HDMI as a Digital Video-Only Cable

    Those who have been shopping for home theater receivers lately know this simple fact; receivers with HDMI inputs and outputs are expensive.  While the price will steadily drop as HDTVs fill more and more homes, it will be a bit of a wait.  However, just because you are waiting for an affordable, quality HDMI-capable receiver it does not mean you have to wait to enjoy the great digital video the cable has to offer.

Why Only Digital Video without an HDMI-Capable Receiver

    As you may have read in the HDMI article, the cable is capable of delivering both digital audio and digital video along its length.  The problem lies in that an HDMI-capable receiver is needed in order to send both the audio to your speakers and the video to the HDTV.  Even though you will not be able to use the cable for audio, it can still be employed for digital video transmission.

    In order to accomplish this task, you will need:
  • An HDTV with HDMI input
  • DVD player, HDTV receiver, etc. with HDMI output (We will refer to the DVD player for this article.)
  • Quality HDMI cables
  • Quality audio cables, preferably digital audio

Steps

  1. Make sure everything is turned off and unplugged to be safe.
  2. Take your HDMI cable and connect it to the HDMI input on the HDTV and to the output of the DVD player.
  3. Take your audio cable, preferably optical cables or digital coaxial cables, and connect it to the proper input of the home theater receiver and the output of the DVD player.
  4. Plug in your equipment and turn on the HDTV, DVD player, and receiver.
  5. Go through the setup procedures to watch a movie and enter the DVD player's setup menu.
  6. Find the category for HDMI and turn the audio off.

    You should be set.  Consult the manual for the DVD player and make sure that you do not have to actively switch to a different audio output.  If not, you are ready to enjoy your movies through the digital video of HDMI.