HDTV Hookup Diagrams

You have several options for connecting your TV to entertainment devices. The connection options you choose depends on the type of TV you have and the entertainment devices you want to connect to your TV. For the best results, read this section to learn more about HDTV and SDTV connection options and screen resolutions.

The widescreen TV is 1/3 wider than a standard TV. The widescreen TV aspect ratio is 16:9 (compared to 4:3 for SDTV). HDTV uses a much finer screen resolution to create the TV picture— 1125 lines for HDTV compared to 525 lines for SDTV. This means that the screen resolution for HDTV can be up to 1920x1080 pixels, compared with 720x480 pixels for SDTV. In the USA, HD programming is always broadcast with digital signals. SD programming is currently broadcast in both digital and analog. (However, HD programming and digital SD programming do not use the same digital signal.)

Generally, all HDTV-ready monitors or integrated HDTV sets are capable of supporting an SDTV 480i or 480p signal. Not all HDTV monitors support both 720p and 1080i (or higher) HDTV signals. For instance, some plasma screens only support 720p.