|
Bronze Member Username: PkmavenBoynton Beach, FL United States Post Number: 20 Registered: Mar-07 | Box systems usually come with ok speakers, specifically the center channel. This speaker handles 90% of the sound and is the most important. Box systems do not address this fact and often do not have HDMI connectivity. If the flat panel set only resolves 720 lines, you would want the movie to sound and look as good as possible without breaking the bank. A sony HDMI receivere can be bought online for under $300, a DVP with upconvert for under $250, your rental cable box should have an HDMI output on the back. HDMI cables bought online with gold plugs are very inexpensive. Rethink buying a box system that does not have HDMI. P. |
|
Bronze Member Username: MmastinColorado Springs, CO USA Post Number: 38 Registered: Oct-05 | Not sure if you are asking a question(s) or stating facts. Anyhow, I have Onkyo HT-S780 which is a 7.1 system. No HDMI connection. What I do is run the Optical output from Satellite receiver to Onkyo and then Component out from Satellite directly to TV. I tested running HDMI directly to TV against component and could NOT tell the difference. I have 2 big screens. 65" Toshiba and 55" RCA. Similar set up on each (use a Pioneer receiver with RCA). From DVD player I use the component out to tv and digital coax to receiver. This is excellent pic as well. Sound is incredible, although pic from DVD not as good as high def from satellite. Nothing to do with connection, but rather quality of signal or pic being delivered to TV. My point being I do not think you are truly buying much extra, if any, performance with HDMI over component/optical/digital connections. I can vouch for the pic being NO better. I doubt the sound quality is any different either. With that said, a true hi def DVD player (not the upconverts) may look a lot better and sound somewhat better, but I have no first hand experience to give input there. |
|
Gold Member Username: John_sColumbus, Ohio US Post Number: 1518 Registered: Feb-04 |
Mark, I would say that Mr. Klein is doing very little of either. |
|
Bronze Member Username: PkmavenBoynton Beach, FL United States Post Number: 24 Registered: Mar-07 | Buying last year's technology has never been a good idea in light of the fact that next year the entire country is going totally digital. The impact of that is evident in the new entry level of home theater. While everyone is talking about "S" cable connectivity, etc., HDMI connectivity has been developed to produce optimal picture clarity with signal transfer. Almost all dvps have HDMI output designed for upconverting, even Scientific Atlanta cable boxes have HDMI output. Almost all new "Home Theater" receivers have HDMI inputs. Within the next four months all will have it. The new "box" systems now have it. The point: HDMI is the best connectiviy we have available, and buying from ignorance instead of knowledge only hurts the buyer. P. |
|
Gold Member Username: John_sColumbus, Ohio US Post Number: 1520 Registered: Feb-04 | PK, I realize that your use of "last year's technology" implies "old fashioned analog." Your point about the inevitability of digital audio/video is well taken and no doubt true. But your shilling for HDMI connectivity seems suspect. While there are some positive points for a universal digital A/V interconnect format, the fact is that a universal connector of sufficient bandwidth already existed in the newer 9-pin IEEE 1394B (AKA i.Link and FireWire), connector (2003). But FireWire has drawbacks. Apple, FireWire's patent holder, wanted $.25 per port. Even more important, FireWire offered no protection against content piracy, a key point to the movie and television industry. So a digital A/V connection system with some sort of copy protection was demanded. The electronics industry collectively developed HDMI to answer this need. Critically, HDMI does not work unless all devices are HDCP compliant. The point here is that HDMI was not invented for the welfare or convenience of entertainment consumers, but rather for the protection of content providers. I don't personally have a problem with protecting digital copyrighted content, but any sort of copy guarding does have the potential for causing signal degradation and because of its necessary complication, causing compatibility issues between the connected devices. |