The High-Definition Multi-media Interface (HDMI) is an industry-supported, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface with 5 Gbps of available bandwidth.

HDMI provides an interface between any compatible digital audio/video source, such as a set-top box, DVD player, and A/V receiver and a compatible digital audio and/or video monitor, such as a digital television (DTV).

The benefits of HDMI over traditional analog connections include:

• All-digital rendering of video without the losses associated with analog interfaces and their unnecessary digital-to-analog conversions.
  
• Lower cost: a single HDMI connection replaces 3 video connections for high definition video and 6 audio connections for high-resolution audio.
  
• Audio: HDMI supports multiple audio formats, from standard stereo to multi-channel surround-sound.
  
• Ease-of-use: HDMI combines video and multi-channel audio into a single cable, eliminating the cost, complexity, and confusion of multiple cables currently used in A/V systems.
  
• Intelligence: HDMI supports two-way communication between the video source (such as a DVD player) and the DTV, enabling new functionality.

HDMI has the capacity to support existing enhanced and high-definition video formats including 480p, 720p, 1080i, and even 1080p as well as standard definition formats such as NTSC or PAL.

The standard Type A HDMI connector has 19 pins. A higher resolution Type B HDMI connector also exists but is not yet in common use. Type B has 29 pins, allowing it to carry an expanded video channel for use with high-resolution displays. Type-B is designed to support resolutions higher than 1080i.

HDMI is backwards-compatible with the single-link Digital Visual Interface (DVI) commonly found on older HD televisions and set top devices through the use of a suitable adapter or cable, but the audio and remote control features of HDMI will not be available.

Additionally, without support for HDCP, the video quality and resolution may be downgraded by the player unit. Type B HDMI is similarly backwards-compatible with dual-link DVI.

In addition to carrying uncompressed video, HDMI is defined to carry 8-channels, of 192kHz, 24-bit uncompressed audio. HDMI can also carry compressed audio formats such as Dolby or DTS.

HDMI cable specifications are designed to use standard copper cable construction with certain levels of required performance and it is expected that HDMI cables can be expected to perform flawlessly in cables up to 15 meters in length.

The HDMI Founders include leading consumer electronics manufacturers Hitachi, Matsushita Electric Industrial (Panasonic), Philips, Sony, Thomson (RCA), Toshiba, and Silicon Image.

Learn more at the HDMI site http://www.hdmi.org

• HDTV cables and connections

Off-air antennas, which provide access to local HDTV broadcasts, can be indoor or outdoor types. If your cable TV or satellite TV service doesn’t carry all of your local HDTV stations, you’ll want to add an off-air antenna so you can receive them.

HDTV cable boxes and satellite receivers are similar to their non-HD counterparts but have additional connections and features to provide high-definition programming.

Some models include a Digital Video Recorder with hard-disk drive, which gives you TiVo-like functions such as automatic recording of favorite TV shows and pausing live TV. Cable TV converters and DVRs are typically made by Motorola and Scientific Atlanta, then remarketed by your local cable TV provider to you. 

Motorola and Scientific Atlanta are two primary manufacturers of cable TV decoder boxes.

Front panel

Back panel

HDTV brings an unprecedented level of detail and color to your TV viewing experience. In order to get true HDTV (720p or 1080i/1080p resolution), you need to connect your HD digital cable TV or HD satellite TV box to your HDTV with a HDMI, DVI, or Component video cable.

These cables come in standard lengths from 3 feet up to 50 feet. (You can go up to 300 feet with a fiber optic cable extension but the cost is high.)

HDMI is usually your best video connection, typically outperforming component video because there is no analog-to-digital conversion process, it's a pure, all-digital connection. HDMI can also carry multi-channel audio, so you get razor-sharp picture and pristine audio all in one cable.

High-definition video cables usually have 24k gold contacts, heavy-duty shielding and the highest-quality materials and construction to help ensure the most accurate data transfer and best HDTV picture.

OPTIONS:

There are many options for making the video connection between an HDTV tuner and HD monitor. One way is component-video cables from the set-top tuner box to the TV. Or you could instead run the cables to an A/V receiver and then make a component-video connection from the receiver to the TV. This is more convenient if you want to use the receiver to switch between other component-video sources, like a DVD player.

When making high-def component-video connections through a receiver, make sure the receiver can handle the wider bandwidth of HDTV signals, or you’ll lose picture detail. Also, make sure your installation hardware —cables, splitters, and other components such as signal amplifiers — can handle the full HDTV bandwidth. 

Some HDTV tuners have a DVI (Digital Visual Interface) output, which provides an all-digital video connection. Your HDTV monitor also has to have a DVI input, and it’s a good idea to make sure it’s compliant with the HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) copy-protection scheme. HDCP uses a transmitter and receiver with encryption at each end to pass programs from a tuner to a TV. 

An upgraded version of DVI, the HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) connector, which can handle both digital audio and video, is another option.

HDMI CABLE	HDMI JACK
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Some HDTV tuners and sets also include an analog VGA jack for connection to a computer. 

Once you connect the tuner, you’ll need to set it to match your TV’s display format. There will be a switch or menu option for selecting 720p or 1080i output, depending on your set’s native resolution. Flat-panel LCD and plasma TVs often have a different native resolution — such as 1,024 x 768 — in which case the set will convert the signal as needed. 

Surround Sound 
 
If you have an A/V receiver, run either an optical or coaxial digital audio cable from the digital cable TV box or HD satellite receiver to the A/V receiver for 5.1-channel surround sound. If you don’t have an A/V receiver, connect the tuner and TV using standard analog stereo inputs and outputs. Note that in addition to the high-def video, the HDTV signal includes Dolby Digital audio — in 5.1 channels if that’s how it was broadcast, or else in Dolby Digital stereo.

With a satellite TV hookup, you’ll also need an 18- to 20-inch dish to receive HDTV. If you already have satellite service, you’ll at least need a new HD receiver. With DirecTV, you’ll also need a larger, elliptical dish.