HDMI cable _required_?

[stepwilk]

Did a search but surprisingly couldn't find an answer.

Question: Is an HDMI cable required to transmit a Blu-Ray signal from a player to a display?

Since my Panasonic DMP-BD35 plays through an older Onkyo TX-SR501 a/v receiver that only has analog inputs/outputs, everything is connected via component cables, yet the Blu-Ray seems to work just fine. But this morning I saw an article in the Wall Street Journal that said HDMI "is required to carry Blu-Ray signals." Is this correct? Am I getting a degraded Blu-Ray picture and only imagining that it's "working"?

Thanks!

[cembros]

on 99% of players including yours hdmi is required to carry a 1080p signal. You can carry the picture through component but it will only be 1080i

[cembros]

what kind of tv are you using?

[jaydoc24]

No, it is not. Typically most TVs or projectors can only accept a 1080p signal via HDMI but there are a few that can accept it over a component connection. If your display cannot accept 1080p over component, then it will transmit a 1080i signal and honestly, I doubt many people could tell the difference.

[cembros]

Originally Posted by jaydoc24

No, it is not. Typically most TVs or projectors can only accept a 1080p signal via HDMI but there are a few that can accept it over a component connection. If your display cannot accept 1080p over component, then it will transmit a 1080i signal and honestly, I doubt many people could tell the difference.

no exactly, players wont transmit 1080p without an hdmi signal regardless of wheather or not your tv accepts 1080p through hdmi.

[SlmShdy1]

I don't think he's talking about resolution, just if it works or not.

When I first got my PS3, I read that too so I was hesitant to buy a Blu-ray movie. I then got my first Blu-ray and saw that it worked. A HDMI cable isn't required. You are getting a downgraded picture (I wouldn't say it's degraded) but it should still be way better than any DVD. I think they put that disclaimer on there to make you think you have to buy a new TV and cables.

[stepwilk]

Sorry to be so long in getting back to this thread that I initiated, but I've been unable to log on--finally fixed that.

1/In answer to the question about what kind of display I'm using, it's an Olevia 537-B11

2/What I'm hearing from the replies posted so far is that it wouldn't be worth my time or expense to change to an HDMI cable, since I won't notice any difference. (The picture is currently excellent and obviously better than non-Blu-Ray discs). Correct?

3/If I do decide just for the hell of it to upgrade to an HDMI cable, it would require buying a new AV receiver that has an HDMI output, which my Onkyo doesn't. If I did that, is there a siamese connector of some sort that would allow me to plug two HDMI cables (Blu-Ray player and cable TV) into the one HDMI socket on my Olevia?

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by stepwilk

Sorry to be so long in getting back to this thread that I initiated, but I've been unable to log on--finally fixed that.

1/In answer to the question about what kind of display I'm using, it's an Olevia 537-B11

2/What I'm hearing from the replies posted so far is that it wouldn't be worth my time or expense to change to an HDMI cable, since I won't notice any difference. (The picture is currently excellent and obviously better than non-Blu-Ray discs). Correct?

3/If I do decide just for the hell of it to upgrade to an HDMI cable, it would require buying a new AV receiver that has an HDMI output, which my Onkyo doesn't. If I did that, is there a siamese connector of some sort that would allow me to plug two HDMI cables (Blu-Ray player and cable TV) into the one HDMI socket on my Olevia?

If you were to buy a new receiver with multiple HDMI inputs you could simply plug both HDMI cables (blu-ray player and cable TV) into the receiver and then plug the receiver's HDMI output to the one input on the TV.

Another option would be to buy a HDMI switch from monoprice:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/su...01&cp_id=10110

and HDMI cables:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/su...02&cp_id=10240

Edit: According to Olevia, your TV model only supports up to 1080i. In this case, there really is no need to update your cables to HDMI unless you already plan on buying a new receiver and want to minimize the layout and the cables being used.

http://www.olevia.com/en-us/Products...LCDHDTV.aspx#2

You may also want to check to see if you are running the latest firmware on your Olevia:
http://www.olevia.com/en-us/Support/Firmware.aspx