carlos_garza
join:2000-09-24
Cicero, IL
| HDMI cable for HD Box?
OK, so I've finally joined the ranks and purchased an LCD TV w/ HD.
I went to the local Comcast office to pick up the HD box and was told that there were out of the boxes with HDMI. So I didn't pick one up. Driving home I thought, would using a HDMI cable to connect the box to the TV better the quality of the picture?
So yeah, would there be much of a difference if I use an HDMI cable to hook up the box to the TV as opposed to just using the good ol' coax?
Or are there other benefits other than quality with using HDMI? |
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MRCUR
join:2007-03-09
Columbia, PA
 ·Embarq
| The quick answer to your question is no. Using HDMI won't give you any pic quality benefits since you're not watching 1080p content, which you would need an HDMI cable for.
Now, using coax is not an option. Unfortunately many people (and Comcast installers) think it is. Coax can NOT send an HD signal. You'll need to use component cables which are certainly available on the box Comcast has. Just pick up and HD box and ask for component cables with it. |
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carlos_garza
join:2000-09-24
Cicero, IL
edit:
July 3rd, @03:40PM
| OK, thanks for the info, but now I have a follow up question to your comment that coax can't send a HD signal.
I bypassed the default cable box and plugged the coax cable directly to the back of my TV and was able to receive the local channels in HD.
So am I not getting true HD when using the coax? It sure looks alot better than the non-HD channels! |
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SND2005
Premium
join:2001-09-15
Im Over Here
 ·CWLab
| reply to carlos_garza
The main advantage of HDMI is that it is digital. It also has the ability to carry audio over the same wire.
Keeping the signal "digital" ensures the best possible quality on your display device. It is the "pure" signal as it is being sent to you. Using a coax connection FROM your cable box to your nice new LCD takes that nice digital signal & makes it a analog signal which is then converted BACK to a digital signal by your LCD.
Connecting the tv directly to the coax without your cable box allows your tv to be the tuner. (Assuming this is what you have going on...)
You want to get the cable HDTV box. There is no guarantee your tv will be able to tune in all the channels Comcast is sending you.
Using a S-Video connection or even component is better than coax. That being said, both of those are also a analog connection- and BY THE BOOK, of less overall quality.
Long story short, get the box and make you ask them for a HDMI cable. Even if you have one...they are expensive and you might need one down the road  |
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carlos_garza
join:2000-09-24
Cicero, IL | That makes it all clear now!!
HDMI it is! Thanks! |
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Warzau
Premium
join:2000-10-26
Naperville, IL
clubs: | reply to carlos_garza
Which office did you go to? I am trying to get a box, might as well take that office off my list  |
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gaborm
join:2004-07-18
Fort Lauderdale, FL
| reply to carlos_garza
Comcast does not carry hdmi cable only that huge and heavy component one, and you do not even have to ask they give it with the HD box automatically. As for HDMI cable there's no difference between them (unless you need to run it in a wall with electric wires next to it over more than 10 feet). So any cheap HDMI cable will do it, and it's a waste of money buying those Monster cables from a brick store. Amazon or Monoprice sells nice 6-10 feet HDMI cables for less than $5, and in the future you'll need more than one anyway (dvd player, A/V receiver, game consoles all come with HDMI output nowadays), so order 2-3 and the shipping fee will be minimal / piece.
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gaborm |
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owlyn
join:2004-06-05
Newtown, PA
clubs: | reply to carlos_garza
And just so you know, there is no (noticeable) difference in picture quality between HDMI and using the big heavy, 5 wire component cable that Comcast will give you. |
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rockotman
...Blown On The Steel Breeze
Emerging Research
join:2000-08-06
DSotM
clubs:
 ·Comcast Formerly ..
| reply to gaborm
said by gaborm  :Comcast does not carry hdmi cable only that huge and heavy component one, and you do not even have to ask they give it with the HD box automatically. Funny - I have an HD box (Moto DCT6416) from Comcast, and it has HDMI, and they gave me the cable. I guess it depends on the local office.
Anyway, FWIW, my brother-in-law has a Moto DCT6412, but the HDMI is disabled, and they gave him a component video cable. The picture looks just as good, and the bonus is his TV is able to switch over to closed captioning when he mutes it (something that is not supported when audio comes in on HDMI).
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"I was the bad guy once again. I laughed at their sorrows. Ha ha ha ha ha." |
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MadMANN
Premium
join:2005-08-19
·Comcast
| reply to gaborm
said by gaborm :Comcast does not carry hdmi cable only that huge and heavy component one, That varies by area. I have a few in my own service truck, and I can tell you for sure that I didn't buy them. |
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SND2005
Premium
join:2001-09-15
Im Over Here
·CWLab
| reply to owlyn
said by owlyn :And just so you know, there is no (noticeable) difference in picture quality between HDMI and using the big heavy, 5 wire component cable that Comcast will give you. There is a difference for me when I use component and switch to HDMI. If you have the option- use it. Just my 2 cents.
Any yes, in my area the Plymouth Meeting office @
1 Apollo Rd has HDMI cables. Given the price of cheap cables its worth asking IMO. |
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pplchamp1
Great One
Premium
join:2002-01-25
East Hartford, CT
| I just picked up an HDMI box at my local office. I should grabbed the HDMI cable when he asked if I needed one, but I said I already had one. Stupid me! Can never have too many hdmi cables
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I ain't got time to bleed! |
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bryce115
@comcast.net
| reply to SND2005
said by SND2005 :The main advantage of HDMI is that it is digital. It also has the ability to carry audio over the same wire. I thought the main advantage of HDMI is DRM. |
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beavercable
join:2008-05-11
Beaverton, OR
| reply to carlos_garza
Some of us techs carry BPI (broadband products incorporated) hdmi cables. But I only use em to show customers the difference in quality. In our system we give customers the component automatically the hdmi is only given out on special occasions or if thats all the tech had left. |
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jabuqua
join:2004-10-10
Beverly Hills, CA
| reply to MRCUR
said by MRCUR :Now, using coax is not an option. Unfortunately many people (and Comcast installers) think it is. Coax can NOT send an HD signal. The statement above is totally false. There is nothing wrong with using coax for hd if your hdtv has a qam tuner. But you already found that out yourself.
In some areas they will offer you a DVR (minus the dvr service charge) if your area is out of hd boxes due to high demand. You'll have better luck getting hdmi with the dvr. |
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MadMANN
Premium
join:2005-08-19
·Comcast
| said by jabuqua :said by MRCUR :Now, using coax is not an option. Unfortunately many people (and Comcast installers) think it is. Coax can NOT send an HD signal. The statement above is totally false. There is nothing wrong with using coax for hd if your hdtv has a qam tuner. I think he was referring to the coax output of the box, which does not support HD. MRCUR just did not go into detail. |
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MRCUR
join:2007-03-09
Columbia, PA
·Embarq
| said by MadMANN :said by jabuqua :said by MRCUR :Now, using coax is not an option. Unfortunately many people (and Comcast installers) think it is. Coax can NOT send an HD signal. The statement above is totally false. There is nothing wrong with using coax for hd if your hdtv has a qam tuner. I think he was referring to the coax output of the box, which does not support HD. MRCUR just did not go into detail. Yes, thank you MadMANN for the clarification. I was referring to the box, which is why I made the comment about customers and installers. |
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gaborm
join:2004-07-18
Fort Lauderdale, FL | reply to MadMANN
Ahh good to know that changed over the years. In 2006 July I had the component only option here in S-E Fl. |
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gaborm
join:2004-07-18
Fort Lauderdale, FL
| reply to rockotman
said by rockotman :Anyway, FWIW, my brother-in-law has a Moto DCT6412, but the HDMI is disabled Ehm... Can they really disable the moto box port by service area? (What's the point if it's true?)
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gaborm |
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rockotman
...Blown On The Steel Breeze
Emerging Research
join:2000-08-06
DSotM
clubs:
·Comcast Formerly ..
| It is disabled in the firmware of the box (according to what the tech told him). From what he was told (at least as he relayed it to me), it is necessary to have an old firmware build to support the infrastructure equipment in his neighborhood. His neighborhood was one of the first to have two way digital, but I guess that also means that the equipment is now out of date. He only lives about two miles from me, and we have the same system build in terms of channels, but all the digital two way equipment was installed in my neighborhood in 1999. His area was done in 1996. None of it makes sense to me, I am only relaying what he told me.
BTW, it took three visits before they came up with that reason. First they told him to bring in his old 6412 for an exchange. He did that, but checking the settings revealed that HDMI was still disabled. He called again, and explained what he saw, and also explained that I had a 6416 with a working HDMI port, and wanted to know why he couldn't get the same box. At that point they told him to come in again. That is when they told him that he needed the 6412 with the old firmware build due to his neighborhood's equipment. When he pressed, they agreed to send a tech out to see if he could get the HDMI working. The tech trieed another box, to no avail. That is when the tech told him that the old firmware build would not support enabling HDMI. Anyway, each time he exchanged the box, he got another HDMI cable, and kept the old cable when turning over the box. So while he can't hook up his DVR through HDMI, he can hook up everything else... PS3, Xbox, and has a spare HDMI cable for just in case.
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"I was the bad guy once again. I laughed at their sorrows. Ha ha ha ha ha." |
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