# HDMI vs Fiber Optic Audio



## spykedvodka (Jan 31, 2006)

I don't know if this has been been posted before or not....

But I want to see some opinions....

I Have a 62" Toshiba DLP TV. For the video & Audio, I'm using a pretty good HDMI Cable. The PQ & Sound are unbelievable.

This TV has one of the better sound systems I've heard in a TV, and I'm impressed with it.

So my question is - for Audio which is better, HDMI or Optical? I've gotten mixed reviews... One person says HDMI, the next says Optical.

I think, and correct me if I'm wrong, that HDMI is better. You have a 100% true digital signal going from the VIP 622 to the TV. Sound seems to be really in sync and sounds great.

So is there any advantage (or disadvantages) besides the fact that I'd have two cables from switching audio over to Optical? I could be wrong, but I think since the Video & Audio are both HDMI that it the picture & sound match up perfectly & better than I've ever had it with Dish - especially with HD programing. I think it sync's up better, but like I said, I could be wrong.

So with this all in mind, what's the correct answer?

Oh and one more question... I got a $35 Philips HDMI Cable from Wal-Mart. The cable itself seems really good and I don't have any issues with it. It also has brought me more clarity in TV Viewing than other connections & cables I've tried.

I've always believed that a Digital Signal is a Digital Signal and you really can't do too much better after that (as far as the cable goes). Is there any advantage to purchasing an HDMI cable like the M1000 (http://monstercables.com/productdisplay.asp?pin=3847) from Monster? Or am I pretty much correct in my thinking and higher priced cables like this for HDMI are just a waste of money.

Thanks for your input!


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## SandyG3 (Nov 29, 2002)

spykedvodka said:


> So my question is - for Audio which is better, HDMI or Optical? I've gotten mixed reviews... One person says HDMI, the next says Optical.


HDMI just allows video+sound through the same passthrough cable; the quality of the sound will be the same regardless of HDMI or Optical output. HDMI does have a few advantages over optical on the HDMI 2.0 spec. For the most part doing my testing; you will not notice a difference. I for one like using HDMI as I can have all my devices carry the video/audio through one cable; then I can choose to use the tv's built in sound; or output it from the tv via coax(or optical) to my surround sound system.



spykedvodka said:


> Oh and one more question... I got a $35 Philips HDMI Cable from Wal-Mart. The cable itself seems really good and I don't have any issues with it. It also has brought me more clarity in TV Viewing than other connections & cables I've tried.


A digital signal is either you have picture or you dont. A $6 hdmi cable works as good as a $100 one. Sure it may not be as fancy and not have a name brand label on it; but if it works it works. I would sugguest getting a thicker cable with better shielding so you wont have to worry about interference; though that is not much of a problem going through hdmi(component you may have interference issues).

Enjoy your tv.

Hope this sheds some light on the subject.

Mitsubishi 57" 1080P
DISH VIP 622 (HDMI)
Dish 1000 +HD Pak


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

spykedvodka said:


> I don't know if this has been been posted before or not....
> 
> But I want to see some opinions....
> 
> ...


I can't imagine watching a TV and using the TV's sound system. Buy a sound system that supports HDMI or save a few bucks and just buy an AV unit that only supports 5.1 optical. Even a low end ($500 or less) will sound better than a TV. My neighbor has a TV that is identical to yours, brand new and he was using the TVs sound. When he came over and listened to the same DVD play on my sound system he was amazed at the difference. Cost a lot more than $500, but those Sony Dream Systems really have a sound that I think rivals the Bose systems. Whole lot cheaper.

Rich


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## Amon37 (Mar 5, 2007)

At this point the only thing HDMI does(besides sound through one cable) Is the ability to pass uncompressed PCM audio from next gen HD-DVD and Blu-ray players. 

For an application such as 622, an HDMI cable will have no better picture than component cables and since the HDMI out on the 622 can't pass Dolby Digital you will have worse sound then using a fiber-optic cable.


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## rlnoonan (Jan 6, 2007)

rich584 said:


> I can't imagine watching a TV and using the TV's sound system. Buy a sound system that supports HDMI or save a few bucks and just buy an AV unit that only supports 5.1 optical. Even a low end ($500 or less) will sound better than a TV. My neighbor has a TV that is identical to yours, brand new and he was using the TVs sound. When he came over and listened to the same DVD play on my sound system he was amazed at the difference. Cost a lot more than $500, but those Sony Dream Systems really have a sound that I think rivals the Bose systems. Whole lot cheaper.
> 
> Rich


I totally agree. And for that reason I think it is easier to use an optical audio cable because you can't really run HDMI to both the TV and Stereo. My stereo has HDMI in and out so I guess I could do a pass through, but I'd rather not insert a component in the path of my video signal if its not necessary.

I have HDMI connected to the TV and optical audio to the stereo. That way, if I don't want the stereo on (just watching some quick TV were sound quality doesn't matter) I still get high quality video and audio. And when I want the stereo on I have a high quality digital link for that too. Only downside is that you may want to mute the TV when when using the stereo, but my Harmony remote has that covered automatically.


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## Guitar1969 (Oct 19, 2006)

spykedvodka said:


> I don't know if this has been been posted before or not....
> 
> But I want to see some opinions....
> 
> ...


Not sure if you would notice a difference on a TV audio system between the 2. Optical is usually used if you are separating the audio to a Home Theater Audio setup since HDMI includes the audio and video(which wouldn't be needed for an HT setup)


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## wje (Mar 8, 2006)

Amon37 said:


> For an application such as 622, an HDMI cable will have no better picture than component cables and since the HDMI out on the 622 can't pass Dolby Digital you will have worse sound then using a fiber-optic cable.


Not necessarily; this has been discussed numerous times before. It really depends upon the equipment. If you use component, you're relying upon the 622's D/A converters and video drivers. If you use HDMI, you're relying upon the TV's D/A's (assuming it even goes to analog in its processing path).

Some older HD sets used to convert from digital to component internally so they could use their existing YCrCb video processing. I doubt anyone does this anymore, but who knows? These sets would probably do better with component. New sets, such as DLPs, never go to analog, but if they receive component signals, they have to run them through their internal A/D converters. They might do better with HDMI.

Practically speaking, the difference seems to be minor in most cases. Best bet is to try it out and see.


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## dgilley (Jun 12, 2006)

Another thing to keep in mind is that the 622's HDMI output only supports 2 channel stereo audio but its optical toslink output supports DD5.1. HDMI typically supports the full channel count but Dish did something lame on the 622 that limited it to only 2 channels. Maybe this is an HDMI version 1.0 issue.

I think the best combination of outputs from a 622 is to use the HDMI interface for video, especially to any digital TV so as to avoid a wasted D-to-A and A-to-D of the image, and optical for audio to a 5.1 channel audio system.


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## JM Anthony (Nov 16, 2003)

wje said:


> ... New sets, such as DLPs, never go to analog, but if they receive component signals, they have to run them through their internal A/D converters. They might do better with HDMI.
> 
> Practically speaking, the difference seems to be minor in most cases. Best bet is to try it out and see.


I've got a new Sammy 61" DLP. There is no discernable difference in PQ between component and HDMI. For good audio, optic to a/v receiver and 5.1 speaker system.

John


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