The HD format war has introduced us to two very similar new players – HD-DVD and Blu-ray. Since they are new technology (not to mention well-stocked with encrpytion and other copy protection rigamorale), it's probably worthwhile to explain how to hook them up.

Our audio output may also give existing hardware a headache. The optimal arrangement is to use the same connection (1) that we showed for digital video to deliver digital audio to your receiver. It's going to be at least a year or so before HDMI audio support is readily available on receivers, however, so most people are going to be using their HDMI outputs for video input at first. You can use connection (3) to deliver digital audio to your receiver over the same coaxial or optical cable we used for the DVD player, but that is going to restrict you to the existing audio formats (Dolby Digital, DTS, or stereo PCM). To get the new audio formats without an HDMI audio connection, you'll want to look to connection (4) and run a multichannel analog connection of six or eight analog audio cables.