VGA versus HDMI comparison article wanted to explain the difference

[perfection]

I have a LCD TV (full HD) and wish to use it to playback my movie from my PC. I have both VGA and HDMI option as outputs (and likewise these two inputs are on the HD TV). I would like to watch dvds and later this year BluRay movies (as i intend to purchase such player later in the year - a Xmas gift to myself).

1080 rating HDMI cords are expensive and i would like to know exactly the difference between the two delivery channels and when which is better.

Can somone explain it to me simply or guide me towards a webpage/blog/discusion that would simply and lucidly explain all this jargon to me?

[Phlexor]

What are these 1080 rated HDMI cables you speak of?

Any HDMI cable with work. Digital is digital, if the signal gets there then it's perfect. The only thing you have to worry about quality wise is if the build quality isn't up to par or fails.

[yoda313]

Simple - vga would be best for unencrypted video. You should be able to get the pixel matched rating that your tv handles. If it is a native resolution of 1366x768 you can set your video card to match that resoultion and get the best quality output.

For BLURAY you HAVE TO USE HDMI. That is for the HDCP encryption. There is no debate on that issue.

A workaround is to rip using anydvdhd and play from the harddrive. However unlike dvd iso rips playing a bluray rip is not as easy as a dvd rip.

But for unencrypted video either vga or hdmi is essentilally the same. But for bluray you have to use hdmi.

Edit - ok I have to correct myself - I do believe a dvi to hdmi cable can work for bluray. I had used this on my pc but I don't remember if I watched any blurays with that cable. The MAIN IMPORTANT THING IS THAT THE VIDEO CARD IN QUESTION IS HDCP COMPATIBLE. From there HDMI is most important and you may have other options SO LONG AS THE CARD IS HDCP compatible.

[usually_quiet]

One difference between HDMI and VGA that nobody has mentioned is that HDMI transmits audio as well as video, simplifying things if you only use the TV's speakers for sound. Video cards may or may not have the ability to send sound, but if they do, you have to configure your computer to use HDMI instead of the computer's speakers.