This article
aims to clear up some of the confusion about which cables you should use to
connect you HD Plasma or LCD TV to all of its accessories. We will answer
questions like which cabling standard is 'best', how to connect them, should you
buy the really expensive gold plated variety? And what is the difference between
the likes of HDMI, DVI, Scart, Component and how do you identify what you have
or are about to buy?
This is not meant as a technical reference and I will avoid jargon and technical specifications as much as possible.
What Are All These Different Cable Types?
This type
is called HDMI and it is the connection type most preferable. Quite simply it
is the most up to date and has a huge throughput compared to most of the others.
This means that all the extra information required for a superb HD picture along
with all the sound information as well. It is also the most widely adopted among
manufacturers of new AV equipment. And because it is sound and vision in one
cable it makes for less of a spaghetti junction behind the TV. HDMI is also an
evolving standard with improvements always on the
horizon.
Component
This is 'Component' also a high quality solution capable of full HD transfer. It is however less common on new equipment and because it has three cables for picture and you need a separate one for sound it makes for more of a wire muddle. If your new flat panel has one of these ports(or one set I should say) that would be a good thing.
DVI
This is
DVI. Yet again this is a superb quality connection but it does not have the
throughput of the best. It can be really useful if you want to connect a PC to
your television as many good quality graphics cards have a port for this type of
plug. So again it is good to have one of these and it would give a sharper,
clearer picture for PC use than a regular monitor connection would. It is also
possible to convert from DVI to the latest standard.
Scart
This
is scart. You probably recognise it as it has been around since the 1980s. And
as you would expect from a technology that old it has past its best before date.
It is advisable to avoid connecting any significant accessories via this method.
If you do you will not be getting anything like the best possible from your
HDTV. It is worth having 1 or more scart sockets for any old stuff you might
want to connect to though. Playstation 2, Gamecube, old DVD player or old SKY
box all would use scart.
S-Video
This is
called S-Video. Avoid connecting anything important via this one. It is not a
high quality connection. You will usually see one of these on a plasma or LCD in
conjunction with to of the old mic/speaker connections. This is useful for
connecting many camcorders and a good manufacturer will put s video on the side
of the panel. If your TV does not have DVI or your television does not have the
regular PC SVGA slot then this might be an option for working your computer or
laptop on your new display.
Which Connection Is Best For Me?
That depends on if you already have your home
cinema kit yet or are about to invest in one.
Are you about to
purchase?
If this is you then the decision is easy. Go for a
television with as many HDMI sockets as possible. A good number is three but the
more the merrier. And of course it makes sense where possible to get the
accessories like DVD players or HD games machines to match.
What do you have available?
Ideally
you will have an HDMI connection for everything you attach to your plasma or
LCD screen. If not it doesn't matter because there will certainly be other
options that might suit your current or future attachments. If not then you can
always use an adapter. The one pictured left converts a DVI device into an HDMI
one. The signal quality is not the same as if it came from an actual HDMI device
but it is very good and solves a problem. You can get many similar adapters
from the various other connection types.
Switches
If you simply do not have enough of the
right type of socket then you can get a switch box. This device allows you to
plug multiple devices into the switch and then connect the device to just one
socket of the TV. You can then flip through all the devices as you wish without
having to plug and unplug anything.
Should I Buy The Top Price Cables?
It is a little known but true that
electrical retailers are making smaller and smaller margins on TVs, DVD players
and speaker systems etc. This is so because of competition but mainly because of
growing internet use buyers are more price aware and can easily home in on the
cheapest supplier for the make and model they want.
So they
have to make money elsewhere, from YOU. One way is the dreaded extended
warranty. The other is over priced, all singing and dancing cables. The
packet pictured left contains an HDMI 'Monster' cable and will set you back £100
at a certain UK retailer. The sales person will tell you how great the
shielding is. He will waffle about throughput and gold connections. There are
some real and theoretical advantages to all these features. But the difference
to the human eye and ear on even the most state of the art equipment is
negligible. If you want to make a significant difference to your image quality
then calibrate
your TV.
You might be suprised how persistent, even pushy the shop
assistant is about the cable. If you further consider that you might want an
HDMI connection to and from multiple devices then you can see how ludicrous the
situation is. I suggest you look the sales person squarely in the eye and ask
him to confirm that this is the cable he uses. He will probably squirm briefly
and drop the subject. Dont be surprised if there is not a cheap alternative
available and you have to look elsewhere. Dont worry, if you shop around you
should be able to get a good quality
brand name cable for about 20% of the price.
How To Plug It In.
And as
long as the connections are firmly in you should get great picture and sound. To
make sure you get the best possible from your equipment I have a few
suggestions.
Keep the cable length as short as possible to avoid
interference. Especially if you are using scart. With the latest HDMI this is
much less of an issue but it is still possible to get electrical interference
that causes distortion. Even if you have already purchased one these expensive
AV leads and the sales person told you how well shielded it was, it is still
worth applying these suggestions. And of course the shorter it is the tidier it
will be.
If you do have excess cable coil it in a figure eight. This
takes advantage of the laws of physics and ensures the minimum interference. In
addition try to set it up so that any AV cables(thats wires carrying picture or
sound) do not come into contact with power leads. If they do have to cross try
and arrange it so they cross at right angles. This minimises the possibilities
for charge traveling from power to picture lead.
Just a note about cable
tidys. Based on what I have just said it is not always a good idea to have all
your cables scrunched up together. It might improve what it looks like behind
the TV stand but it may also cause minor imperfections in the picture
