Does VGA support high def?

[mapes]

Since component is analog (lossy degradation of the signal occurs), .

In theory yes loss is possible with analog signals however that is not always the case. Nor is digital always a better bet.

The argument often made for the DVI or HDMI signal formats is the "pure digital" argument--that by taking a digital recording, such as a DVD or a digital satellite signal, and rendering it straight into digital form as a DVI or HDMI signal, and then delivering that digital signal straight to the display, there is a sort of a perfect no-loss-and-no-alteration-of-information signal chain. If the display itself is a native digital display (e.g. an LCD or Plasma display), the argument goes, the signal never has to undergo digital-to-analog conversion and therefore is less altered along the way.

That might be true, were it not for the fact that digital signals are encoded in different ways and have to be converted, and that these signals have to be scaled and processed to be displayed. Consequently, there are always conversions going on, and these conversions aren't always easy going. "Digital to digital" conversion is no more a guarantee of signal quality than "digital to analog," and in practice may be substantially worse. Whether it's better or worse will depend upon the circuitry involved--and that is something which isn't usually practical to figure out. As a general rule, with consumer equipment, one simply doesn't know how signals are processed, and one doesn't know how that processing varies by input. Analog and digital inputs must either be scaled through separate circuits, or one must be converted to the other to use the same scaler. How is that done? In general, you won't find an answer to that anywhere in your instruction manual, and even if you did, it'd be hard to judge which is the better scaler without viewing the actual video output. It's fair to say, in general, that even in very high-end consumer gear, the quality of circuits for signal processing and scaling is quite variable.

[BenKenobi]

Which one do I want :/

[juneau]

I'd say go for DVI > HDMI. I've had no problems and the cable is cheaper. Plus, if you're getting a card like my AMD HD3450 it'll come with on board audio.

[Hammy]

I'd say go for DVI > HDMI. I've had no problems and the cable is cheaper. Plus, if you're getting a card like my AMD HD3450 it'll come with on board audio.

+1

Because HDMI is a standard that is being implemented freely, there are a few things you can guarantee:

It will maintain better support and get better over time.

It will remain supported in any format you purchase today as it improves (i.e. if there is a HDMI 2.0, then HDMI 1.0 will continue to be supported)

It will become part of the digital stream in terms of hardware and software that supports distribution of video images (digital projectors, cable TV, etc.)

Fact is that major manufacturers of electronic components have invested in, and accepted, this as the way to go- and these guys like to make 5-10 year investments, so I'd call it a solid way to go.

I am the "set it up once" kind of person when it comes to projects like this. I'd rather support it with software updates and driver upgrades than have to tear it apart and constantly modify it with additional things in order for different components to "speak" to each other with a clearly consistent quality.