Best picture quality?

HannibalX

Diamond Member
May 12, 2000
9,359
2
0
I'm trying to understand what gives the best picture quality to my LCD TV.

Best to worst?

HDMI
DVI
Component
VGA
SVideo
RCA

Right now I am using SVideo simply because I already had the cable... Is it really worth it to move up? Will I be able to notice the difference?
 

Captante

Lifer
Oct 20, 2003
30,333
10,844
136
(1) Looks like you have that list about right although HDMI & DVI are equal & under most circumstances so are VGA & component ... in addition there are some situations where component/VGA can produce deeper color then HDMI/DVI.

(2) S-video is slightly better then RCA (composite) video but not much & yes its 100% fully worth it to make the switch, although how much difference you'll see depends on the video source. HDTV/DVD or Bluray requires component/HDMI so if you've been trying to view HD of any kind via S-video the difference will blow you away, SD-DVD will look quite a bit better & digital SDTV will look a bit better ... analog SDTV may not make much difference & neither will signals from a VCR if you still have one.

Component cables can be had at Walmart for a reasonable amount of money, but HDMI's will need to be ordered online unless you like getting ripped off.

Here is a good source for cheap & high quality cables: www.monoprice.com
 

Rio Rebel

Administrator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
5,194
0
0
Originally posted by: Captante
(1) Looks like you have that list about right although HDMI & DVI are equal & under most circumstances so are VGA & component ... in addition there are some situations where component/VGA can produce deeper color then HDMI/DVI.

(2) S-video is slightly better then RCA (composite) video but not much & yes its 100% fully worth it to make the switch, although how much difference you'll see depends on the video source. HDTV/DVD or Bluray requires component/HDMI so if you've been trying to view HD of any kind via S-video the difference will blow you away, SD-DVD will look quite a bit better & digital SDTV will look a bit better ... analog SDTV may not make much difference & neither will signals from a VCR if you still have one.

Component cables can be had at Walmart for a reasonable amount of money, but HDMI's will need to be ordered online unless you like getting ripped off.

Here is a good source for cheap & high quality cables: www.monoprice.com


Agreed on all counts.