I have a very nice DVD player that I would like to use a component cable with... it also has an HDMI out, but my plasma only has 1 HDMI in... Do you guys think there is an inherent difference in quality between component and HDMI cables? I tested this out a couple ways. First I hooked up both the HDMI cable and a $30ish component cable i got from walmart into the DVD player. I compared them toggling through the inputs on my plasma. The HDMI signal was drastically (!) better looking. But then I tried comparing between my Xbox 360 (playing a dvd) and the DVD player with the HDMI out. The 360 uses a custom component cable. The difference in quality was undetectable to my eye. So, I'm thinking, the difference is probably the crap cable I got from walmart. Hopefully someone here can recommend a high quality component cable for me to order today. Please keep it at a reasonable price though. On another thread I asked for tips on cable choices and someone suggested i buy $200 cables :O
Try the Acoustic Research ProII Series for less than 30 bucks: http://www.accessories4less.com/cgi-bin/item/PR190