How in the hell did you even turn on a 1080i tv without an HDMI cable?

For shame!

C02, my previous 720p TV didn't even have an HDMI port (kinda tells ya how old it was), so I didn't have an HDMI cable handy when I bought the new TV. I was kinda hoping that one would be included with it, but it wasn't, so I had to wait a day and used the old standard 5 component cables to hook it up. With that said, I really didn't notice a huge difference in picture quality when I installed the HDMI cable. I think it makes it slightly sharper, but it's barely noticeable. Perhaps a 5-10% improvement at best.

HDMI actually doesn't have inherently better picture quality. In some cases, component is actually better. It depends on the drivers in your TV and other components in your system. HDMI bundles the video and audio in one cable, that is the big advantage of it. It is also the accepted technology so all new HD TVs use it. But it doesn't necessarily give a better picture.

Thanks for clarifying that. I was under the impression that there was a huge difference between HDMI and components, but I just didn't see it when I switched over. I did it in less than a minute, so I was able to compare the two while watching the same program. It appeared to me that quick movements were slightly sharper and clearer using HDMI, but other than that, it wasn't noticeable at all. It's not like the improvement between SD and HD, or 720p and 1080p. It's so minor that most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference IMO.