[Emil]

Having too much free time on my hands, i was curious to see the difference component cables made as opposed to to the HDMI I was using on my plasma  . So I dug up some cheap component cables given free by Cablevision and i must say I prefer it over the HDMI. Because I cant leave  well enough alone Im thinking about replacing the cables with something say from Blue Jean cables.
So who here has experiment with different component cables and what were the results?

[Dan Driscoll]

When I got my 58" Sammy plasma I first hooked it up with the set of Rhino component video cables I originally bought for use with a 53" Pioneer HD-RPTV that the Sammy replaced. The Rhinos are very well made, with high quality cable and connectors and the picture looked great...

...until I connected the AudioQuest HDMI cable that came with my Oppo BD-83SE from Music Direct. It was no contest, HDMI looked noticeably better; there was no aspect of the PQ that looked better with the Rhino cables and in most aspects it was worse.

What I did find was that the difference between the $100 AQ cable and a $15 MediaBridge HDMI cable was indistinguishable. The same was true with a $12 BlueRigger HDMI cable. These were 6'/2m cables.

[WC]

I think a lot of the difference could be attributable to your source components and the resolution of your display. The component cable can only carry 1080i resolution to the display while the HDMI can carry 1080p to the display. On a cable box the component may be better since their HDMI support has been average at best from the boxes.

[toxteth ogrady]

Emil,
I have a blue jeans component cable about 4' long. Pm me if you want it, I'll give you a good price.

[ajzepp]

I bought a component cable from BJC several years ago and even my girlfriend at the time felt the picture improved noticeably. The build quality is amazing. I still have it around here somewhere....

I'm pretty fond of BJC's HDMI cable too, though. It's the only one I'll use on my projector.

[Bob in St. Louis]

I've used three lengths of RG-6 for my RGB cables. Works fantastic, is very inexpensive and can be made at home.   

Bob

[Emil]

What really led me to trying component cable was that I was getting "drop-outs" using HDMI. In other words, the picture would go black momentarily and then return. Sometimes this wouldnt happen for days and sometimes constantly. I that case I have to reboot the cable box and things would be fine. I have already replaced the cable box twice. Im suspecting its the cablebox and not the Plasma due to the picture returning to normal after rebooting the box.
Using component cables, I dont have such problems.

[Bob in St. Louis]

You may be having an issue the HDCP "handshake". Basically, those two components don't like each other much through the HDMI ports.

[Emil]

You may be having an issue the HDCP "handshake". Basically, those two components don't like each other much through the HDMI ports.

So this is nothing new? And they have a name for it?

[youravhandyman]

The handshake issue can be caused by a bad cable or bad geometry.  You just can't put a sharp bend on an HDMI and expect longevity.  Might just need to invest in that new HDMI.
I can sell you a "Monster" cable cheap...
Bob, did you need one too?

[Bob in St. Louis]

I'm good on the Monster cables. When the local electronics place when out of business, they had new in the box Monster video cables for $5.
I bought some. 

But yea, Emil, the "Handshake" is the two components having to actually verify each other and prove to each other that neither unit is capable of copying the data being transfered.
HDCP = "High Definition Content Protection". 

So no, it's nothing new. It's actually the reason HDMI was invented. It's not a technically "superior" form of transferring video compared to component cables (RGB).

Bob

[Elizabeth]

The HDMI connection is one of the worst designed things ever.
I have wished many times that the committee which designed the actual configuration of the connector will die horrible deaths due to some trivial  but life saving device with just a stupid design, fails them in a critical moment,, and they DIE. 

Maybe the electrical connection is useable, but the mechanical connection sucks in every way.
I curse them again!! Hah!

Then the stupid 'handshake': I live with a not so great one between my very early Sony Plasma with HDMI and my DVD player.
Most of the time the handshake fails on first turn on. so I have to turn off the DVD player and back on... Not a big deal

I also have hard wired (bent coat hanger wire) supports to keep the HDMI cable firmly in the socket on my TV , and not able to bend. Helps keep the HDMI in place if I swivel the TV.
BluTack can also help do this (I use it on the DVD play HDMI output).. just realize when you pull out the cable it will be a mess. ( Know the Blutack sticks to itself and cleans up it's own mess pretty well with a little patience, dabbing the main chunk on the little bits still stuck all over..)

Oh, yeah, the HDMI connection looks way better on my 720p display, than a component wire connection.
And using a good power conditioner on all the stuf makes an even bigger difference.. (also using input covers like Cardas caps on all the unused inputs) adds to the cleaness of the display)

[Bob in St. Louis]

^ Yea, what she said. 

[youravhandyman]

There is a "locking" HDMI connector solution out there.  This increases the pull strength over 3 times a standard connection.  Would be a solution for some.  There are several brands that use these interlocking cables which require no modification to your source devices.  A quick search for "locking HDMI cables" pulls up a few options (and a lot of crap)  Accell cables were one of the first brands with the technology that just uses some properly placed tabs that fit into slots in standard HDMI jacks.  A small button on the top of the connector lowers the tabs for easy removal. 

[kenreau]

Ditto to the HDMI mechanical connection inept design.  Now I'm wondering if that loose, sloppy HDMI connection is causing many of my signal drop outs I thought may be a handshake issue.  With the usual can of worms cable orgy going on behind my combo HT and 2 channel audio set up, its a frequent headache. 

Great suggestion, I will grab some Blue Tack and Caig ProGold to see what happens.  Also, definitely going to look into those "locking HDMI" connectors.

Thx
Kenreau

The HDMI connection is one of the worst designed things ever.
I have wished many times that the committee which designed the actual configuration of the connector will die horrible deaths due to some trivial  but life saving device with just a stupid design, fails them in a critical moment,, and they DIE. 

Maybe the electrical connection is useable, but the mechanical connection sucks in every way.
I curse them again!! Hah!

Then the stupid 'handshake': I live with a not so great one between my very early Sony Plasma with HDMI and my DVD player.
Most of the time the handshake fails on first turn on. so I have to turn off the DVD player and back on... Not a big deal

I also have hard wired (bent coat hanger wire) supports to keep the HDMI cable firmly in the socket on my TV , and not able to bend. Helps keep the HDMI in place if I swivel the TV.
BluTack can also help do this (I use it on the DVD play HDMI output).. just realize when you pull out the cable it will be a mess. ( Know the Blutack sticks to itself and cleans up it's own mess pretty well with a little patience, dabbing the main chunk on the little bits still stuck all over..)

Oh, yeah, the HDMI connection looks way better on my 720p display, than a component wire connection.
And using a good power conditioner on all the stuf makes an even bigger difference.. (also using input covers like Cardas caps on all the unused inputs) adds to the cleaness of the display)

[Bob in St. Louis]

Propping up the cable would be better than gluing it in the hole. Just to keep the strain off the jack on your AV unit. Those solder joints aren't going to like being responsible for holding up the mass of some of these heavy HDMI cables.

Just my opinion. 
Bob

[Dan Driscoll]

I think a lot of the difference could be attributable to your source components and the resolution of your display. The component cable can only carry 1080i resolution to the display while the HDMI can carry 1080p to the display.

That's going to be the case with almost all BR players, 1080i is the highest rez component video output. If you wanted to do a true test you could set your player to 1080i for the HDMI output, but why bother? The question was whether you get better PQ with component video or HDMI and IME, it's HDMI, hands down. Whether it is because of the 1080i limit on component video or the cable doesn't really matter, does it?

[WC]

That's going to be the case with almost all BR players, 1080i is the highest rez component video output. If you wanted to do a true test you could set your player to 1080i for the HDMI output, but why bother? The question was whether you get better PQ with component video or HDMI and IME, it's HDMI, hands down. Whether it is because of the 1080i limit on component video or the cable doesn't really matter, does it?

I tried it both ways on my setup and it didn't seem to make a noticeable difference to me, but my TV is a 1080i set. I actually have the HDMI and component going from the AVR to the TV on separate inputs. The AVR is upscaling the signal to 1080i on the HDMI signal and just passing through the incoming component signals at their native resolutions, 1080i or 720p on the OTA tuner or 480p on the DVD player and Wii.