Question on Home Entertainment:

If I connect my normal DVD player via component to a HDMI receiver and then output to an LCD TV via HDMI, will the video quality be equally good as if I use a HDMI-enabled DVD player? If it is, does it mean that all a HDMI DVD player does is to upscale a standard definition DVD footage from 480p to 1080p, compared to a normal player?

Submitted by Vince, via email

Answer:

All things equal, a direct connection will definitely yield less signal loss and better A/V quality. That's putting aside any additional post-processing applied in the chain of connections. For instance, the unnecessary digital-to-analog conversion (in your example) performed when using the component-video interface will theoretically have a detrimental effect on picture quality. If A/V switching is not required, always try to achieve the shortest signal path. Less is better in this case.