When I first started learning about audio and video with my Playstation 2, which was super cool in 2000 because it doubled as a DVD player, I was rather intimidated by all the terminology involved with gaming and home theater audio/video. Only through constant internet forum perusing have I been able to keep semi-knowledgeable on the subject, and the problem has only gotten worse with the addition of tons of new connections/formats/signals since then. In an effort to help those who may be starting the venture fresh, this article seeks to demystify one of the main sources of confusion: connections and cables. I shall start with video connections. A small amount of basic knowledge may be required when we get into resolutions, HDTV, and bandwidth, but I will try to keep this as entry level as possible. Unfortunately, breaking down the many video formats is outside the scope of this article (the definition of 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p). However, I have linked you to the wiki on each topic, and there are plenty of resources available on the net to better understand video formats. The title of each section also links to the relevant wiki. Without further ado, the following is a comprehensive description of all video connections you are likely to encounter in North America in the year 2007.

[Disclaimer to video geeks: I am trying to make this easy for a beginner, so I am going to present some facts in a way that may not be 100% technically correct (e.g. 480p is SDTV at twice the speed). I am also going to ignore PAL. Spare me the nasty comments on what an ignoramus I am and try to understand the intent. If you think I am genuinely wrong then please point it out and we'll discuss.]

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Yesterday photos appeared showing a white XBOX 360 with an HDMI port. Was that a Premium or a white Elite? Well, it was a Premium.

Over on FatWallet.com, one user reported buying an XBOX 360 Premium at their local Target yesterday. On the box was an HDMI logo. The owner confirmed that the Premium did in fact have an HDMI port on the back of the console.

All of a sudden the XBOX 360 has gotten more affordable while getting more powerful. Buy your Premiums with care and make sure you get one with HDMI out.

Tip: Get an HDMI to DVI cable to play your 360 on PC monitors. Don't buy the cable from Best Buy, CompUSA, Circuit City, etc. They will charge you $50 to $150 for a 6-foot cable. I just bought my cable for $10 from my local computer shop. Recall that the XBOX 360 VGA cable costs $40.

Note: See that port above the HDMI port in the image above? Notice anything different about it? You can't plug the first-gen XBOX 360 A/V packs into that slot if you have an HDMI cable plugged in at the same time. This may or may not affect anyone. Not worry, Microsoft ships a slimmed down A/V adapter to plug into the 360's A/V port. You can get Optical Audio and L/R Audio from that adapter.

Engadget is reporting that an insider has provided them with information on and a picture of the XBOX 360 v2 which is to be available "soon". According to them, the new XBOX 360, code named Zephyr, will support 1080p output via HDMI and have a 120GB hard drive. Also, the console is set to come with that new, faster and cooler 65nm chip that hit the news sites last week.