HDMI or component for HR10?

[oumed]

I just received a Panasonic TH-42PH9UK (http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ModelDetail?displayTab=O&storeId=11201&catalogId=13051&itemId=98054&catGroupId=14624&modelNo=TH-42PH9UK&surfModel=TH-42PH9UK) plasma display. A Hughes HR10-250 will be here soon. I also have a Yamaha RX-V659 (http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/productdetail.html?CNTID=200506&CTID=5000300) A/V receiver but it is not HDMI compatible. I would consider running an HDMI cable directly to the plasma from the HR10 if the quality is better.

Does anyone have an opinion on the picture quality using the HDMI from the HR-10 vs component connections? If component is used, will the signal degrade if it runs from the HR-10 to the A/V receiver then to the plasma display?

[tiggermanh]

I just received a Panasonic TH-42PH9UK (http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ModelDetail?displayTab=O&storeId=11201&catalogId=13051&itemId=98054&catGroupId=14624&modelNo=TH-42PH9UK&surfModel=TH-42PH9UK) plasma display. A Hughes HR10-250 will be here soon. I also have a Yamaha RX-V659 (http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/productdetail.html?CNTID=200506&CTID=5000300) A/V receiver but it is not HDMI compatible. I would consider running an HDMI cable directly to the plasma from the HR10 if the quality is better.

Does anyone have an opinion on the picture quality using the HDMI from the HR-10 vs component connections? If component is used, will the signal degrade if it runs from the HR-10 to the A/V receiver then to the plasma display?


I have a sony 60" SXRD set and I went ahead and ran component from the HD10 to my receiver and from the receiver component to the TV. I used monster cables.

I do have an HDMI cable ran from the HD10 to the TV on a separate input, and never use it as I dont notice much, if any, signal difference between the two inputs....even though technically I should.

[boltjames]

Forgetting the picture quality for a moment, one thing I just learned in my fresh install is that Dolby Digital 5.1 does not function over HDMI and my Sony flashes an "incompatible audio signal" warning every time I tune in a program in DD.

My advice is to use component for video and optical for audio. You'll get DD and picture quality good enough not to notice.

[Seminole]

I just disconnected my HDMI cable and like component better. The reason I did it was so I could pass through native resoulutions instead of 720p being upconverted to 1080i. I am looking forward to watching football this weekend OTA to see if there is any difference but so far I have seen very little if any and the little I see I think is better than the HDMI hook up. I guess everyones eyes are different try them both and see what looks best to you

[A.C.]

I have a Mitsu WD-52725, and what I notice is that via component, the picture looks a little darker than via HDMI. Test it and see if you see the same thing.

[Arcady]

Forgetting the picture quality for a moment, one thing I just learned in my fresh install is that Dolby Digital 5.1 does not function over HDMI and my Sony flashes an "incompatible audio signal" warning every time I tune in a program in DD.

DD 5.1 works fine over HDMI. Your TV set does not know how to decode 5.1 signals sent in via HDMI.

[boltjames]

DD 5.1 works fine over HDMI. Your TV set does not know how to decode 5.1 signals sent in via HDMI.

Sorry......thanks for the clarification......either way, the OP needs to know that his panel might not have a built in DD decoder and thus if he uses HDMI for audio he will have to switch this feature 'off' on the HR10 and lose DD on both his panel and his receiver.

If your panel is not DD compatible over HDMI (as is my brand new Sony XBR2) then the only way to get stereo over the panel and DD out of the receiver is to use component for the panel video, RCA L/R for the panel audio, and optical for the receiver audio. It's the only way to keep the HR10's DD function in the 'on' position and be able to hear sound from both the panel and the receiver.

BJ

[xmenxmenxmen]

Sorry......thanks for the clarification......either way, the OP needs to know that his panel might not have a built in DD decoder and thus if he uses HDMI for audio he will have to switch this feature 'off' on the HR10 and lose DD on both his panel and his receiver.

If your panel is not DD compatible over HDMI (as is my brand new Sony XBR2) then the only way to get stereo over the panel and DD out of the receiver is to use component for the panel video, RCA L/R for the panel audio, and optical for the receiver audio. It's the only way to keep the HR10's DD function in the 'on' position and be able to hear sound from both the panel and the receiver.

BJ

Why not just use the optical out with the hdmi. Use hdmi just for video and let the audio be handle by optical. At least that's how I am feeding the video into my pj and audio into the receiver.

[jaguar325]

I have been a fan of Yamaha receivers since the days of the 1070. It used to be that you'd be crazy to run video through the receiver because there was noticable degradation (at the time, only options were composite and S). Since they went digital, I can see no difference in the picture between the cable routing through the receiver vs. directly to the TV. If you have the right model, this means you can run one component feed from the "monitor out" to the TV and run all your inputs through the receiver. Mine will even upconvert composite and S to component. For this capability alone, I would pick component over HDMI (assuming you don't have a receiver with HDMI in/out). I just got a Sony XBR LCD and hooked the HR10-250 both ways and saw no difference at all between component and HDMI. There is a slight delay in my set when you switch to the HDMI input which I assume is tied to it needing to decode the input. Since I didn't like this, I used the component connection. Also, web research turned up some compatibility issues some people are having with HDMI and another factor in favor of component is that it can be used for much longer runs than HDMI.

[jmrife]

I run mine through my Denon Receiver, switching between the TiVo and my DVD player, using component.

Doubt you can detect a difference between component and HDMI connections.

[oumed]

I should have indicated in my original post that I plan to use optical audio from the HR10 to the A/V receiver to get Dolby 5.1, and either HDMI from the HR10 directly to the plasma or instead component video from the HR10 to the receiver and then to the plasma. After reading the above posts and others from another website, I think I will try component first for the HR10. The DVD player also has HDMI capability that can be used with optical audio. I only have one HDMI input on the plasma, so perhaps I will try using HDMI for the DVD and component for the HR10.

[Indiana627]

Just got my HR10 last weekend and I like component better than HDMI (although maybe better cables than the ones it comes may make a difference). My HR10 is connected directly to my TV for video and then audio to receiver via optical.

[ShiningBengal]

Just got my HR10 last weekend and I like component better than HDMI (although maybe better cables than the ones it comes may make a difference). My HR10 is connected directly to my TV for video and then audio to receiver via optical.

Better cables will make no difference. HDMI is digital. Either the signal is decoded or it isn't. That's all there is to it. You can use solid gold connectors and cables...no difference. :D

[PowerstrokeHD]

I should have indicated in my original post that I plan to use optical audio from the HR10 to the A/V receiver to get Dolby 5.1, and either HDMI from the HR10 directly to the plasma or instead component video from the HR10 to the receiver and then to the plasma. After reading the above posts and others from another website, I think I will try component first for the HR10. The DVD player also has HDMI capability that can be used with optical audio. I only have one HDMI input on the plasma, so perhaps I will try using HDMI for the DVD and component for the HR10.

I have 2 Panasonic 8UK's hooked up to HR10-250's. One is HDMI the other is component. Lets just say they are both excellent but I am not running out to get a second HDMI card. Component though I also have to agree is sometimes the winner. It is really a matter of personal preference, try it both ways with the HR10-250 and DVD player and see what you prefer. I do recommend though if you don't plan on running anything more than the DVD and HR10-250, to hook up component directly to the plasma rather than to the receiver then to the plasma.

Also remember the TH-42PH9UK uses BNC connectors for component connections. I have nothing against Monster other than price and having to use RCA/BNC adaptors. I much prefer BlueJeans Cable for all my cables. They have custom RCA/BNC components at a very reasonable price. Monoprice is the place for HDMI cables though.

[TyroneShoes]

I have a sony 60" SXRD set and I went ahead and ran component from the HD10 to my receiver and from the receiver component to the TV. I used monster cables.

I do have an HDMI cable ran from the HD10 to the TV...I dont notice much, if any, signal difference between the two inputs....even though technically I should.
Well, that may be a popular misconception, as there is nothing inherently better about PQ via one vs. the other in this application (of course there is a strong argument that there is nothing inherently better about Monster cables, either, but that's a subject for a different day).

The signal path from HDMI is HDMI transmitter chip in the STB - HDMI receiver chip in the TV set - D-to-A conversion in the TV set - post processing as analog in the TV set. The signal path from component is D-to-A conversion in the STB - post processing as analog in the TV set. The only thing different is that for component the DAC in the STB does the conversion to analog, while for HDMI the DAC in the TV set does the conversion to analog. Don't be fooled into thinking that HDMI preserves digital all the way, as every display converts all digital signals to analog at some point.

Modern DACs are all pretty much the same, and there is as little difference in what one or the other does to PQ as there is difference between what two mid-level CD players do to sound quality. IOW, there is very little difference, and the end result should be indistinguishable in most cases. In rare cases one will prevail, but the deciding factor is the quality of the DAC, not whether it is HDMI or component.

There is the issue of moving an analog signal from STB to TV using component (as compared to moving it in the digital domain using HDMI), but that is a closed circuit short path, and it would be very unusual for anything (analog artifacting or deterioration) to go wrong, probably about as unusual as it might be for something to go wrong with the HDMI transmit/ HDMI receiver connection. One exception would be long (12m+) component cable runs, but even then 99% of the tiny attenuation and chroma rolloff issues could be compensated for by minimal chroma and brightness adjustments at the display.

Adding a trip through an AV receiver might also complicate things, but that is unlikely, unless the frequency response of the component circuitry is not wide enough to pass HD video, but that is also unlikely. It is a Yamaha, after all, and they make top-flight AV receivers. Just the same, HD over component is a fairly new phenomenon (last few years), so older AVRs might not handle it as well.

I have an HR10 connected by component to my 60" Sony, sitting next to another HR10 connected by HDMI. No difference whatsoever

[Indiana627]

Better cables will make no difference. HDMI is digital. Either the signal is decoded or it isn't. That's all there is to it. You can use solid gold connectors and cables...no difference. :D
Would getting better component cables improve the PQ at all? Not that it's bad now, but any kind of improvements are welcome.

[TyroneShoes]

Doubtful. There would have to be something drastically wrong with the cables you have to see a significant improvement from replacing them, regardless of the quality or expense.

[boltjames]

Why not just use the optical out with the hdmi. Use hdmi just for video and let the audio be handle by optical. At least that's how I am feeding the video into my pj and audio into the receiver.

My setup is in the great room and it's the family TV. So I need non DD to go to the Sony panel to play through its speakers and I need DD to go to the Sony receiver for those occassions when dad wants to fire up the DD system.

Is there a discreet remote code for the HR10's audio setup screen where it's DD on/off? If there's a way I can program a button in my universal remote to toggle it on/off that would put this scenario to bed for me.

BJ

[phox_mulder]

I have both HDMI and Component hooked up now.

I was planning on not using HDMI at all, based on reports of bad HDMI I read here, so I got myself a 3-1 Component/Toslink (fiber optic digital audio) switch.
Component looked muted, but it also looked muted when watching the DVD player.
Figured out the switch was to blame, removed video from the switch, only using it for Toslink now.

Hooked the DVD player directly to the TV via component, hooked the HR10 directly to the TV via component, both looked stunning.
Only have 2 component inputs, so in preperation for future toys, I hooked the HR10 to the TV via HDMI and tried it, and as far as I can tell, it looks exactly the same.

Guess I'll continue using it till either the HDMI dies, or I get a new toy that has HDMI.


phox