HDTV for Dummies.Pdf

01_575864 ffirs.qxd 10/15/04 7:35 PM Page i HDTV FOR DUMmIES‰ by Danny Briere and Pat Hurley 01_575864 ffirs.qxd 10/15/04 7:35 PM Page iv 01_575864 ffirs.qxd 10/15/04 7:35 PM Page i HDTV FOR DUMmIES‰ by Danny Briere and Pat Hurley 01_575864 ffirs.qxd 10/15/04 7:35 PM Page ii HDTV For Dummies® Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc. 111 River Street Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, (317) 572-3447, fax (317) 572-4355, e-mail: brandreview@ wiley.com. Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REP- RESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CRE- ATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CON- TAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FUR- THER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT IS READ. For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Library of Congress Control Number: 2004107890 ISBN: 0-7645-7586-4 Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1B/QT/RR/QU/IN 01_575864 ffirs.qxd 10/15/04 7:35 PM Page iii About the Authors Danny Briere founded TeleChoice, Inc., a telecommunications con- sulting company, in 1985 and now serves as CEO of the company. Widely known throughout the telecommunications and networking industry, Danny has written more than one thousand articles about telecommunications topics and has authored or edited ten books, including Internet Telephony For Dummies, Smart Homes For Dummies (now in its second edition), Wireless Home Networking For Dummies, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 PC For Dummies, and Home Theater For Dummies. He is frequently quoted by leading publica- tions on telecommunications and technology topics and can often be seen on major TV networks, providing analysis on the latest communications news and breakthroughs. Danny splits his time between Mansfield Center, Connecticut, and his island home on Great Diamond Island, ME, with his wife and four children. Pat Hurley is Director of research with TeleChoice, Inc. specializing in emerging telecommunications and digital home technologies, par- ticularly all the latest consumer electronics, access gear, and home technologies, including wireless LANs, DSL, cable modems, satellite services, and home-networking services. Pat frequently consults with the leading telecommunications carriers, equipment vendors, consumer goods manufacturers, and other players in the telecommunications and consumer electronics industries. Pat is the coauthor of Internet Telephony For Dummies, Smart Homes For Dummies, Wireless Home Networking For Dummies, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 PC For Dummies, and Home Theater For Dummies. He lives in San Diego, California, with his wife, new baby girl named Annabel, and two smelly dogs. 01_575864 ffirs.qxd 10/15/04 7:35 PM Page iv 01_575864 ffirs.qxd 10/15/04 7:35 PM Page v Authors’ Acknowledgments Danny wants to thank his wife for not freaking out when he’s gotten big TV sets and lots of equipment, and for accepting his bribes of absolutely everything he could think of to buy the extra time to research this book. She’s a trooper. However, this “Thank You” is not about her, but about co-author Pat, who’s been so much fun to work with on these For Dummies books over the years. While Pat lives on the other coast of the U.S., and we rarely actually see each other, we work side by side through videoconferencing, IM, and e-mail, and (oh, yes) voice calls. I’ve heard his new child’s voice and wife’s pleas for dinner in the background, and feel I know his house by the loca- tion of the different devices we so often write about (“I’m IMing you from the Media Center PC in the living room . .”). Pat’s wife is used to Danny calls after hours and on weekends, and has been nice enough to let those slip by — well at least occasionally — and Danny thanks her immensely for never chewing him out on the phone (she chews out Pat instead, I’m sure, but Pat’s too Navy to tell his superior about that). When Pat went in the hospital in the early stages of the book, it simply was not as much fun writing a book without Pat’s incessant rantings about how stupid people are in the marketing of their products, and about how nobody’s Web site is worth a hoot (being a good former Navy man, he actually never says hoot). These books are always a pain in the ruckus to do, but are made all the more pleasant with a co-writer who has a sense of humor (or the smarts to laugh at his boss’s bad jokes, whichever applies). Pat dedicates this book to his beautiful little girl, Annabel Stone Hurley. You’re never too young to enjoy a little TV, Annabel! Now if they would only start broadcasting Sesame Street in HD! Pat also profusely thanks his wife Christine, without whom none of this good stuff (babies, books, and the like) would be possible. Pat also must give a nod to Dr. Bard Cosman, surgeon par excellence at the U.C. San Diego Medical Center. Thanks, Dr. Cosman, for getting me back on my feet to finish this book! We would also like to thank Jenny Miller at the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), for her assistance and guidance. 01_575864 ffirs.qxd 10/15/04 7:35 PM Page vi Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Production Media Development Project Coordinator: Emily Wichlinski Project Editor: Pat O’Brien Layout and Graphics: Andrea Dahl, Acquisitions Editor: Melody Layne Lauren Goddard, Joyce Haughey, Senior Copy Editor: Barry Childs-Helton Stephanie D. Jumper, Jacque Roth, Heather Ryan, Rashell Smith Technical Editor: Dale Cripps, HDTV Magazine Proofreaders: Joe Niesen, Carl William Pierce, Rob Springer, TECHBOOKS Editorial Manager: Kevin Kirschner Production Services Media Development Supervisor: Indexer: TECHBOOKS Production Services Richard Graves Editorial Assistant: Amanda Foxworth Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com) Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director Publishing for Consumer Dummies Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director Composition Services Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services 02_575864 ftoc.qxd 10/15/04 7:35 PM Page vii Contents at a Glance Introduction.......................................................1 Part I: HDTV Fundamentals ................................7 Chapter 1: What the Heck Is HDTV? ........................................................9 Chapter 2: Shopping Smart .....................................................................17 Chapter 3: Cables and Connections.......................................................33

Load more