What cables do I need for my HDTV?

Purchasing an HDTV is a big investment, but after a buyer is through researching which HDTV is right and actually picks out the TV of choice, the inevitable final sales pitch comes through: "We can sell you the cables you'll need." Rather than plunk down hundreds of dollars for unneeded cables, follow our guide to which cables to buy when buying a new HDTV.

There are a couple basic types of setups for HDTVs. Looking for a full breakdown on each type of connector? Head to our comprehensive connections guide.

Standalone Television

If an HDTV is simply going to be used to watch cable and satellite programming, we'd call this a "bedroom" TV, whether it's in the bedroom or not (feel free to sleep near it to humor us). Bedroom TVs don't have any additional components or other frills, but are simply hooked to a cable box. Obviously, with this setup, it's going to be extremely simple. Check the rear connections of the cable box, and look for an HDMI connection if possible.

HDMI is our preferred method of connecting devices because it cuts down the clutter from as many as five cables to one, and is essentially error-proof when connecting to the TV. HDMI can even tell your TV what to call the input, so your TV could automatically label the input from HDMI to "Cable box." If there's an HDMI port out of the set-top box, then you'll only need one HDMI cable from the cable box to the TV, and an RF coaxial cable from your wall to the TV. Two cables, no hassle.

If HDMI isn't an option, you'll be stuck with a rat's nest of RCA cables from the cable box to the TV. Typically, RCA cables are provided by the cable company, so they won't need to be purchased separately. RCA cables have unique colors to try to keep them from being too confusing, but you'll notice there are two reds — one for audio, and one for video — so it's still a bit confusing. Video cables are red, green and blue, and the audio cables are red and white. To avoid having to troubleshoot later, we'd recommend hooking up the video cables first, then testing to see the video looks correct before hooking up the audio cables. The most common problem we see, as you might guess, is people trying to hook the red audio cable into the red video spot on the HDTV, and vice versa.

Lastly, we know there aren't too many people out there who rock the rabbit ears for over-the-air transmission, but with digital signals looking as good as cable and satellite now-a-days, we know there are a few of you out there. If you're planning on forgoing paid cable service, simply hook an HD antenna up using a coaxial connection from the TV to the antenna.

Cable box

• HDMI (1, preferred)
• RCA cables (5, alternate, likely provided by cable company)
• Coaxial cable (1, likely provided  by cable company)

Antenna

• Coaxial cable (1)

HDTV as the centerpiece of your home theater

The living room setup is more complex than the bedroom, in that there are likely external components like a DVD player or game console connecting to the TV. We're still assuming this setup doesn't include a home receiver, which is part of our home theater setup. Rather than go through each individual device, we'll talk in generalities as to what typically comes with cables, what doesn't come with cables, and the preferred hierarchy as to how you should hook up devices.

Let's start with DVD players. Typically these movie machines have simply a composite RCA out (the yellow cable) which will get an adequate signal to the TV. Since most people opt for the low-end DVD player (like us) that's the only hookup option. If available, try to hook up your DVD player through S-Video, which will provide better colors than composite, or component (the red, green and blue cables), which will get you more resolution and better colors with the tradeoff of more cables, or HDMI, which nets you all the benefits and less cables. We'd expect most people will still end up hooking up their DVD players through composite, but if you can, opt for the other connection types if they're available.

The living room might have one or two other devices, particularly game consoles. They'll often already come with the cables needed to hook them up to TVs. The Xbox 360 comes with a "super cable" that has both component RCA connections as well as audio and composite connections all in one cable. The Playstation 3, shockingly, only includes a composite video/audio cable, meaning PS3 owners will need to pick up an HDMI or component cable separately. Wii owners are in the same boat as the PS3, but even if Wii owners buy a component cable, they won't notice much difference as the Wii is a standard definition console.

DVD player

• Composite A/V (3 RCA cables, optional)
• S-Video A/V (1 S-video, 2 RCA cables, optional)
• Component A/V (5 RCA cables, optional)
• HDMI (1, preferred)

Xbox 360

• Component A/V (5 RCA cables with proprietary connector, included with system)
• HDMI (1, only on consoles after August 2007, preferred)
• Composite A/V (3 RCA cables with proprietary connector, included with system, not recommended)

PlayStation 3

• Composite A/V (3 RCA cables with proprietary connector, included with system, not recommended)
• HDMI (1, preferred)
• Component A/V (5 RCA cables with proprietary connector, optional)

Nintendo Wii

• Composite A/V (3 RCA cables with proprietary connector)
• Component A/V (5 RCA cables with proprietary connector, adds some resolution, optional)

Cable box

• HDMI (1, preferred)
• RCA cables (5, alternate, likely provided by cable company)
• Coaxial cable (1, likely provided by cable company)

Antenna

• Coaxial cable (1)

In case it's not blatantly obvious, we definitely prefer HDMI to any other connection, simply because it helps de-clutter a notoriously cluttered area and also cuts down on the chances that something will be connected incorrectly. Do you have a component that fits into either the bedroom or the living room that we didn't mention? Be sure to leave it in the comments. Check for our guide to home theater cables coming soon, including A/V receivers, stereo systems and exactly how much you need to spend when wiring a home theater.

[Image courtesy: William Hook]

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