HDTV Connections

DVI-D
The most common digital-video cable for HDTV is DVI-D. (DVI stands for digital video interconnect, and the extra D means it’s for digital TV.)

If you’re using DVI-D connections, watch out for two problems:

Not all DVI connectors work with HDTV. Make sure you have DVI-D cables if you use DVI-D in your HDTV system.

Computers use another type of DVI connector that has a confusingly similar name: DVD-I. The DVD-I connector has five extra pins (four pins around a central crosshair-shaped pin) on one side; these send analog video signals from computer video cards to computer monitors. You typically won’t find DVI-I in home HDTV systems. (There are some projection systems that are also used with computers to beam PowerPoint slides up onto the conference room wall.) You can use an inexpensive adapter to connect a DVD-I cable to the DVD-D receptacle on your HDTV _but you’ll only be able to receive digital video signals that way, not analog.
DVI-D connections often require the HDCP copy protection system for true HDTV video performance. If just one of your HDTV components doesn’t have HDCP, you may not get true HDTV performance from DVI-D connections. DVI-D is the only digital HDTV connection that can’t carry audio.

HDMI
The HDMI system (for High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is specially designed for HDTV connections. It carries both HDTV video and digital surround sound.

HDMI has a couple of advantages in an HDTV system:

You need only one HDMI cable to connect both HDTV video and surround-sound digital audio signals. HDMI is an extremely high-bandwidth technology (5 gigabits per second). It has extra bandwidth to accommodate future HDTV formats.
HDMI connections often require the HDCP copy-protection system for true HDTV video performance. If you’re using any HDMI connections, make sure that all your HDTV components support HDCP.

FireWire
FireWire is the least-used HDTV connector. It can transmit both video and audio. FireWire is the only two-way connection for HDTV _the same cable can send HDTV video (and audio) to and from devices. This two-way connection is great for HDTV recording systems _for example, one cable fully connects an HDTV with a D-VHS VCR.

The name FireWire _the same system is known by a couple of other names:

Engineers and nerds call FireWire the IEEE 1394Standard. (IEEE is the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.)
Some manufacturers use the name i.LINK instead of FireWire. Consumer-electronics manufacturers usually prefer a snappy name like i.LINK or FireWire over something boring like 1394.

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