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There are five types of connection that can work with HD: Component, VGA, DVI, HDMI and HD-SDI. The normal video connections like composite and Y/C don't work, as they're tied-in to NTSC and PAL, which are SD standards.
- Component is the connection you're most likely to find at the moment. It is analog, so there is some quality loss between the source and the screen, but with decent (which normally means expensive) cables, it is capable of very good results. What's especially good about it is that most equipment that's even remotely capable of showing HD has a component connection. Component connections don't carry sound, so you'll need a separate arrangement for audio.
- VGA is a computer standard for connecting computers to analog display screens. It does work well and in some circumstances is a good, and possibly the only, way to get HD video from a computer to the screen. (we'll be looking at how to prepare HDV for viewing on computers in the next section). VGA doesn't carry sound.
- DVI is a digital connection. This is good for video, because there is no quality loss at all. This is absolutely the best way to show video from a computer. Some DVD players have a DVI connection, but this is likely to be superseded by HDMI (see below). DVI has a maximum horizontal resolution of 1,600 pixels, which means that in theory it can't handle the full HD specification – but in practice, this is only going to be an issue with very high resolution screens. (Note that Dual-Link DVI has a higher maximimum horizontal resolution of around 2048 pixels.) DVI also doesn't carry sound.
- HDMI stands for High Definition Multimedia Interface. In essence, HDMI is DVI plus digital audio. It is the ideal way to connect HD sources to displays because it has the capability to handle uncompressed digital HD, as well as several channels of sound. It's a fairly new standard but it will be around for many years and it makes sense to pay a little extra for equipment with HDMI, as it will become the standard home HD interface. There are converters available to go between DVI and HDMI, but HDMI is the new preferred standard, especially among home theater installers, since the cable carries both audio and video and the connector is smaller (albeit arguably a little more fragile), which makes it easier to run the cables through walls.
- HD-SDI is the HD version of SDI, which is the professional standard for moving uncompressed SD video around a studio. Since it is digital, there is no loss of quality. It's unusual to find displays with HDSDI outside of professional video environments, and where it does exist it carries a professional price tag. HDMI is just as good and will invariably be cheaper. If you are working with professional HD equipment, then you will probably need an editing system equipped with HDSDI. HDSDI can carry embedded digital sound, as well as timecode information.
Next Section > Progressive vs. Interlaced
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