How to get the best picture and sound from your HD set up.

In this How To I will inform you of the best way to set up your hd tv for optimal video and auido performance.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Hdmi cord
• Component cables
• Fiber Optic audio cable

1. First off, yuo need to understand the difference in the cables you are using. The first couple "steps" i will put in here will go over each type of cable you can use, and the benefits and down falls of each.

2. 
    

   RCA wires- These are your basic yellow red and white cables you have seen your whole life. The yellow cable is for your video, as the red and white are your audio. These do not support high def video. These will not be used for your high def tv for video. They can be used for audio, and I will explain this later in the article.

3. 
    

   Component Cables- These are similar to the RCA cables except the colors and number of wires. Component cables include Blue Green and Red cables for the video, and also have the red and white audio cables. The Red Green and Blue video cables break the video down into three basic colors, increasing the clairty and color's able to be viewed. These are your most common High def Cable, though they are not ideal.

4. 
    

   HDMI cable- This cable is one single cable that supports high def video and audio. This is the ideal way to have your hd tv hooked up for High Def. This cable is a little pricy, but is needed for HD clarity.

5. 
    

   DVI cable- This cable is similar to the HDMI cable as far as video goes. I t will oput out the same clarity as HDMI, but is has no audio. Some tv's and HD boxes only have dvi jacks, no HDMI. In this case, you will need audio cables as well. They do make DVI to HDMI cable's, which have dvi on one end and HDMI on the other. I would not recommend using these though.

6. 
    

   Fiber Optic Audio Cable- This is for audio only. If you have a surround sound system, i would highly recommened using a Fiber Optic for your audio. This will give you the clearest sound.

7. ok, now to start hooking up HD. I wil start with my recommended set up. This includes using component cables, HDMI, and Fiber optic Audio cables. From your HD box, run hdmi and component cables to your tv. I run both because HDMI wil give you your best HD picture, but while watching non HD programs, the picture may look a little grainy. The component cables will clear this up on the non HD programs. While watching a program in HD, use your HDMI input. While not in HD, use your component input on the tv.

8. FOr hooking up sound, I run a fiber Optic audio from the HD box to the surround sound. You can run RCA cables for the sound as well if your surround sound does not have fiber optic audio jacks. Either will give you surround sound, but the fiber wil give much clearer sound.

Tips & Warnings

• I have worked in this business for years now and know the ends and out of each type of cable. You can substitute any wire for others i have mentioned, this is just my recommended set up.
• While dealing with electronics use caution. Make sure all devices are powered down before setting up.

[EdieBoo]

on 12/18/2008 HELP!!!! I need help connecting all of my components. HD Box (from my cable company), HD TV, DVD player, PC and receiver (surround sound). I would like go get the best picture and sound. [e-mail]