Putting HDMI to work on your HDTV
There are many ways to make the most of your HDTV, such as DIRECT TV or a nice new Blu-Ray player. However, while setting up the first is easy, your Blu-Ray player may require some extra work. Even if you’ve got a Blu-ray Disc player supporting audio like Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD Master Audio, you may not be taking advantage of the full range of its power. The easiest way to use these audio bitstreams is with HDMI, and it’s the only way for Dolby Digital Plus.HDMI stands for High-Definition Multimedia Interface, and is a recently-adopted method for transmitting uncompressed digital data. HDMI is an efficient choice for the modern home theater watcher, since it can support any TV or PC video format, 8 channels of compressed or uncompressed digital audio, an Ethernet connection, and a CEC connectionall on a single cable. It’s an easy way to get rid of tangled cords while also improving your audio-visual experience.The interface first became available in 2003, and has already been adopted by more than 850 companies. In consumers electronics markets, it’s pretty much a given for new products. HDMI has a number of connector types, referred to as types A-E. Type E is only used in automobiles for connecting personal media players, camcorders, and the like. The other types differ in size and bandwidth.HDMI offers a special type of encryption, when needed, known as HDCPHigh-bandwidth Digital Content Protection. This prevents the encrypted content (including DVD Video, DVD Audio, HD DVD, and Blu-Ray) from being played on unsecured devices.The latest version of HDMI, 1.4a, hit the markets on March 4, 2010, adding two new mandatory 3D formats for game, movie, or broadcast content. HDMI 1.4 also increased the maximum resolution, added the Ethernet channel, introduced a new Micro Connector, and made other significant changes to the format.If you want to get the most out of your TV while cutting down on cables, check out HDMI. If you have an older TV that only supports analog formats, you can still use a digital-to-analog converter to take advantage of the HDMI revolution.
