box connected to two TVs, one with HDMI and one with component) that there is no discernible difference between HDMI and component when it comes to picture quality. The only advantage HDMI has is that it's one cable, versus 4 or 5 for component + audio.

Not to mention, you might want to keep that HDMI port free, in case you ever get an HD-DVD or Blu-ray player and you need to use HDMI to allow full 1080i/1080p playback.
Click to expand...



here comes the PS3! haha:D
 
so i have the 32" LG HDTV from circuit city, (i'd post a link but i dont think it would direct u to the right page)

anyways, i've been watching tv here and there, we've had some people over tonight and i haven't gotten a chance to mess around with the tv.

but i want to know, what is going to give me the better picture? 720p or 1080i.

i have the LG 32LC2DU.
 
mac000 said:
so i have the 32" LG HDTV from circuit city, (i'd post a link but i dont think it would direct u to the right page)

anyways, i've been watching tv here and there, we've had some people over tonight and i haven't gotten a chance to mess around with the tv.

but i want to know, what is going to give me the better picture? 720p or 1080i.

i have the LG 32LC2DU.
Click to expand...
Which will be better? That's hard to say.

720p is going to look smoother than 1080i, since it's progressive (the entire frame is drawn all at once) vs. interlaced (where half the lines are drawn in one frame, the other half are drawn in the next frame)... but 1080i will give more detail. And of course, HD TV shows are shown in one format OR the other: NBC, Fox, and CBS use 1080i, while ABC uses 720p. You don't have any choice about this, so it's not worth worrying about.
 
clayj said:
Which will be better? That's hard to say.

720p is going to look smoother than 1080i, since it's progressive (the entire frame is drawn all at once) vs. interlaced (where half the lines are drawn in one frame, the other half are drawn in the next frame)... but 1080i will give more detail. And of course, HD TV shows are shown in one format OR the other: NBC, Fox, and CBS use 1080i, while ABC uses 720p. You don't have any choice about this, so it's not worth worrying about.
Click to expand...



leave it at 1080i you say?
 
clayj said:
Really, I think unless you have VERY sharp vision, you will not really notice any difference between 720p and 1080i... so my advice is to try both settings and see which one you think looks better.
Click to expand...
The TV should auto change from 720p to 1080i.
 
I'm pretty sure the LG 32LC2DU's resolution is 1366x768. I have to say I think its a tad silly that LCD TVs often come with a resolution of 1366x768 because its slightly higher than 720p meaning to fill the screen the image has to be ever so slightly scaled up.
720p video will be scaled up slightly whilst 1080i video will be scaled down so you might as well leave it set to automatic if there's a choice.
 
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