Have you recently purchased an HDTV, a progressive scan DVD player or an HD DVR set top box? If you have, then you probably have a device with HDMI. What about a Sony PS3, a Blu-ray Disc player or an HD DVD™ player – if you have one of these, you have HDMI.

HDMI is an all-digital interface that delivers crystal clear audio and video via a single cable. HDMI stands for High-Definition Multimedia Interface and was created by a group of industry leaders, including Sony, Hitachi, Thomson (RCA), Philips, Matsushita (Panasonic), Toshiba, and Silicon Image.

HDMI is designed to make it easy for consumers to enjoy the wide variety of high-quality digital entertainment available today and coming in the future. A single cable solution, HDMI makes home entertainment setup easier. What previously required anywhere from four to eleven cables – component video (three cables) and either one digital audio cable (S/PDIF) or up to eight analog audio cables – is now possible with just one high-quality digital cable.

HDMI is all digital. In order to understand the importance of HDMI as a digital connection you need to compare it to a conventional analog connection. Let’s use a DVD player as an example.

With analog, the digital signal from the DVD player must first be converted to analog AND THEN sent to the TV. At the TV, the signal is converted back to digital and displayed. Consequently, picture quality issues can occur. Converting from digital to analog then back to digital can cause signal degradation and picture errors

With a digital signal, such as HDMI, the DVD signal is transmitted to the TV without any converting. It’s pure digital to digital so you can experience the highest possible picture and audio quality.

What if I don’t have HDMI on all my devices?
Some older products (such as HDTVs and set top boxes) have DVI instead of HDMI. In most cases, you can use an HDMI to DVI cable to connect these devices. If you use DVI, you will also need an audio connection, such as S/PDIF, as DVI carries only video.

Why should I look for HDMI?
HDMI not only the latest, high uality digital interface today. The format is designed to maximize audio and video quality today and to provide even better quality tomorrow.  Since its inception, there have been five versions of HDMi --the latest version providing a superhighway of data for products that will come in the near future.

High Definition is consistently advancing and so is HDMI.. Evolving technologies in video displays (1080p1440p and beyond), new sources (Blu-ray Disc, HD DVD™, and Playstation® 3), and content (1080p HD movies and games) demand more advanced cables.