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New member Username: My_name_is_earlPost Number: 1 Registered: Apr-06 | I have the Sony KDL-40S2000 LCD television which only has 1 HDMI input. My DVD and DVR/cable box each have a HDMI output. I'd like to use only the HDMI connections rather than the component connections. Are these HDMI splitters worth the $250.00+ price? |
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Silver Member Username: John_sColumbus, Ohio US Post Number: 878 Registered: Feb-04 | Are these HDMI splitters worth the $250.00+ price? Who knows Joe? This whole HDMI thing is so new that I suspect there are some who are taking advantage. On the other hand, companies like Gefen have excellent reputations, so you must be getting what you pay for right? Then again, I see sites like MonoPrice that offers quality at amazing prices. http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&cp_id=10110&cs_id=1011001 &p_id=2786&seq=1&format=2&style= You're going to have to wait in line for that HDMI switch from them, but it just might be worth it. |
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Silver Member Username: ChitownPost Number: 958 Registered: Apr-05 | I don't think they are. If you have the option of going component then use that to connect your Cable Box and use the HDMI for DVD. You truely are not getting hi-def signals from cable right now anyway so why waste $250? Why would they be so expensive anyway. It's digital for crying out loud. As better programming shot AND broadcast in hi-def come down the pike, you may want to go the route of a switch. By then I bet you can pick one up for $25. |
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Silver Member Username: John_sColumbus, Ohio US Post Number: 881 Registered: Feb-04 | Joe, I can't blame you for wanting the best performance from your display. If you don't mind, let me put in a little 2¢ here. In the latest issue of The Perfect Vision magazine (March/April 2006), Barry Willis reviews 16 DVD players. There is a wide price range, from the Cyberhome CH-DVD 300 ($40) up to units such as the Krell Showcase ($4500) and the Linn Unidisk SC ($4995). The monitor used was a properly calibrated V, inc. VISIO P50 HDM 50" plasma (with a native resolution of 1366X768.....the same as your Sony) connected with high-end cabling. Here is a portion of Mr. Willis' introduction to these reviews---with apologies to everyone here if this material has already been discussed: "I spent several days testing, which proved to be an eye opening experience. Despite the theoretical benefits of a digital-video connection to the display, in all cases but two, the image was better via component than HDMI. The Denon DVD-1920 and Krell Showcase were the only machines that performed better via HDMI, and then almost imperceptibly. In many cases, the images and motion artifacts were indistinguishable between the analog and digital connections, but in some cases, HDMI exhibited color shifts, vertical distortions (e.g., circles became vertical ovals), and a higher black level. The VIZIO's user adjustments apply to all inputs, not just one, so that wasn't the culprit in these tests. "My tests for these reviews indicate that there is no justifiable reason to use HDMI, at least with the VIZIO P50; this is also true with other displays in my experience. Any custom installer can offer plenty of anecdotal evidence about implementation difficulties, performance limitations, and insurmountable glitches they've encountered using HDMI. In my view, it's a flawed technology; as things stand now, the best way to obtain reliably good images is to avoid HDMI and stick with analog component video. "Similarly, except in one case (the Krell Showcase), there was no improvement in upconverting SD video to 720p/1080i. If anything, the image quality was degraded. Also, unlike my experience with the affordable Optoma H31 video projector (reviewed in Issue 62), whose state-of-the-art deinterlacer clearly outperformed that in an expensive disc player, I couldn't see a significant difference between SD images originating as interlaced or progressive. Both looked equally good in most cases. That may not be true with other displays." The point here is that I wouldn't be so hasty with the need to use digital video connections, at least for the time being. |