1080p is one of the rare cases were I would say yes you absolutely need HDMI. They even have a wireless HDMI unit coming out if you are insane.
I have my PS3 as my blue DVD player and have it set up with componet cables so I should upgrade with HDMI I also have a new DVD player, how do I know if it up converts
If your DVD upconverts, it will be labeled as such and will have an HDMI output. I was once torn over this -- my TV has only one HDMI input, and I had just bought an upconverting DVD player and didn't know for sure if I'd be losing anything by going component on the cable broadcast. I switched back and forth between component and HDMI repeatedly. I really couldn't tell any noticeable difference. My TV is 720p/1080i so perhaps a 1080p TV would show some difference. But I really couldn't tell the difference, so I went with component for the cable box, stuck the HDMI into the DVD and I have been happy ever since. Btw, if you're not using an upconverting DVD player with your HDTV, you're doing yourself an injustice.
HD-DVD and Bluray are the cases you really need HDMI. Upconverting players not so much. Also there are switchers you can buy where you could have 2 HDMI inputs and one output so you could throw away the components. Now if someone could just point me in the direction of that audio switch I mentioned!
Most upconverting players (except for a couple of high-end models, probably from Oppo Digital) require you to use the HDMI output if you want upconversion. Otherwise you get vanilla 480p. I know, I researched this too. It sucks. And yes, HDMI switches exist. I don't like the idea though especially if they're not remote-controllable (and I don't know if remote-controlled HDMI switches even exist). At the very least you want an active switch rather than a "passive" one, and that's going to set you back in the neighborhood of around $70 or more.
I mentioned this in another thread, but the Oppo DV-970HD has a firmware hack that allows it to upconvert over component. I have one and use it that way and it looks great. Here is a list of the some of the available upconverting over component players Helios H4000 Kingwell HD 1880 LG DVB 418 (Hacked) LG LDA 511 (Hacked) LG LDA 531 (Hacked) Maya Momitsu V880 NeuNeo (see Helios H4000) Oppo 970 (Hacked) Samsung 841 (Hacked) Samsung 941 (Hacked) Zenith DVB 318 (Hacked)
Analog RGB(or VGA) will also handle 1080p ... only problem is while many hdtv's support VGA/RGB input, not too many - probably none at all at this early stage - 1080p devices offer direct output to RGB/VGA (instead they offer component Y'PbPr output that can't handle 1080p - now, does that make sense? ). Fortunately, there are ways to convert digital HDMI to analog RGB/VGA: " ... we checked out some movies using the 360's VGA adapter. The current advantage of using the VGA connector (a $40 accessory) in conjunction with the HD DVD drive is that the VGA connector can pass 1080p with HD DVD movies ..." (LINK)
I need to make a correction here ... although there are ways to convert HDMI to RGB/VGA, the XBOX 360's HD vga adapter doesn't actually do this. Oddly enough, the only way to view 1080p is via the VGA adapter. You actually can't use the HDMI for viewing HD-DVD (brilliant move by MS ) : "Our biggest complaint about the Xbox 360 HD DVD drive is the simple fact that you can't use it to watch discs via HDMI. " You either connect using component for up to 1080i viewing or VGA for 1080p.
you have to have some super eyesight to see the difference. my friend with a 46in 1080p samsung LCD tried both VGA 1080p vs 1080i component for the King Kong HD DVD. we couldn't tell the difference.
I believe you. The movie industry is just a little paranoid I think about those "unprotected" analog 1080p signals ... they'll come around eventually I think. Cuz if I can store a copy in 1080i or 720p via analog .... that's more than enough. Screw HDMI.
Cool deal, thanks for the info. My DVD player does up convert and I currently have it connected via S video cable, I'm probably going to purchase an HDMI cable for the my DVD player and PS3, my TV has 2 HDMI inputs So does the HDMI cable carry both audio and video feeds? Just want to know if, once I have the HMDI cables connected, I can just disconnect my componet cables and S -video connections
