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    I recently built an HTPC and in the same amount of time I got a 32" LCD tv. The TV has an HDMI and "PC Input". The PC Input is the standard VGA as most video cards are. I've read a bit online about this subject but I thought I'd get some input in here.

    Will there be any difference in using the HDMI or VGA input?...If I use the VGA input and I watch a Blu Ray disc, will I have any playback issues?
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  2. Member dragonkeeper's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by Moontrash View Post
    I recently built an HTPC and in the same amount of time I got a 32" LCD tv. The TV has an HDMI and "PC Input". The PC Input is the standard VGA as most video cards are. I've read a bit online about this subject but I thought I'd get some input in here.

    Will there be any difference in using the HDMI or VGA input?...If I use the VGA input and I watch a Blu Ray disc, will I have any playback issues?
    VGA is not a protected video path (HDCP), unless things have change you will not be able to view BD titles. You will not be able to display protected content. You need to have an HDCP compliant solution (either DVI + HDCP) or HDMI.

    DVI to HDMI provides a video path only, you will need to find another method to get audio to your TV. HDMI is by far the the simplest means to play video, cable are cheap from places like newegg or partsaxpress.
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    Home-made BD movies on burned discs don't require HDCP compliance, but otherwise dragonkeeper is correct in his recommendation. If you are going to be playing commercially produced Blu-Ray discs, HDCP compliant connections, HDCP compliant video cards, and HDCP compliant monitors/TVs are all required, plus appropriate paid software.
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  4. It will also depend on your TV. Many TVs will overscan the HDMI input (you can't see the edges of the screen -- like the Windows Task Bar, the title bar on a maximized window, etc.) but not the VGA input. But if your TV has a non-overscan mode on the HDMI input you'll get the best picture that way.
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    thanks for the input...the HDCP issue was somethin I didn't consider. The video card I grabbed was a Sapphire 6850 so I'm pretty sure it has the HDCP thing in it. So I'm guessin that if I weree to just play HD/blu Ray movies from file(i.e....mkv or m2ts folder) I would have no issues with VGA...but if it were a store or netflix rented disc then VGA won't work. If dvdfab passkey or anydvd were used running in the background with a Blu Ray disc, would that work with VGA or no?
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  6. Member dragonkeeper's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by Moontrash View Post
    thanks for the input...the HDCP issue was somethin I didn't consider. The video card I grabbed was a Sapphire 6850 so I'm pretty sure it has the HDCP thing in it. So I'm guessin that if I weree to just play HD/blu Ray movies from file(i.e....mkv or m2ts folder) I would have no issues with VGA...but if it were a store or netflix rented disc then VGA won't work. If dvdfab passkey or anydvd were used running in the background with a Blu Ray disc, would that work with VGA or no?
    AnyDVD should allow you to play commercial disc over VGA. But why would you? Why are you so adamant about using vga? The 6850s I have, do not have VGA ports (alot of the higher end video cards are moving away from vga).

    1. Even if a card has a VGA port, VGA is not a protected path
    2. You will need to provide a separate path for your audio signal
    3. HDMI cable cost about the same as comparable VGA cable (I have a 50 HDMI cable that cost me $30 @ partsexpress).
    *To buy vga cable and throw in a pair of shield RCA cables and in most cases you have exceeded the price of HDMI cable.

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    I'm not adamant about VGA...I've always leaned towards HDMI. I just wanna weigh my options.

    I already have 3 6ft. Link Depot HDMI cables and 2 3 ft. ones. What I'm not sure about is if these particular brand cables are gonna be able to handle a High MB Blu Ray source. It seems like a crap shoot. I've read quite a bit on a lot of different HDMI cables and I'm not real sure about what brand that would be reliable. I read good reviews on some cheap ones (like I have) and some not so good. With VGA, I'm not real worried about the audio as I can use the HTPC's audio (HTPC's speakers are waaay better than with the speakers from the LCD tv). I"m just not gonna spend bukoo bucks on a over priced Monster Cable brand.

    ATM, I'm using a an HDMI with an old Philips 5980 dvd player and the up conversion throughout is just fantastic. But I'm still wary because I know that the throughput of that signal is the dvd standdard...around 4mb's.

    So are there solid cables for a cheap/reasonable price or are HDMI cables pretty much all the same (preferably the 1.4 standard)? Some where I won't have to think about flickering or other issues associated with the lot of complaints I read about.
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  8. Originally Posted by Moontrash View Post
    I already have 3 6ft. Link Depot HDMI cables and 2 3 ft. ones. What I'm not sure about is if these particular brand cables are gonna be able to handle a High MB Blu Ray source.
    The bitrate of the source is immaterial. All video that travels over the HDMI cable has already been decompressed. What matters is the resolution and frame rate that's running over the cable. Your upscaling DVD player putting out 1920x1080p60 requires the same bandwidth as a Blu-ray player putting out 1920x1080p60.

    For short cable runs pretty much any HDMI cable will work. The failure mode of HDMI isn't subtle like with analog cables. You don't get a slightly fuzzy picture, ghosting, or a little noise. You get very obvious sparkles. A little worse and you get total failure.

    http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20056502-1/why-all-hdmi-cables-are-the-same/

    All my HDMI cables are 6 to 10 feet and none cost more than $10. They all work perfectly at 1920x1080p60 RGB.
    Last edited by jagabo; 1st Dec 2011 at 10:27.
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  9. Member dragonkeeper's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by Moontrash View Post
    What I'm not sure about is if these particular brand cables are gonna be able to handle a High MB Blu Ray source. It seems like a crap shoot. I've read quite a bit on a lot of different HDMI cables and I'm not real sure about what brand that would be reliable. I read good reviews on some cheap ones (like I have) and some not so good.
    In most if not all cases where a cable has been given a bad review it is not the cable, but a lack of understanding by the user. All cables should be certified, this is part of the HDMI licensing requirement, but to date there are several types of licenses. You have to buy cables which are certified for their intended use, placing 1.2 certified or even 1.3a certified cables on a tv with a refresh of @240 hz is gonna cause problems just like using a 1.3a cable to play 3D content is not going to work. Take reviews with a grain of salt there are many cheap DIY idiots who buy into techno hype without a full understanding the underlying requirements and when something doesn't work as expected they are quick to lay blame else where.

    To give you an example I recently purchased 16 ft USB 2.0 extension cables from Newegg the reviews were over all bad for the cable. One might ask why would i buy cable that had a bad review? Simple answer the cables exceeded the USB 2.0 spec. The beter question would have been why did a cable that meets spec get bad reviews? Answer is at over 16 ft USB 2.0 signal starts to degrade. The typical USB cable you get\buy with a printer is 6 feet, this puts you at a total of 22ft far exceeding the range of highspeed USB 2.0. So based on spec i made a correct assumption the cable would meet my needs. My assumption was correct, my assumption also saved me from speeding 3 times as much on a comparable cable.

    Originally Posted by Moontrash View Post

    So are there solid cables for a cheap/reasonable price or are HDMI cables pretty much all the same (preferably the 1.4 standard)? Some where I won't have to think about flickering or other issues associated with the lot of complaints I read about.
    Check out the Dayton cables from partsexpress I've been very impressed with them and the price is more than reasonable.
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  10. Originally Posted by dragonkeeper View Post
    placing 1.2 certified or even 1.3a certified cables on a tv with a refresh of @240 hz is gonna cause problems
    No, the signal passing through the cable is still usually no more than 1920x1080p60 (certainly for a HTPC). It's the TV that quadruples the frames for display.
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  11. Member dragonkeeper's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by jagabo View Post
    the signal passing through the cable is still usually no more than 1920x1080p60 (certainly for a HTPC). It's the TV that quadruples the frames for display.
    True, but 1.2 cables have a lower throughput rating, if the BD title in question is using a high data transfer rate the picture will surfer, imo its more noticeable on tvs with higher refresh rates. But it may just be me.

    As you go up in refresh rate and/or color bits you need a lower impedance cable. Which are more readily found in 1.3b and 1.4 cables.
    Last edited by dragonkeeper; 1st Dec 2011 at 14:43.
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  12. Member edDV's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by dragonkeeper View Post
    Originally Posted by jagabo View Post
    the signal passing through the cable is still usually no more than 1920x1080p60 (certainly for a HTPC). It's the TV that quadruples the frames for display.
    True, but 1.2 cables have a lower throughput rating, if the BD title in question is using a high data transfer rate the picture will surfer, imo its more noticeable on tvs with higher refresh rates. But it may just be me.

    As you go up in refresh rate and/or color bits you need a lower impedance cable. Which are more readily found in 1.3b and 1.4 cables.
    Refresh rate is just duplicating frames once the 24p, 25/30p or 50/60p base frame is constructed.

    HDMI @ 23.976p, 24p, 25p, 29.97i, 29.97p, 50p or 59.94p are used to construct the base frame which is then duplicated or interpolated to high refresh frame rates. Refresh rate is independent of HDMI spec so long as HDMI is performing to v1.3b1 at cable length.

    v1.4 adds support for 3D, 4kx2k, 48 bit color depth, 100Mbps bi-directional Ethernet, audio return channel, etc.

    Clock rate and pins are the same for v1.3 and v1.4. The main difference is cable shielding* and tighter testing standards.

    Good refs
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI#Version_1.3
    http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/hdmi-spec-versions.htm?hdmiinfo (manufacturers perspective)
    http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/hdmi-cable-information.htm (more)

    * requirements for impedence controlled twisted pair vs straight wires, etc.
    Last edited by edDV; 1st Dec 2011 at 17:56.
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    wow...now this is the kinda info I needed...this is actually good reading for me. I appreciate the comments.

    my new TV is a Vizio 32" 323sv...120hz...the quality thru the HDMI from the DVD player is dead fine...no issues...SO when this HTPC gets built here in a few days and I throw a BR player/burner in it, what would be a spec cable I should have? 1.2...1.3...1.4? I'm pretty sure that these Link Depot's are 1.4 for reference

    I grabbed a cheap BR on sale at amazon and on the back it says 33mbps....now thats throughput
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  14. Member dragonkeeper's Avatar
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    I would go with 1.4,. That way you can handle at least the current level of technology, 3D, ethernet, etc. That way if you needs change in future you most likely will not have to purchase new cables. Baring a 1.5 specification is not on the horizon, but i think not
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    Monoprice.com is another good source for A/V cables. At Monoprice and perhaps some other vendors, you need to look for "high speed certified HDMI cables" to find cables tested for Ethernet and 3D. (They prefer that to using a specification number.)
    Last edited by usually_quiet; 1st Dec 2011 at 19:13. Reason: word order
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  16. Originally Posted by Moontrash View Post
    my new TV is a Vizio 32" 323sv...120hz...the quality thru the HDMI from the DVD player is dead fine...no issues...SO when this HTPC gets built here in a few days and I throw a BR player/burner in it, what would be a spec cable I should have? 1.2...1.3...1.4?
    Try the cables you already have. Usually even the cheapest 1.2 cable will work with short cable runs.
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    2 of these cables are 3 ft. long. I'll try my best to use the other 3 footer to hook up this HTPC...it'll be close though. I may have to connect it to the side of the TV...theres an HDMI input there thankfully
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