If you're a Blu-ray convert (and if you have an HDTV, you should be...), and you have an HDTV but are using your old surround sound receiver, you're not really going to be able to use the S/PDIF digital connectors (TOSLnk optical or RCA coaxial electrical) to get surround sound. Blu-ray uses Dolby Digital TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, neither of which are supported by older receivers. What you can do is use your Blu-ray player's six or eight analogue output sockets and connect them to the surround receiver's 5.1 or 7.1 analogue inputs. It's not as elegant as using HDMI, but if you have a good quality older receiver, the sound will be better than a cheap new HDMI receiver. You needn't worry about also connecting a separate DVD player, Blu-ray players play DVDs very well indeed and usually upscale them to match your HDTVs native resolution.

If you already have an older surround sound system without HDMI ports and are incorporating an HDTV into the system, there are some minor issues that can pop up, but no fear, there's always a way to solve them.

If you don't have much left for sound after buying your big TV, there's still a lot to be said for using your trusty old stereo setup instead of your TV's speakers. TV speakers are seldom capable of any dynamic range, bass weight or refinement, especially the tiny speakers hidden in flatscreens. Luckily, every Blu-ray or DVD player can be plugged into your existing amplifier and speakers in exactly the same way as a CD player.

If you have made the leap to high-definition Blu-ray discs, the only way to get the full 1080p resolution of the discs onto your screen is to use an HDMI cable. If your HDTV predates HDMI, use analogue Component cables, but it's not the best way to do things.

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Since pretty much every TV you'll have bought in the last few years is likely to be a flat, widescreen HDTV, either plasma or LCD, you'll want to get the best quality you can from your DVD player. We recommend you do not use a Composite cable. If your DVD player is an older, standard-definition-only model, use an S-Video cable or Component RCA cables to get the best picture. Use the setup or configuration menu of your DVD player to make sure the output is set to fit a widescreen TV's aspect ratio and set the TV to fill the screen, or you'll find the picture distorted and stuck in the middle of a mess of letterboxes and pillarboxes.

If you haven't yet joined the world of high-definition televison, connecting your DVD player to your TV is very straightforward. Simply plug the DVD player's "Video Out" and "Audio Out" RCA cables into the television's "Video In" and "Audio In" socket. While the basic yellow Composite cable is perfectly adequate, it is the lowest quality connector and you'll want to use either S-Video or Component video cables instead. S-Video cables are easily identified by a connector with a metal ring surrounding four small pins, and a Component connection uses three RCA or phono cables with red, green and blue connectors.

HDTV, HD-Ready, Full HD, 720p 1080p... Which is is which and what is what? If you're about to purchase a plasma or LCD TV, you can be confronted by loads of confusing terminology. High-Definition Television can be bewildering to the newcomer, and sometimes even the more technically knowledgeable.

The Global Positioning System has made navigating the roads so easy that, for those who own a GPS Device, it's almost hard to imagine how we found our way around before. There are now so many devices that use the satellite navigation system to help you pick a route that it can be quite bewildering. So, we're going to do a quick roundup of some of the popular offerings, factoring in your budget.

Netbooks are on the move! The first of the breed of mini-laptops was the ASUS Eee PC 701 in 2007, a tiny subnotebook with a 7-inch display. The hype for the little Eee PC spurred almost every manufacturer to produce their own devices within a matter of months, and there is now a bewildering array of the things awaiting your selection.

Thanks to the fine bloggers at ai.rs, we have specifications and renderings of the upcoming hyper-smartphone, the HTC HD2 "Leo", and it looks like it's going to be a something of a beast.