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| Cable Guide: Get Connected |
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07/15/05 |
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When you get your new toys home, you want to play with them, right? To start enjoying that new DVD player, VCR, TV or home theater receiver, you're gonna have to hook it up.
Making sure you use the best connection possible is extremely important. After all, you took the time to do some research, picked out just the right gear and spent your hard-earned money to get optimum performance. |
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Look at the back of your gear to see what your connectivity options are, then click on the images below to jump to a connection and find out what it's for.
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DVI Connection
DVI (Digital Visual Interface) offers a high-bandwidth, digital-to-digital video connection that bypasses the digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital conversions necessary between components with only component video connections. Eliminating the undesirable artifacts of such conversions results in a more faithful reproduction of the original signal. DVI connections may optionally incorporate the High Definition Content Protection (HDCP) protocol, enabling them to pass copy-protected digital broadcast content (if this capability is present, it's usually indicated by the designations "DVI-HDCP" or "DVI with HDCP").
Good Choices:
 Monster Cable 1m High Definition Video Cables
Monster Cable Super High Performance DVI-D Video Cable For HDTV- 2m
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HDMI Connection
Essentially a more evolved version of DVI, HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) adds digital audio transmission to provide a convenient, one-cable solution to digital A/V connectivity. It offers significantly greater bandwidth than DVI, enabling it to transmit higher-definition uncompressed digital video signals, and establishes a platform for the transfer of future as well as current display formats. And it does all this using a single cable, with a smaller, sleeker connector than DVI. Unlike DVI, all HDMI connections are equipped with the High Definition Content Protection (HDCP) protocol, enabling them to pass copy-protected digital broadcast content.
HDMI is backward-compatible with DVI, meaning that if your source component is equipped with a DVI connection and your display has HDMI (or vice-versa), you'll be able to convert the video portion of the signal via an adapter, while maintaining the integrity of all-digital signal transfer. However, since DVI makes no provision for audio signals, you'll need to establish separate audio connections when converting from either connection to the other.
Good Choices:
Monster Cable 1m HDMI Cable
Monster Cable 2m HDMI Cable
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IEEE-1394 Connection (aka FireWire, iLink)
IEEE-1394 is a standard (approved by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) designed for the high-speed exchange of information between PCs and consumer electronics devices that transfer large amounts of data. To date, IEEE-1394 connectivity has been primarily used to connect digital camcorders to PCs for video editing, but certain high-end TV manufacturers (such as Mitsubishi) have begun incorporating it as an all-purpose digital A/V connection. The connection also carries control information, enabling the seamless coordination of multiple A/V devices — especially when optionally piggybacked with the complementary HAVi (Home Audio Video interoperability) specification. In theory, up to 63 compatible devices may be daisy-chained to a central control device (and operated using a single remote!) using IEEE-1394.
Good Choices:
Geek Squad™ 6' IEEE 1394 FireWire 6-Pin to 4-Pin Cable
Geek Squad™ 6' IEEE 1394 FireWire 4-Pin to 4-Pin Cable
Geek Squad™ 6' IEEE 1394 FireWire 6-Pin to 6-Pin Cable
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RGB Connection
Familiar to PC users, this connection can carry video image data in a variety of formats and resolutions, and is often labeled according to these formats (VGA, SVGA and XGA are the most common 4:3 formats; WVGA, WSVGA and WXGA are their widescreen counterparts). RGB connectivity is becoming increasingly common on high-end TVs as well, facilitating what's commonly referred to as "digital convergence": the integration of formerly separate systems (such as your PC and your home entertainment system) via a single common display device. In other words, you can now compute using your TV as a monitor (and your home theater audio system instead of computer speakers) — particularly exciting news for avid computer gamers.
Good Choice:
Dynex 6' VGA Monitor Replacement Cable
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Component Video Connection
Though inferior to the digital connections listed above, component video is superior to both S-video and composite video because it provides improved color purity, superior color detail, and a reduction in color noise and NTSC artifacts. The 3-plug video output of a DVD player sends/receives the luminance (Y) and 2 color signals, each on a separate colored RCA cable.
Good Choices:
Monster Cable 4' Component Video Cable
Monster Cable 8' Video Cable
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Coaxial Digital Connection
Making a digital connection (optical or coaxial) between your receiver and DVD player or CD player is a great option. A digital stream sends unprocessed sound information to your receiver (which, as a general rule, has a better digital-to-analog signal processor than a DVD or CD player) to be decoded and amplified. (In the case of SACD or DVD-Audio players, a 5.1-channel analog connection is necessary.) A coaxial digital connection sends signals electrically, as opposed to optically. This is not to be confused with an RF cable, which is sometimes called coaxial.
Good Choices:
Monster Cable 4' THX-Certified Digital Coaxial Cable
Monster Cable 8' THX-Certified Digital Coaxial Cable
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Optical Digital Audio Connection
Making a digital connection (optical or coaxial) between your receiver and DVD player or CD player is a great option. A digital stream sends unprocessed sound information to your receiver (which, as a general rule, has a better digital-to-analog signal processor than a DVD or CD player) to be decoded and amplified. (In the case of SACD or DVD-Audio players, a 5.1-channel analog connection is necessary.) An optical digital connection sends signals in the form of light, as opposed to electrically. Optical cables have the advantage of being immune to EM and RF interference.
Good Choices:
Monster Cable 4' THX-Certified Digital Fiber-Optic Cable
Monster Cable 8' THX-Certified Digital Fiber-Optic Cable
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5.1-Channel Audio Connection
A 5.1-channel analog audio connection sends processed audio signals (as opposed to the raw audio data sent via a digital audio cable) from your SACD, DVD-Audio or DVD player with a built-in Dolby Digital or DTS decoder to a home theater receiver (with 5.1-channel inputs) for amplification. It is the only way to enjoy multichannel SACD or DVD-Audio discs. Quality cables provide shielding and improved signal transfer, resulting in premium performance from your components. A total of 6 cables is required. We recommend an all-in-one cable that's specifically designed for dedicated use in 5.1-channel applications, but 3 sets of very-high-quality stereo audio cables with RCA connectors, in identical lengths, will also do the job.
Good Choices:
Monster Cable Composite 4' THX Audio Interconnect
Monster Cable Composite THX Audio 8' Interconnect
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Coaxial RF Connection
Coaxial RF cable connects your cable box or digital satellite box to your TV. It can also be used to connect a VCR to your TV (but A/V cables are preferable). If your TV only has coaxial RF inputs, you can use a video switcher and RF modulator to hook up advanced sources like DVD players or home gaming systems (but picture and sound quality is not nearly as good as with A/V, S-video or component video connections).
Good Choices:
Monster Cable RF 25' Video Cable
Monster 50 ft. Video Cable
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