Need some expert help on TVs. What is an ASTC tuner, DVI vs HDMI and cable card?

[theGlove]

just curious because I'm thinking about buying the panasonic 42" EDTV plasma at costco (TH42PA25U) but its missing all of these features. thanks

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Well, I know DVI and HDMI are both digital video connections.

If you don't have anything that outputs those formats, then don't worry about it.

HDMI also carries digital audio if for some reason you wanted to listen to speaker integrated into your set.

I'd have to look the other things up.

 

[SLCentral]

An ASTC tuner is basically a built-in HD tuner. You need one if you want to watch TV without a external box. Cable Card is a thing you can get from your cable company that is a small card that slides into your TV, letting you watch channels on HD and premium channels with no need for a box. Few TV's have Cable Card support, though. HDMI and DVI, like YoYo said, are digital connections. HDMI has HDCP (copyright protection) built in, so be wary of that. Right now, theres a VERY small difference in quality between component and DVI connections, as far as I've noticed.