The Best Way to Hook Up a PS3

Locate the Cables

• Three cables are packaged with new PS3 consoles: a USB cable, a power adapter and an A/V cable. The USB cable is used to charge the wireless game controllers, so set it aside to begin. The power adapter should connect in the back and plug into a standard wall socket or power strip.

  The last cable, the A/V connection, should have three colored plugs on each end: yellow, red, and white. This cable is a standard audio and video connection, offering a single composite video channel and right and left stereo sound. This connection is used on standard definition televisions. If you own a High-Definition television, or HDTV, and you want to get the best picture, you will need to purchase the appropriate HD cable separately.

Selecting HD Cables

• The PlayStation 3 supports two different High-Definition outputs. The first is HDMI, which bundles video and audio connections into one single cable and plug. Because HDMI carries a digital signal, it will also provide the clearest picture possible for your game console.

  The second output is Component Video; the cable resembles a basic A/V cable with three color-coded outputs, but these three plugs are red, blue and green. Unlike standard composite video, component video maintains three separate channels for the three uncompressed component signals. This provides the highest quality analog signal available, and will also work with most HDTVs. Unlike HDMI and A/V connections, however, component video does not carry any audio signal and will require the use of an additional audio cable.

  Both of these cables can be purchased at any major electronics retailer, through Sony or on the hundreds of audio retail websites. Generally speaking, cables can be purchased online for much less than through a major retailer.

Connect Power

• Once the appropriate cables have been acquired, begin hooking up the system by connecting power to the unit. The power cable port should be clearly marked on the back of the console and plug into a standard wall outlet or power strip. Models intended for foreign markets such as Japan or Britain may require a voltage converter.

Connect Video Output

• Once the PS3 has power, turn on the unit and the television. Having both units on will allow the PS3's auto-detect feature to set itself according to the correct video output. Connect the video cable to the TV inputs, then to the output connections on the back of the console. These ports should be color-coded and labeled to indicate which connections are used. Once the console is connected, it should display on the television.

Reset the PS3 Outputs

• Once you connect the Playstation 3 to a video display, it will set itself to that video output mode. While this presents no problems for a console that connects to only one television, it does create issues when switching between a standard-definition TV and an HDTV. To reset the auto-detect feature, connect the PS3 to power and hold down the power button for five to 10 seconds. The console should restart, displaying correctly. Repeat these steps when switching the console back to the original TV.