HD TELEVISION EQUIPMENT

In the High Definition arena there is really no difference in picture quality to be had between Component (red,green,blue with red and white audio) and HDMI regardless of what the so called ‘Experts’ at your local Best Buy might tell you! Nope, the only difference is in how the signal transfer is accomplised, digitally in the case of HDMI vs analog with Component. I’ll not even go into composite cables (red,yellow,white) other than to say if this or ‘S-Video’ are your current connections then indeed, upgrade ASAP.

One word of advice, Monster Brand cables will do absolutely nothing more for your reception than a $30 dollar set of either HDMI or Component but they will drain your wallet in a big hurry. Be aware, this is a scam they REALLY push at Best Buy and it’s a scam indeed! Consider this, HDMI is digital and thus ALL info is transmitted as 0′s and 1′s. Neither of these numbers could care less if they travel on a $30 dollar cable or one costing $150, the nature of digital is that you either recieve a signal or you don’t, a picture or a completly black screen. Don’t be suckered, stick to ANY cable in the $20-$40 range in either flavor be it HDMI or Component and you’ll be assured of as good a picture as you’ll ever get.

Now as a rule this advice holds true but there are exceptions to this of course. Some DVD players will only transmit at the higher definitions with an HDMI connection as this is how the manufacturer set them up, while others can do so with either type of connection. Oh, and there are options for ‘hacking’ some of the HDMI only players via a simple code accessed from the remote control, handy advice if you run out of connection options what with game consoles and such eating them up in rapid fashion.

So there you go, no real reason to buy a cable unless you really need one thus freeing up that gift card for games, DVD’s or CD’s instead, all of which are much more fun than a cable! Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.