Connecting to Input Sources
What good is a great TV if there’s nothing on it to watch? If you’re like most people, you will be hooking up your HD set to one or more external content sources.
Set-top Boxes
For most people, the choices here are dictated by what their cable or satellite vendor supports. But any box you get these days is going to have a digital output connection, either DVI or HDMI. It will probably also have component video outputs, but they won’t work for any “protected” content like scrambled cable signals. There is a slim chance you might get one with a FireWire output, but it’s highly unlikely. Since most people are already doing business with a particular cable or satellite provider, it pays to check out their set-top boxes before you buy your HDTV, and make sure you get the right hook-ups. Cable adapters are available for DVI-HDMI connections, but that is about the only gap that can be bridged. Also, be aware that some set-top boxes will output in either HDTV or standard TV format, not both at the same time. This could be an issue if you’re sharing a connection between TV sets and not all are HD-capable, so check.
DVD Players
While you still can’t get true HD performance out of a DVD, you can take steps to make sure you’re getting the best quality signal out of the player and into your HDTV. It won’t be true HD resolution, but you can still leverage your set’s superior capabilities to make it look a lot better. First, progressive scan is a must – it doubles your frame rate and makes action scenes look noticeably smoother. That means you can forget using S-video or composite connections – they won’t support 480p progressive scan. In fact, you should look for a deck that supports a full-digital connection like HDMI. By keeping things digital all the way, you won’t suffer any signal degradation from digital-analog or analog-digital conversions. The other thing to consider is the player’s ability to upscale a signal from 480p to the higher resolutions. This will not make the signal true HD, but it will optimize it for your TV’s display. Better DVD players have powerful onboard chipsets that take care of all that before it gets to the TV, delivering a pure-digital signal that’s already upscaled to just the right resolution.
High-Definition Disc Players
Unlike your old DVD player, the new generation of high-def disc players can support HD resolutions right out of the box. Both HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc players are designed to work with your HDTV, delivering the highest quality content to the panel. Use HDMI to connect these devices to your system.
Gaming Consoles
Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's Playstation 3 are both designed to deliver HD-quality video at 720 or 1080 lines per inch, along with many other advanced features. With multi-channel audio and widescreen playing environments, it all adds up to a big leap forward in gaming. While the list of game titles with full HD resolution is still a bit short, that’s changing quickly, and even 480p games look better on an HD set.
The PS3 features onboard high-def disc players in the form of a Blu-ray disc player.
The Xbox 360 does not offer onboard HD-DVD, however it does have an add on device
available. Whichever deck you buy, use the best available output connection - current models both feature HDMI.