said by mariod:The ONLY non-3d benefit of HDMI is simplification of wires. It turns four cords (3 component and an audio) into one cord. HDMI provides ABSOLUTELY ZERO improvement on audio or video quality over component and optical cables.
The only real world possibly is that the component jack out of the STB, or into the TV/Receiver, is degraded/dirty while the DVI/HDMI jack is not.
Barring that, your 100% improvement is pure placebo effect.
A
Digital connection provides many benefits in addition to the reduction of cables - an analog signal is subject to noise, electrical interference, phase degradation, capacitance of the cable causing high frequency distortion/loss, etc. while a digital connection is virtually immune to all but the strongest of electrical interference and suffers no phase or capacitance anomalies. It's not about the cable, it's the format of the signal. The results are scientifically demonstrable.
Now
perception is a personal matter, as I still prefer a quality analog audio recording over a typical digital one, but it can be shown on an oscilloscope or spectrum analyzer that the digital recording is much more accurate when compared to the original. Whether recording medium or transmission medium, digital is more 'accurate' than analog.
You may see "ABSOLUTELY ZERO improvement" with HDMI or DVI, but the reality is that a digital connection conveys the HD video signal far more accurately than ANY analog connection is capable of. It's not my opinion, it is a fact - which any electrical engineer with experience in both mediums will gladly confirm. As a veteran of the broadcast industry of OVER 30 YEARS, I can assure you I've dealt with multitudes of both analog and digital connections, and digital is ALWAYS the most
accurate connection/transport method.
I can also add that I too started with a component connection from my STB to my HDTV - swapping the box for a different model with HDMI improved MY picture "100%" -
It's not rocket science, but it IS science...