TV Setup and Installation

TV 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:

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).



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.

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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.

1. 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.
    
2. 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.
    
3. 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.
    
4. 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. 
    
5. 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.
    
6. 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.
      
7. 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.



8. 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. 

HDTV cable connection diagrams

Audio Video connections : Cable connections  



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