The $5 HDTV Upgrade

For only $5 you can significantly improve your TV display. If you have an HDTV and you don’t have an HDMI cable, you’re missing out. TopTenREVIEWS Scott Wimmer said, “I changed my cables from composite to HDMI. It was a night and day difference. I could read text that I never even saw before.”

Replacing your cable is a simple, do-it-yourself project for a better viewing experience in under 30 minutes. And of course, you can make this upgrade between your HDTV and any source such as a cable box, a gaming console or a Blu-ray player. First, determine what type of cables you have, which inputs are filled, and which are available. If you’re in the store to buy a new TV, ask the salesperson for help in accessing the inputs and snap a picture with your camera or phone. You’ll have plenty of time at home to work out what you can connect and how you’ll do it.

Here’s a summary of cable options, listed from the bottom up:

The bottom end solution is a simple coaxial cable, delivering audio and video in one connection. VCRs used a coaxial cable and the TV had to be set to Channel 3. Remember?

Moving up, there is composite cable which is the familiar three plug cable, yellow for the video and red/white for the audio. Today’s DVD players connect to the TV with this type of cable.

Less prevalent, but still a step up, is S-Video (the “s” stands for separate) with the same red and white audio connections, but S-Video separates the video signal into two parts, brightness and color, for a better picture. However, S-Video only carries a standard definition signal. Hi-def fans: S-Video is not for you.

Closing in on the top is component cable, which is the first level to support progressive scan (high definition at 720p). You will see either a bundle of five wires with red, green and blue for video and then red/white for audio or just the red, green and blue video cable. In this case, you have a red/white audio cable, or for better sound delivery, add a yellow digital audio cable.

And here we are at the top: HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface). One cable and one connection for both audio and video.
HDMI is the only cable to carry digital signals from the source through the cable and into the TV, it’s digital all the way. The other cable types are analog and require the signal to be converted from the digital source to analog in the cable and back again to digital inside the TV, which can often lead to picture loss. In contrast, digital signals are simple: one or zero, on or off, offering more picture precision and the highest bandwidth speeds available today. If you buy an HDTV, you want HDMI.

In just a few years, HDMI has become the standard audio and video connection for high-definition home entertainment systems. If you’re springing for an HDTV and paying for HD programming, you’ve got to have the HDMI cables, but don’t overpay.

When it comes to HDMI cable, quality does not matter. Yes, you read that right. This is the first such case I’ve come across in the world of electronics. A $5 HDMI cable will transmit digital’s simple on/off signals as well as an HDMI cable costing 20 times as much. At $5, you can afford to make all your connections HDMI.