Resolution using component vs. HDMI..

[MCF]

Would a DVD playing at 720p using component cables be 'better' using HDMI? I would think that 720p is 720p and it wouldn't matter if it was sent via component cables or HDMI. Also, if the native resolution of my HD set is 1280, does that mean it will support 1080p?

[edtyct]

MCF,

1080p is a vertical resolution, and 1280 a horizontal resolution. The usual shorthand for standard HD resolution is the vertical measure--either 720p (the closest to the native resolution of your plasma), 1080i, or 1080p. The full horizontal resolution that corresponds to the vertical 1080p is 1920, which exceeds 1280 significantly. The eye is more sensitive to the vertical array than the horizontal, so it's the more critical number.

The difference between 720p via component vs. HDMI is not a matter of the capacity of either to display the format; they both can do that. An HDMI signal simply has the potential of looking (and measuring) better on a plasma, LCD, or DLP because it never has to leave the digital domain before display, whereas the component signal has to traverse more circuitry, which can translate into a softer or slightly noisier picture than that of its digital counterpart, but not always noticeably.

Ed