Daily Joystick

With the onset of this generation of video gaming, we have been metaphorically thrown in at the deep-end with all the technological advances and the jargon that goes along with it. One of these, and perhaps the most argued is HDMI. HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) takes off from where the PC market started – DVI. These are both digital interfaces which means pixel-pixel mapping and even recognition of what panel you are connected too (therefore giving you the appropriate range of resolutions and modes available).

When it comes to HDMI though, the main issue that surrounds its addition is: Does HDMI make the picture any better? In a word: no. Video quality is no better than Component.HDMI supports any TV or PC video format, including standard, enhanced, or high-definition video, plus multi-channel digital audio on a single cable. This is what makes HDMI the future of interfaces. Just like we had SCART, and coaxial before that, each generation has one ambiguous connection which makes things much easier. With the onset of the digital age, we have to move up to the plate, as it were and have digital audio and digital video on one cable.

One major misconception is that HDMI is needed for 1080p. Whilst it’s more suited to the task, with much more bandwidth than Component, it could be said that it was just a digital version of VGA (as DVI is) but with audio on the same interface. On the Xbox 360, for instance the Component cables allow 1080p for gaming, but a maxmimum of 1080i for films. It is unclear why Microsoft chose this, but be aware that only VGA will output films (from the HD DVD add-on), or upscale regular DVD’s, in 1080p.

This whole topic really has relevance right now in the gaming industry as Microsoft are in the process of upgrading the existing Premium 360 to have an HDMI output (along with the Elite). For all those who are thinking of the upgrade, not because they need too (for compatibility issues with existing TV’s), but because they think they are getting a better experience should realise that the quality will be no different from what you currently have.

Aside from the technical advantages or disadvantages, HDMI is something you should actively look for in an HDTV. Not because it will make the experience better, per se but because it will become fully ambiguous within the industry in the next year. Everything will require the connection; from DVR’s, to DVD players, to Blu-ray/HD DVD players.