jaymer
01-08-2005, 10:23 PM
I just got a 30-inch Sony Tube which has HDMI input.
I've noticed some strange things when connected using HDMI that are not present when connected via component.
Let me first say that the picture is AWESOME - much better than with component. There's a depth and color improvement that is drastic. I checked and it doesn't seem that this TV maintains seperate color adjustments for each input - though thats what i thought at first - that the color was just turned up on the HDMI input and down on the component HD input.
And the sound is much better as well - even though i had left/right cables going into the analog sound inputs on the TV, now I guess its digital (cause sound and video go over that one HDMI cable) so its just better. One thing I have not done is see ANY of the settings on my SA box - there are options in there for dolby/pcm, narrow/normal, etc.... not sure if that has anything to do with it.
My HDMI cable was $19 (plus tax, shipping) from pccables.com, arrived next day UPS Ground since they are in Florida. I'd highly suggest trying it for $25 if your TV has HDMI - or if you are in the Brandon area, gimme a PM and I'll bring my cable over so we can see.
OK, now to the problems.
I had read on AVS someone talking about "If you are connected HDMI, then none of the box "features" work", meaning the pause, record, guide stuff wouldn't work. That was really hard to believe and in fact some others replied that they saw no reason why the unit would care what outputs were used and thus have some functionality locked out in HDMI mode.
Well, the first time I tried it I experience that exact problem. Since I hooked up HDMI after I already had component in place, I wanted to compare the two signals. So, if the SA box was already on channel 700, and i switched inputs on the Sony, then the guide/pause/play functions were dead, just like this "crazy guy" had said on AVS.
But it cleared up once I tuned to a channel while on the HDMI input, then all worked like it should. This turns out not to be an issue because once I disconnect the component cables I'll only have the HDMI input and then I'll always be there when tuning channels.
But this could still be an issue if you were over on the DVD input and then switched to HDMI. If you had powered off the TV or a timer had changed channels on the SA box, you might find yourself locked out of control on the cable box - the only solution being to manually go up/down a channel - but then you'd lose your "live TV" buffer and that would be bad. Unsure of any solution to this or if it exists.
But I am getting that familiar msg "Your unit is not authorized for DVI" (or similar - will update this msg after i see it again) when I power on the TV and i'm on my svideo input (the Tivo) - haven't totally figured this out yet cause i need the 3rd remote (the Tivo) to see exactly whats up.
Someone on this forum mentioned a month ago that one drawback to a "pure" HDMI connection (one cable from tuner to TV to stereo) was that if your TV was off, then you can't listen to a cable didital music channel cause the TV won't pass the HDMI signal unless its on... thats a big bummer - no it doesn't affect everyone, but its definitely something the designers have overlooked. With my new, limited experience with the HDMI cable, I'm starting to see some strange things like this as well.
jaymer...
I've noticed some strange things when connected using HDMI that are not present when connected via component.
Let me first say that the picture is AWESOME - much better than with component. There's a depth and color improvement that is drastic. I checked and it doesn't seem that this TV maintains seperate color adjustments for each input - though thats what i thought at first - that the color was just turned up on the HDMI input and down on the component HD input.
And the sound is much better as well - even though i had left/right cables going into the analog sound inputs on the TV, now I guess its digital (cause sound and video go over that one HDMI cable) so its just better. One thing I have not done is see ANY of the settings on my SA box - there are options in there for dolby/pcm, narrow/normal, etc.... not sure if that has anything to do with it.
My HDMI cable was $19 (plus tax, shipping) from pccables.com, arrived next day UPS Ground since they are in Florida. I'd highly suggest trying it for $25 if your TV has HDMI - or if you are in the Brandon area, gimme a PM and I'll bring my cable over so we can see.
OK, now to the problems.
I had read on AVS someone talking about "If you are connected HDMI, then none of the box "features" work", meaning the pause, record, guide stuff wouldn't work. That was really hard to believe and in fact some others replied that they saw no reason why the unit would care what outputs were used and thus have some functionality locked out in HDMI mode.
Well, the first time I tried it I experience that exact problem. Since I hooked up HDMI after I already had component in place, I wanted to compare the two signals. So, if the SA box was already on channel 700, and i switched inputs on the Sony, then the guide/pause/play functions were dead, just like this "crazy guy" had said on AVS.
But it cleared up once I tuned to a channel while on the HDMI input, then all worked like it should. This turns out not to be an issue because once I disconnect the component cables I'll only have the HDMI input and then I'll always be there when tuning channels.
But this could still be an issue if you were over on the DVD input and then switched to HDMI. If you had powered off the TV or a timer had changed channels on the SA box, you might find yourself locked out of control on the cable box - the only solution being to manually go up/down a channel - but then you'd lose your "live TV" buffer and that would be bad. Unsure of any solution to this or if it exists.
But I am getting that familiar msg "Your unit is not authorized for DVI" (or similar - will update this msg after i see it again) when I power on the TV and i'm on my svideo input (the Tivo) - haven't totally figured this out yet cause i need the 3rd remote (the Tivo) to see exactly whats up.
Someone on this forum mentioned a month ago that one drawback to a "pure" HDMI connection (one cable from tuner to TV to stereo) was that if your TV was off, then you can't listen to a cable didital music channel cause the TV won't pass the HDMI signal unless its on... thats a big bummer - no it doesn't affect everyone, but its definitely something the designers have overlooked. With my new, limited experience with the HDMI cable, I'm starting to see some strange things like this as well.
jaymer...