Michel, as Paul(gman)pointed out, one advantage of the HDMI connection is that it only involves one cable, instead of the three for a component connection. Another theoretical advantage is that it keeps the information digital all the way instead of requiring conversion to analog and back to digital, as in component. This may or may not actually slightly improve picture and/or sound, since modern converters work extremely well. The S97 is a fine player, and a good buy, but not better than everything else on the market, if that's what you were asking.
