HDTV - Informations

About This Book

If you’re thinking of purchasing an HDTV and installing it in your home, this is the book for you. Even if you’ve already purchased the HDTV itself, this book will help you install and configure the HDTV. What’s more, this book helps you get the most out of your investment after it’s up and running.

With this book in hand, you’ll have all the information that you need to know about the following topics:

* Planning your HDTV system, including all sorts of accessories
*Evaluating and selecting the right HDTV for your home
* Installing and configuring the HDTV equipment in your home
* Hooking up your HDTV to the right high-definition program¬ming sources
* Adding A/V entertainment gear and accessories to your HDTV


How This Book Is Organized

This book is organized into several chapters that are grouped into eight parts. The chapters are presented in a logical order — flow¬ing from purchasing your HDTV, through all the things you’d want to hook up to it to exploit its very existence, to some detailed drill-down discussions about high-definition topics that will help you get the most out of your HDTV environment. However, you can feel free to use the book as a reference and read the chapters in any order that you want. We wrote it that way.

Part I: HDTV Fundamentals

The first part of the book is a primer on HDTV. If you’ve never owned an advanced level television — much less attempted to install one — this part of the book provides all the background information and techno-geek lingo that you need to feel comfort¬able. Chapter 1 presents general HDTV concepts; Chapter 2 dis¬cusses the most popular HDTV technologies and familiarizes you with high-definition terminology, and also provides guidance on making buying decisions; and Chapter 3 introduces you to several popular ports, interfaces, jacks, plugs, cables and the sort — everything you’ll need to know about connecting your HDTV into your existing audio/visual environment.

Part II: Love at First Sight

The second part of the book helps you install your HDTV system. It helps you decide what you will be connecting to the HDTV, how to enhance your HDTV so that it is tuned perfectly for your use, and also tells you about a range of little “black boxes” that can help you optimize all of the non-HDTV signals you send to your HDTV, making them look better on your HDTV big screen.
Part III: HDTV Channels

Part III discusses all the different forms of high-definition signals that you can access and/or subscribe to, in order to really take advantage of your great new investment. In the first chapter of this part, we talk at a high level about what is available in high-defini¬tion format now, and what’s coming in the near future. Then in the next three chapters, we dive into each option — over-the-air broadcasts, cable, and satellite — so you know where you can get what signals, and which is best (at least in our eyes).

Part IV: Movie Machines

The broadcast programming discussed in Part III is nice, but let’s face it, we all want to watch a lot of other content, too — we’re talking about all those DVDs and VHS movies you own. In this part, we talk about the complexities of interfacing your DVD player/ recorders and VHS VCRs with your HDTV. We also delve into the exciting world of digital video recorders — DVRs or TiVos as some people call them (referring to one brand on the market generically). With these devices you can record all sorts of content for later watching.
Part V: Monitor Madness

After you get your HDTV system installed and running, you will certainly want to use it for even neater things if you can. Part V of the book presents many cool things that you can do with your HDTV, including playing multi-user computer games, connecting your camcorder to preview your future America’s Funniest Home Videos submission, and operating various types of smart home conveniences from the luxury of your bedroom. This part also describes how to use a home network to connect your HDTV to other parts of the house and to the Internet — all with the intent of making your HDTV investment simply more accessible.

Part VI: Sensory Overload

In this part, we spend a lot of time drilling down in a lot of detail about the nitty-gritty of getting your home HDTV-viewing expe¬rience as good as you can get it. We start with an extensive discus¬sion about audio basics and how they affect your HDTV viewing experience. We then discuss built-in speaker options versus exter¬nal sound systems, and the advantages of a surround-sound-powered HDTV experience. We’ll also tell you about how to use lighting, room treatments, and other nuances in your home to create a true HDTV theater. Finally, we go into a series of chapters that delve down into the details of your TV picture, and the various ways that HDTV can be accomplished, including front and rear projection, plasma and LCD screens, and the good old CRT approach. When you’ve finished this part, you should know much more than the average salesperson walking the show floor at your local TV store.

Part VII: Geek Stuff

Of course, the more you know, the geekier these topics start to appear. Before long, you may be dreaming of ultra-high-tech ways to expand your system’s capabilities. This part of the book unashamedly encourages that bad habit.

Part VIII: The Part of Tens

Part VIII provides three top-ten lists that we think you’ll find inter¬esting — ten places to look online and locally to buy an HDTV; ten devices to connect to your HDTV; and ten frequently asked ques¬tions about HDTV.
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