Misleading Rotel ad?

[KRC]

I am tyring to come to terms with all the "stuff" involved with HT, the days of a simple stereo setup are missed. As I have recently learned, that HD TV through my sat receiver has to be done on a digital cable (HDMI/DVI) and not through component video, to get true 1080 resolution. As I understand on my Rotel 1040 DVD player the best I can get is 480p resolution through component video. As I am also in the market for a pre/pro and amp I checked out the Rotel web site and found listed under the 1069 that it has "HD component out", so is this a play on words or does HD really start at 1080 resolution. I am running a Toshiba LCD TV and it has an HDMI input, so I make the presumption that if I had an HDMI cable to my Sat receiver I should get true HD performance? Now my next question is if a DVD player cannot produce more than 480p resolution, why do DVD makers sell some DVD's that have "Recorded/shot in HD" printed on the packaging? Just good marketing.

Kevin

[Blindamood]

High-definition includes 720p, 1080i, and 1080p. Through a component connection, you can pass 720p or 1080i. I believe that HDMI is required in order to pass 1080p.

No standard DVD has better than 480i resolution. There are players that upscale to HD resolutions, but they are not truely outputting HD. In order to get 'true' HD from a disc, you must have a blu-ray or hd-dvd player.

[hifiguymi]

You can do 1080P through component video as well. There are a couple of TV's that will receive 1080P that way. It's not very common however.

By the way, DVD's are native 480I not 480P.

Eric

[KRC]

So why run with HDMI cable? Is the thought to keep your entire system digital? I have read through other strings all the problems people are having with HDMI inputs/outputs, processing, scaling etc etc. So if you have playstation 3 hooked up to your HT, the only way to do that is through a HDMI cable. Is it the same for Blue Ray and HD Disks (HDMI) or is it like SACD where you need five interconnects plus component video. I have checked on Ebay and their are awesome deals for HDMI cables (one product $50.00 for a $350.00 list cable). As mentioned previous, I am going to purchase a new pre/pro as I got my last upgrade and was one technology behind (component video) and want to make sure I do not get behind again as I walk out of the store with product.

Kevin

[Kevin D]

In a perfect world we would run it how we would like, HDMI if you need it easy, component if that's all you had.

Unfortunately the movie and TV industry wants to restrict how you can watch video. While 1080p over component works fine for TV's that support it, most devices restrict 1080p to just HDMI for copy protection reasons. The PS3 will play games 1080p over component, but I'm not sure about BR discs. Like all other up-converting DVD's, HD-DVD's, and BR's, it will not play standard DVD's any any HD resolution (720p, 1080i) over component, just HDMI. In fact there is a flag available on HD-DVD & BR that would restrict their output to 480p over component; if the movie studies ever deem it needed.

If your processor can receive the decoded sounds (or decode it itself) running just HDMI is all you need. Running component and audio cables is another option (with limits on video). The PS3 only has 2ch analog or optical digital, so you have to use that with component. To get SACD and the best sound formats on BR, you need to use HDMI with an appropriate processor.

Kevin D.

[Pez]

HDMI can makes things easy and also difficult. Even though technically 1080p can be passed over component its not really possible 99% of the time (I think due to copyright protection). So if you want 1080p and next gen audio HDMI really is the only way to go. Next gen audio can be passed via multi-channel audio inputs/outputs but since most receivers and pre/pros only have one set you are limited to either HD-DVD or Blu-Ray (or SACD or DVD-Audio) unless you want to switch cables all the time or get another piece of equipment to act as a switcher. You dont need to have the PS3 connected via HDMI but then you will miss out the full HD experience which I feel is where the PS3 excels.

In addition to higher bit rate what I like about HDMI is one cable for audio and video. I love my HD-DVD player but hate the fact I have to use the multi-channel output for next gen audio. And since the PS3 does not have that I miss out of the better sound for Blu-Ray. I had planned on getting a new pre/pro in 2008 with HDMI (possibly the rotel 1069) but it seems that money will be going to the dentist (need a fair amount of work done and my dental plan is not that good - lesson learned - take care of your teeth and go to the dentist regularly).

[hifiguymi]

I am trying to come to terms with all the "stuff" involved with HT, the days of a simple stereo setup are missed. As I have recently learned, that HD TV through my sat receiver has to be done on a digital cable (HDMI/DVI) and not through component video, to get true 1080 resolution.

That is not entirely correct. The component output will do 720P or 1080I (satellite companies don't, and probably never will, broadcast in 1080P). The advantage to using an HDMI cable is you only need one cable for audio and video, and there are fewer processes that the signal goes thorough. Since a component video connection is analog, the sat receiver has to do a digital to analog conversion and the TV then does an analog to digital conversion. With an HDMI cable that doesn't happen. You will see better fine detail in most cases using an HDMI instead of component.

As I am also in the market for a pre/pro and amp I checked out the Rotel web site and found listed under the 1069 that it has "HD component out", so is this a play on words or does HD really start at 1080 resolution.

All of Rotel's current receivers and preamps have more than enough bandwidth to switch all HD signals that are out there, 720P, 1080I, and 1080P (although that is rare in the component video world as has been stated earlier). 720P and 1080I require very similar bandwidth at 45kHz and 33.75kHz respectively (1080P is 67.50kHz or 26.973kHz depending on frame rate) so that is not as issue. They can easily switch all HD formats via component.

I am running a Toshiba LCD TV and it has an HDMI input, so I make the presumption that if I had an HDMI cable to my Sat receiver I should get true HD performance?

Yes, very much so.

Now my next question is if a DVD player cannot produce more than 480p resolution, why do DVD makers sell some DVDs that have "Recorded/shot in HD" printed on the packaging? Just good marketing.

All DVDs are mastered in HD. That has to be done so a digital master is created for the DVD. For every DVD made, there is an HD master out there. How good the HD master is however, is a different matter. If you read reviews of BD and HD-DVD discs on web sites like www.highdefdigest.com or www.thedigitalbits.com they sometimes mention if the HD disc uses the same master as the DVD.

Eric