Gonk, thank you for your response.

I see as a serious flaw of the TV set if different calibration would be required for different inputs. One should be able to switch them freely, right? As such, I'm puzzeld that what's so good for component is not for HDMI and am looking for an explanation outside the TV set.

In my comparison I wanted to be "fair", and I compared Oppo's 480p output in component vs HDMI versions. Have you done the same?

I expected HDMI to be better as it was offering a full digital path, with no D/A and A/D conversions and, in spite of the electrical abomination the HDMI cable is, to work OK over 6'.

I'll try better HDMI cables, but I'm skeptical...