The HDMI cable that came with my Panasonic DVD player went dead in less than a year. Other than that, the picture was excellent. As for the connection from my TV player (Sony HD) to the Direct TV box, I returned my $120 Monster HDMI cable after I compared it to a much cheaper Blue Jeans cable and saw absolutely no difference. That being said, since my HDMI cable for the DVD player went on the fritz, I've been playing DVDs through the component cable hookups. No difference except I like that less wires are involved with the HDMI cable.