HDTV Setup and Installation
HDTV: High Definition Setup
Guide
This HDTV guide will walk you through
the major steps of your HDTV installation.
It is important to determine what type of HDTV you have. There are two
types of televisions able to receive HDTV programming, HDTV Ready
and Integrated HDTV.
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- HDTV Ready Television- These are also referred to
as "HDTV capable", meaning that they are capable of decoding HDTV
programming with the use of an external set top box/tuner. If you are
planning to receive off the air HDTV programming, you will need to
purchase an external HDTV receiver which is capable of receiving all 18
formats of digital television, as well as a suitable HDTV antenna. The
formats include, high definition, enhanced definition and standard
definition broadcasts. If you are planning to receive HDTV broadcasts
from your satellite TV provider, you will require a special HDTV decoder
box. Finally, if you are going to be receiving HDTV programming from
your digital cable TV provider, you will need a cable set top
box/decoder, which can usually be rented or purchased from your cable TV
provider.
- High Definition Television- If you have purchased an integrated HDTV, you are all ready to receive off the air HDTV broadcasts through a built in ATSC HDTV receiver. You will still require a suitable HDTV antenna to receive the programming. Some select HDTV televisions have a CableCARD decoder built in which enables you to receive cable programming and HDTV signals without an external decoder box using a CableCARD access card provided by your cable TV provider. If your television does not offer Cable CARD support and you are going to be receiving HDTV programming from your digital cable TV provider, you will need a cable set top box decoder, which can usually be rented or purchased from your cable TV provider. If you are planning to receive HDTV broadcasts from your satellite provider, you will require their special HDTV satellite tuner decoder box. Starting in 2007 most HDTV sets will have built-in ATSC digital tuners. HDTV monitors are not going to be as available as they once were when HDTV was just starting out back in 1998.
Note: Some broadcasters, rather than broadcasting in high
definition (720 lines progressive, 1080 lines interlaced)
will be converting their standard television signals to digital. The
resulting format, is know as "Standard Definition Television" (SDTV),
which is limited to 480 interlaced lines of resolution, but will
offer a significant improvement over standard television broadcasts. Other
broadcasters may choose the middle format known as "Enhanced Definition
Television" (EDTV), which delivers 480 progressive lines of
resolution. Regardless of the chosen broadcast format, you will see a
sharply noticeable improvement over your regular analog television
broadcasts (330 lines of resolution).
HDTV Connections
You are familiar with standard connections to your TV, such as from your VCR, DVD player or satellite decoder. These include RF coaxial cable connection, composite video (RCA Type), S-Video and Component Video.
Now with HDTV you will need to become familiar with some new digital connections. The digital connections have pros and cons and your HDTV or decoder/tuner box may not support them all. You should check the manual or the rear of your HDTV set or tuner box to determine what connections are supported. Many of the digital connections involve copy protection capability to prevent content recording. This copy protection could be used to prevent recording of Pay per view channels for example.
Connections:
Firewire, developed by Apple Computer offers some advantages over other connection schemes, DVI for example, is only capable of transmitting video one way. Firewire is a two way connection that is capable of transmitting both video and audio. The exception to this is some Sony and RCA models restrict the Firewire connection to one way. Firewire is able to establish a connection with other devices linked on a home network, and the compressed MPEG-2 signals can be recorded on digital videotape (DVHS) or personal video recorders (PVR's).
Firewire connections on digital televisions and set top boxes also
support a copy protection scheme known as Digital Transmission Content
Protection (DTCP) which is more flexible than the HDCP scheme used with
DVI. A broadcast transmitted in HDTV and sent over Firewire to a device
for example could be embedded with special instructions to allow a single,
several or unlimited copies of a particular program, or they can block the
recording capability out entirely, such as concerts or special Pay per
view events.
DVI- DVI is an uncompressed digital connector
used to pass digital video signals one way from HDTV receivers to other
source devices, such as PVR, DVHS or other devices. The DVI connection has
been found on televisions capable of HDTV in past years, but is being
replaced with HDMI. DVI employs a copy protection scheme developed by
Intel known as High Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) which uses
a special authentication protocol to protect programs from being copied.
When enabled, the end user device, such as a HDTV receiver must first
verify that it is licensed and allowed to be received and if it is, a
hardware handshake is exchanged and the program is transmitted. HDCP
allows a broadcaster to enable reception of a program on a digital
television, but can disable recording of the broadcast on digital VCR's or
personal video recorders. This can be used for example to prevent
recording of special pay per view events to prevent unauthorized
distribution.
VGA- VGA connections, also known as D-Sub-15,
have been around for many years in the computer world. The 15 pin VGA
connector is used to link a personal computer with its monitor. The analog
VGA connection is usually used on HDTV tuners to support a computer
monitor.
Component Video- The component video connection
is the most common way to connect HDTV set top boxes and HDTV cable or
satellite decoders to HDTVs. Component video separates the video signal
into 3 distinct streams (red, green and blue), in which the video signal
is carried via three individual cables using RCA type jack connections.
There are two types of component video, Y,Cr,Cb (normal interlaced DVD
players) and Y,Pr,Pb (Progressive scan DVD players, HDTV decoders and DTV
inputs on televisions). Separating the video stream prevents color bleed
and delivers an increase in picture quality compared to composite video
where the red, green and blue segments are compressed together into a
single channel. 
HDMI- High Definition Multimedia Interface
(HDMI) is the newest connector and is the successor to DVI. HDMI
began appearing on new HDTV sets in late 2003. HDMI, unlike DVI, which can
only pass video, is capable of passing both video and multi channel audio
(up to 8 channels).
The video portion is compatible with DVI devices if they are
HDCP enabled. The digital connection is also smaller than DVI. Eventually
HDMI connections will replace DVI on HDTV sets and we are also likely to
see this connection on other devices such as DVD recorders,
Audio/Video Receivers and even camcorders.
HDMI Cable and jack
HDTV Connections
The most common way to connect your HDTV cable TV tuner box or HDTV satellite decoder directly to your HDTV is to use a component video connection. If both your set top box and HDTV support HDMI, you can use a HDMI cable connection instead. HDMI keeps the whole connection digital where component video has to convert analog.
Some people opt to connect their multimedia devices to their television
through their audio/video receiver so as to allow the receiver to switch
between video sources. For high definition applications however, you will
need to consult your A/V receivers documentation to see if it supports
high bandwidth video connections. Your manual should refer to this as
"wide-bandwidth", "HDTV compatible" or "wideband".
If your A/V receiver is an older model, it is likely that it does not support
wideband video and you will not want to connect it in this manner or you
will be restricting the video resolution which reaches your HDTV. Also
ensure any additional cables, splitters and other devices are capable of
handling the full HDTV bandwidth. A bandwidth of at least 110Mhz is
required to transmit HDTV signals through it without degradation. Most newer A/V receivers support HDMI.
• See over 60 hook up diagrams
Audio Considerations
You should also consider your systems audio capability. Since many HDTV and other DTV formats broadcast audio in Dolby Digital 5.1 (AC-3) or other 5.1 digital surround formats (DTS), you may wish to invest in an external A/V receiver which is capable of decoding this audio format. At the very least, you will want a receiver or television capable of decoding Dolby Pro-logic, otherwise you will be missing out on the outstanding sound fidelity that HDTV can deliver.
Most quality mid range to high end A/V receivers support both Dolby Digital 5.1 as well as DTS and Dolby Pro-logic. Having all 3 standards is important so you can receive full audio benefit with other media devices such as DVD's, which sometimes use DTS instead of Dolby Digital. True Surround Sound requires 3 front loudspeakers and 2 or 3 rear loudspeakers as well as a subwoofer for bass. Most televisions only have 2 speakers at best so you'll need to invest in an audio system for added sound quality.
HDTV Setup
Now that you are familiar with the basics of high definition, you are
ready to begin setting up your system. Your first step is to determine
from your televisions manual if your set's native input is 720
progressive, 1080 interlaced or 1080 progressive.
This is important
as you will need to setup your HDTV receiver or decoder to match your
television.
Most HDTV sets come with a number of audio/video inputs allowing you to connect your HDTV decoder in addition to your DVD player, satellite system and other media devices. The television's video/input button allows you to toggle between different sources.
- Choose the desired method of connecting your HDTV set-top-box to
your television. For most people, the component video connection
combined with the digital audio coaxial or optical TOSLink cable works
very well. You can also use one of the alternate methods described
earlier if you so choose, if they are supported by both your television
and set top box.
- If you also have an audio receiver, you will want to connect this to
your HDTV set top box as well. If your box supports more than one set of
audio outputs, you likely will want one set going directly to your
television, and another set going to your audio video receiver. In this
fashion, you will be able to listen to audio through both your
television speakers and also through your audio video receiver. This is
handy if you don't want to have to turn on your audio receiver every
time you want to watch television.
- Setup your set top box to match your television native HDTV video
mode, 720 progressive or 1080 interlaced or 1080 progressive. Some
set top boxes have a switch located at the back and others have a menu
setting which performs this function thru the remote control.
- Now you must setup your HDTV for the first time. You should consult
with your operating manual as most sets have an on-screen menu which can
assist you with this task. This allows you to configure the connections
that you are using as well as tuning the television for off-air
reception, audio connections and more. It should also be calibrated as
well for correct color, contrast, brightness and other critical
settings.
- Check that the aspect ratio is set to 16:9 preferred, or "full
screen mode" on your television, set top box and DVD player. If a
broadcast is not available in 16:9 it will automatically revert to 4:3.
Most recent mid range to high end televisions also now have the
capability to "zoom in" or "stretch" a 4:3 ratio broadcast to fill most
of a wide screen picture, although there will be a noticeable picture
distortion or loss of some top and bottom details with 4:3
broadcasts.
- If you are using an off-air HDTV decoder, you will want to setup the
decoder for your antenna. Most decoders have an on-screen digital signal
meter where you can adjust your antenna for optimum signal strength.
Remember, unlike an analog signal which can deliver a "snowy picture" in
fringe area, with digital you either will receive a perfect signal or
none at all, however homes in rural areas will require a larger outdoor
antenna to receive an adequate signal. Off-air HDTV signals utilize the
UHF band, which is much more limited in range than VHF, so you will need
an antenna with a good UHF range or one specifically designed for HDTV
reception.
- Proper placement of your television is also important as well, especially if you have purchased a rear projection screen television where viewing angle is critical. You will generally want to match the screen size to the size of the room. For example a 57" television is a poor match for a 6'x6' living room. A general rule of thumb for determining a comfortable viewing distance is 2x the diagonal screen size, so for a 40" television, a good comfortable viewing distance is about 6 to 10 feet from the television. You will also want to determine if room lighting will affect your viewing as well. Projection screen televisions are far more easily "washed out" by sunlight than direct-view televisions, so you will want to make sure you can close the curtains or blinds to reduce this in bright sunlight conditions. Lamps and lights should not reflect on the screen during night viewing, so move lamps away from the viewing screen to maximize viewing enjoyment.
- One more option to consider is calibrating your HDTV. Calibration involves adjusting contrast, brightness, color saturation, and other settings so that your HDTV performs up to its full potential and you view video as intended. You can do it yourself with a calibration DVD such as Avia or Digital Video Essentials, or you can opt to have a ISF certified professional make the adjustments for you. The ISF website has listings for your state and area so you can contact local technical people to perform this service. The cost is around $300.
HDTV Recording Considerations
Recording high definition broadcasts is also an important consideration, since it cannot be recorded via conventional means such as VCR or regular personal video recorder without loss of the HD picture quality.
Many HD cable TV decoder set-top-boxes have the capability to record High
Definition broadcasts. Many satellite TV decoders also have the capability to
do this. More and more manufacturers will be introducing equipment for
this purpose as HDTV broadcasts become commonplace.
Mainstream DVR manufacturers such as Tivo have HDTV compatible
models. It is important to remember that the high bandwidth
nature of high definition broadcasts will significantly reduce your
recording capacity as they consume many times the amount of storage space
compared to standard broadcasts. Larger capacity hard drives are being
introduced to help solve this issue.
Another method of recording HDTV broadcasts is over a FireWire/IEEE 1394/iLink connection if your Set top box supports it.
In order to record over the FireWire connection, you will also need a digital VCR (D-VHS), which can also playback broadcasts over the connection. Digital VCR's are also capable of playing and recording analog sources such as regular VHS tapes.
If you lack HDTV capable DVR or DVHS/FireWire connection, you can also
record a down-converted version of the HDTV broadcast over the analog
S-Video/composite audio/video connections. This would allow you to make
use of your analog VCR or Tivo or other DVR device. The broadcast will be
in either Enhanced Definition Television format (EDTV), or the Standard
Definition format (SDTV), which is limited to 480 lines of resolution,
delivering near DVD quality.
The newer Blu-ray Disc formats
will allow High-Def recording to optical disc.
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