As game developers start pushing the PlayStation 3’s capabilities to the max you may start to wonder; what is the best way to watch these high-definition games? Assuming that you already have your HD television set, the question now is; should I use an HDMI cable or a component cable? The good folks over at Nyko were kind enough to send us their HDMI and component cables to test out and play with.
What is HDMI?
High Definition Multimedia Interface, or better yet known as HDMI, is an evolution of DVI if you will. While DVI is only able to carry digital video, HDMI ups the ante by carrying both digital video and audio. HDMI cables can support any television or computer video format along with multi-channel digital audio.
What is Component Video?
While HDMI can be classified as an evolution of DVI, component video is then an evolution of both composite video (yellow, white, red) and s-video. Component video cables are easily identified by their red, green, and blue connectors and since component video offers better signal clarity over s-video and composite, the end result is better picture quality. One key piece of knowledge is that component video is transmitted in analog format and only carries video signals.
What are the advantages of HDMI?
The biggest advantage that HDMI holds over other cables such as a component cable is quality. Since HDMI is all-digital, there are no conversions which can lower the quality of the video. Another upside is that HDMI can send video and audio with one cable, which saves you the hassle, and possible cost, of dealing with multiple cables.
What are the advantages of Component Video?
While HDMI cables can lose quality over a long distance and require such things as a repeater, component video cables can run roughly the same distance without having to use such things. That’s not saying that you can have a 500 foot cable and expect a perfect picture, but for a reasonable distance, component video cables usually manage quite well.
What are the disadvantages of HDMI?
Arguably the largest disadvantage of using an HDMI cable is that a longer cable can result in a loss of quality. This generally isn’t a problem if everything is plugged into a single entertainment center and even if you did want to hook up another TV in your house with high-definition goodness; higher quality cables or repeaters are available which can retain your quality. Another disadvantage is that there is no true standard for HDMI. They have HDMI 1.1, 1.2, 1.2a and so on. Although the connector for each cable is the same, things inside the cable have the ability to do different things.
What are the disadvantages of Component Video?
Quite possible the most talked about disadvantage is the fact that component video displays in analog format. While analog is not generally a bad thing, it does require format conversoins with your PS3, which can result in a loss of quality although some people will state that the loss is so small, it is hardly noticeable. Another disadvantage is that component video cables only carry video signals and no audio.
How are the two the same?
While HDMI and Component each have their set of advantages and disadvantages, they both share the same goal which is to provide the high definition experience. Although they achieve this goal in different ways both cables can provide the essential 720p signals as well as 1080i and 1080p. Take into note that only a small amount of TV’s have the ability to display 1080p using component cables.
Verdict
While HDMI may perform better in most aspects, it is inaccurate to flat out say that HDMI is better than component video. Just because HDMI uses a digital signal does not always imply that you will get a better picture. Although, if your source is digital such as the PS3 in this case, then HDMI is a better choice, but if your using anything like cable based providers then analog may be the better choice for you. The way that both cables handle video is significantly different from each other and are largely dependent on your own personal home theater setup, this pretty much declares that there is no real 100% winner as to which is better.
So why is Nyko in this articles title?
It’s very simple; Nyko was kind enough to send both their HDMI cable and their HD-Link cable, also known as the component cable to play with. Expensive cables such as Monster cables offer no real significant improvement over any other cables to warrant their hefty price tag.
So why Nyko?
Nyko’s two cables feature the same exact thing that monster cables do and are a hell of a lot cheaper. Nyko’s component cable offers 1080p resolution and high-end connectors while their HDMI cable also offers the 1080p resolution but with 24k gold connectors, 3 layers of cable protection, and the latest HDMI cable specification.
Credit goes to Badz on our forums for taking the time to help proofread this article.