[Nick]

The answer(s) may surprise you. Finally, an understandable explanation of the differences
between HDMI/DVI and Component video connections.

(Our sincere thanks to the good folks at Blue Jeans Cable for providing a comprehensive
response to the videophile's eternal question, "which is better, HDMI or Component?")

As DVI and HDMI connections become more and more widely used, we are often asked: which is better, DVI (or HDMI) or component video? The answer, as it happens, is not cut-and-dried.

First, to clear away one element that can be confusing: DVI and HDMI are exactly the same as one another, image-quality-wise. The principal differences are that HDMI carries audio as well as video, and uses a different type of connector, but both use the same encoding scheme, and that's why a DVI source can be connected to an HDMI monitor, or vice versa, with a DVI/HDMI cable, with no intervening converter box.

The upshot of this article--in case you're not inclined to read all the details--is that it's very hard to predict whether a digital DVI or HDMI connection will produce a better or worse image than an analog component video connection. There will often be significant differences between the digital and the analog signals, but those differences are not inherent in the connection type and instead depend upon the characteristics of the source device (e.g., your DVD player) and the display device (e.g., your TV set). Why that is, however, requires a bit more
discussion. ...

To read the full article, go to http://bluejeanscable.com/articles/dvihdmicomponent.htm

(Blue Jeans Cable is a Certified Assembler of Belden cable products by Belden CDT,
a leading manufacturer of precision video, data, and audio cable.)

 

[Nick]

BTW, check out Blue Jeans Cable's linked Index of Articles about cables. The links take
you to articles written to help people understand cable theory. You might find them useful.