Quote Originally Posted by Woochifer
HDMI is taking hold in the market because it's a secure digital video connection, and the entire HD market is moving in that direction -- from all new HDTVs to satellite receivers and the new HD-DVD and Blu-ray players. This has nothing to do with data transfer capacity, since analog component video already has more than enough bandwidth to handle HD signals.

Rather, it has everything to do with copy protection. Progressive analog video will likely be limited to 480p resolution for HD devices coming out in the future (imposing that 480p limitation on HD-DVD and Blu-ray is only the first step in the studios' copy-protection agenda -- they want that analog output limitation on all other future HD devices).

The promise of HDMI is in its ability to handle both video and audio signals through one connection cable. The first version of HDMI did not implement the audio streaming and only carried video signals. With HDMI 1.1, the audio signals can be decoded separately from the video using one connection, and that's what the new Yamaha receivers have implemented.

With electronics, there's never a perfect time to upgrade, but if you look at the new TVs, DVD players, and HD devices in stores, you'll see that most of the current models out there now include HDMI. And with HD-DVD and Blu-ray, the ONLY way to get true HD resolution will be through the HDMI output.
Thanks for the reply. I just slowly upgraded my entire system so this is something I will not have to worry about for awhile.