Discussion
As I understand it (told by a Sky engineer) Sky don't supply an HDMI lead that will support 1080p (Full HD) only 720p (HD) which can be upscaled to 1080i.
From Sky's point of view this perfectly adequate as they (or anybody else) don't broadcast in 1080p as those with HD 'Ready' TV's might not get the picture if they're HD Ready is only capable of 720p.
This makes it cheaper for Sky as well.
This is why - I'm told - you shouldn't use your Sky HDMI lead to connect up (say) your Blu-Ray player to your Full HD TV.
Hope this makes sense.
I'm sure someone else can explain this better.
From Sky's point of view this perfectly adequate as they (or anybody else) don't broadcast in 1080p as those with HD 'Ready' TV's might not get the picture if they're HD Ready is only capable of 720p.
This makes it cheaper for Sky as well.
This is why - I'm told - you shouldn't use your Sky HDMI lead to connect up (say) your Blu-Ray player to your Full HD TV.
Hope this makes sense.
I'm sure someone else can explain this better.
Sky has 1 HDMI connector, if you get one of the older ones then you get component also.
Dont bother buying another HDMI lead unless of course you like wasting money, the one that comes with the SKY HD box is as already said basic but it does the job just fine. But if you do like wasting money please do get one with nice big shiney platinum plated ends with a titanium weave over the cable as it makes absolutly no difference to the signal quality at all (but it does look nice) and you will be satisfied knowing that you have purchased the best of the best...
Dont bother buying another HDMI lead unless of course you like wasting money, the one that comes with the SKY HD box is as already said basic but it does the job just fine. But if you do like wasting money please do get one with nice big shiney platinum plated ends with a titanium weave over the cable as it makes absolutly no difference to the signal quality at all (but it does look nice) and you will be satisfied knowing that you have purchased the best of the best...
headcase said:
Sky has 1 HDMI connector, if you get one of the older ones then you get component also.
Dont bother buying another HDMI lead unless of course you like wasting money, the one that comes with the SKY HD box is as already said basic but it does the job just fine. But if you do like wasting money please do get one with nice big shiney platinum plated ends with a titanium weave over the cable as it makes absolutly no difference to the signal quality at all (but it does look nice) and you will be satisfied knowing that you have purchased the best of the best...
Strange, as the one I got kept dropping the picture out, which could only be remedied by un/re-plugging it.Dont bother buying another HDMI lead unless of course you like wasting money, the one that comes with the SKY HD box is as already said basic but it does the job just fine. But if you do like wasting money please do get one with nice big shiney platinum plated ends with a titanium weave over the cable as it makes absolutly no difference to the signal quality at all (but it does look nice) and you will be satisfied knowing that you have purchased the best of the best...
It did the same when used on my Bluray player (to eliminate the Sky box).
A substitution for a decent one (only 20 quid - not silly money) cured the problem.
I suspect the quality and thickness of the plating on the standard lead is what caused it - upon inspection it is horribly constructed, but then what do you expect from a freebie?
Intersting stuff - from an interface point of view all hdmi interfaces can handle all resolutions.
"Although all previous versions of HDMI have had more than enough bandwidth to support all current HDTV formats, including full, uncompressed 1080p signals, HDMI 1.3 increases its single-link bandwidth to 340 MHz (10.2 Gbps) to support the demands of future HD display devices, such as higher resolutions, Deep Color and high frame rates. In addition, built into the HDMI 1.3 specification is the technical foundation that will let future versions of HDMI reach significantly higher speeds."
However the cables won't always support the high resolutions.
"Standard (or “category 1”) HDMI cables have been tested to perform at speeds of 75Mhz or up to 2.25Gbps, which is the equivalent of a 720p/1080i signal.
High Speed (or “category 2”) HDMI cables have been tested to perform at speeds of 340Mhz or up to 10.2Gbps, which is the highest bandwidth currently available over an HDMI cable and can successfully handle 1080p signals."
So it sounds like the Sky cable would be a Cat1 that will be fine for the purpose it is intended.
"Although all previous versions of HDMI have had more than enough bandwidth to support all current HDTV formats, including full, uncompressed 1080p signals, HDMI 1.3 increases its single-link bandwidth to 340 MHz (10.2 Gbps) to support the demands of future HD display devices, such as higher resolutions, Deep Color and high frame rates. In addition, built into the HDMI 1.3 specification is the technical foundation that will let future versions of HDMI reach significantly higher speeds."
However the cables won't always support the high resolutions.
"Standard (or “category 1”) HDMI cables have been tested to perform at speeds of 75Mhz or up to 2.25Gbps, which is the equivalent of a 720p/1080i signal.
High Speed (or “category 2”) HDMI cables have been tested to perform at speeds of 340Mhz or up to 10.2Gbps, which is the highest bandwidth currently available over an HDMI cable and can successfully handle 1080p signals."
So it sounds like the Sky cable would be a Cat1 that will be fine for the purpose it is intended.
mart 63 said:
Thanks ,will buy a decent one tomorrow.Just looked at back of TV,ive a scart from sky to TV,HMDI from amp to TV and an optical from sky to amp.I dont always use the amp,so does the sky HD box have a couple of HMDI sockets and do i need 2 leads.
Mart is your amp also able to handle video switching? or just audio? If it does handle video too then best connection method would be hdmi from sky to input on amp then output from amp to tv.
If it just handles audio then you'll need hdmi from sky to tv for video and optical out from sky to amp for audio. You get better sound if your connecting via hdmi rather than optical.
twinturboz said:
You get better sound if your connecting via hdmi rather than optical.
Depends on your definition of better. Sky boxes only output 5.1 on optical. HDMI is stereo only (for some bizarre reason).http://www.avforums.com/forums/av-amplifiers-recei...
headcase said:
Sky has 1 HDMI connector, if you get one of the older ones then you get component also.
Dont bother buying another HDMI lead unless of course you like wasting money, the one that comes with the SKY HD box is as already said basic but it does the job just fine. But if you do like wasting money please do get one with nice big shiney platinum plated ends with a titanium weave over the cable as it makes absolutly no difference to the signal quality at all (but it does look nice) and you will be satisfied knowing that you have purchased the best of the best...
I think i will stick with the sky cable.I really dont want a big shiny platinum plated cable that looks nice.It wont match my brushed steel door handles.Dont bother buying another HDMI lead unless of course you like wasting money, the one that comes with the SKY HD box is as already said basic but it does the job just fine. But if you do like wasting money please do get one with nice big shiney platinum plated ends with a titanium weave over the cable as it makes absolutly no difference to the signal quality at all (but it does look nice) and you will be satisfied knowing that you have purchased the best of the best...
headcase said:
proberbly just a faulty one, ive seen countless hundreds that work fine but like everything you always get a bad one 
The difference between cheap and decent cables is actually more in the quality of the terminations. A poor quality connection which will tarnish or in the case of HDMI, not fit properly can make quite a lot of difference.
Gassing Station | Home Cinema & Hi-Fi | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff