Connection Specifications on HDTV Televisions

Specifications on HDTV televisions can be quite confusing to the uninitiated in the subject. If you are planing to buy a new High Definition television set this summer chances are that you may feel overwhelmed with the many features that modern HDTV sets have. However, an area that may be one of the most obscure ones is that of connectivity. Most sets are able to accept a vast array of different connections but in order to be sure that you can get the most out of the devices that you already have you need to make sure that the set you ultimately buy can connected to other gear you plan to buy if any and gear that you already have in your home. In this article you will find information about the most used interfaces that are used to plug devices to HDTVs.

One of the most fundamental connections is the classic A/V connection. This type of connection is one of the most used connection types ever and is sometimes called composite video, composite A/V or RCA A/V jack. Basically an A/V connection requires three cables. A yellow, a white and a red cable. The yellow cable is responsible for video signals while the red and white cables transmit audio signal. This type of connection use useful if you are planning to connect a DVD or a game console to your HDTV set. This connection type is also useful if you want to connect an MP3 player but you will need the appropriate headphone jack adapter. Although if you plan to connect an MP3 or other such equipment, only the audio section of the A/V input will need to be used.

Component video sometimes is mistaken for composite video connections even when the cables have different colors. Component video cable usually have three video cables and do not transmit audio signals although they can include a white and red cable that is connected in the same way as the red and white cables in a composite video connection.

S-video is another type of video connection among HDTVs that is also considered component video. With S-video, only one video cable is used and usually comes in the form of a black multi pin connector on a cable. It is most of the time used to connect DVD players and video game consoles.

DVI is one of the first connection types that is really useful when it comes to HDTV. DVI stands for Digital Visual Interface and unlike the above, transmit digital video. This interface is able to transmit compressed high definition signals and is very useful to have around since most of the older HD gear used to use this interface. It often used to plug computers to HD televisions and monitors. Another variant is Mini DVI and functions the same way as DVI. It is sometimes present in laptop computers and is cross compatible with DVI. Just an adapter is needed to connect DVI to Mini DVI.

However, the best type of HDTV interface is HDMI. HDMI stands for High Definition Media Interface and is the only interface that offers uncompressed video. Uncompressed video delivers the best possible image quality since no video frequencies are loss to a compression algorithm. This interface also delivers 5.1 surround sound using only one cable. It is the bread and butter when it comes to connecting HD gear such as BLU-Ray players but it also used often to connect HDTVs to computers.