HDMI Port... what are the uses?

I'm aware that this is a complete newbie question, but I've looked around and can't find a ton of definitive information on the HDMI port's capabilities. I mean, I know what HDMI is (that's what all the information you can google/wiki tells you... specifications, etc) but I don't know exactly what you can DO with it.

So... what do you do with a high def port? Connect a high def monitor? How does this link together with the HD rendering capabilities of the 8 series GPUs?

I don't need a technical brief, I'm simply looking for general uses to put the port to.

 

You can play all those high def bit torrents of movie trailers on your High Def TV through the HDMI port!

Petrov.

 

If you have a TV, monitor, or stereo receiver that accepts HDMI input, you can use HDMI to send video+soung signals to it.

Or you can use an HDMI -> DVI adapter and connect to LCDs.

Its just a connector for video and sound.

 

With an adapter you can convert it to DVI-D so you can connect external LCDs (not just HD-TV but any LCD) with a DVI port. The quality is better then analog especially at high resolutions.

 

I see. Thanks for the help. So basically it boils down to: you can send any high def media on your laptop through the connection to any high def playing device you own, eh?

That's kind of neat... kind of! I don't own a high def TV yet so it'll most likely never get used... but whatever.

 

It's not limited to high-def media... It's generic display output like DVI is. You can use HDMI to connect a second display device (an HDTV or an LCD) and use it to display your Windows desktop, programs, movies in full-screen, etc. It lets you connect a second monitor.

HDMI is exactly the same as DVI electrically.

 

Except HDMI includes audio.

 

You can hook up a laptop to a HDTV and use it as a monitor, but TV's typically have an overscan of 3-10%, so you'll lose quite a bit of the outside edges of the picture.

If you have a video card that can compensate for the overscan or allows custom resolutions, the entire desktop can be fit.

 

It's easy to wiki before you post.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hdmi


The High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is an all-digital audio/video interface capable of transmitting uncompressed streams. HDMI is compatible with High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) Digital Rights Management technology. HDMI provides an interface between any compatible digital audio/video source, such as a set-top box, a DVD player, a PC, a video game console, or an AV receiver and a compatible digital audio and/or video monitor, such as a digital television (DTV) ...