HDMI to VGA and 3 RCA Audio Video AV Adapter Cable 5ft

Put simply, HDMI is a new connection type that carries both digital audio and digital video (at resolutions up to 1080p) in a single cable. It can be found on HDTV's, some high-definition cable and satellite boxes, upscaling DVD players, the new HD disc formats HD-DVD and Blu-ray, and it is slowly making its way to surround sound receivers and processors. If you are buying a new HDTV, you should make sure the set includes an HDMI input. If your existing HDTV has a DVI input, you can use an adapter or a cable with HDMI on one end and DVI on the other to feed HDMI video data to the TV (you'll need to make sure your set'd DVI input has HDCP copy protection protocols included, though).

HDMI and DVI components can pass video data with no more help than an adapter or cable to convert from one connector to the other. In the case of some HDMI sources feeding data to a DVI display, you may run the risk of losing some blacker-than-black data due to the way the source's HDMI transmitter converts PCrBr video to RGB.

Many HDMI-equipped displays will accept audio over the HDMI connection. That support is likely to be limited to PCM stereo audio; the TV is not likely to have a Dolby Digital or DTS decoder to allow it to properly process a Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS bitstream. If you are connecting an HDMI source straight to your TV and plan to use that connection for audio, you'll need to make sure you set the source up to provide PCM stereo. The source would then handle decoding any Dolby Digital bitstream to PCM. (DTS may not be supported by either the source or the display, which is why DVD's are mastered to default to a Dolby Digital audio track.)

All 3 formats transmits video in component format, R,G,B. The fundamental difference between HDMI DVI and the 3 wire component video is that HDMI DVI carry the RGB signals in native digital format. The 3 wire component video carry the RGB in analog format. Since all new DVD, Settop box MPEG decoders fundamentally outputs in digital format, it is ideal to transmit digitally from the source to the monitor. In theory, this gives you the best performance since the Analog to Digital conversions needed to support the analog component video is eliminated. Put simply, if you are buying a HDTV it is fundamentally a digital device like a computer monitor, so it makes sense to keep all signals in native digital format.