Look at the back of most modern DVD players and you are likely to find a dizzy array of sockets and multi-pin connections that resemble spaghetti junction when they are all hooked up.



Despite the potential for confusion most of the leads should be relatively straightforward to understand - as long as you have the manual - and the more options you have the better it should be for future bolt-on flexibility.

Scart connections should be top of the list for essentials, as these tend to offer a better-quality option for colours than standard video connections. However, it is also worth having red, blue and green connections as well as a multi-pin S-Video socket if you plan to hook up a camcorder to the equipment any time.

Digital outputs are particularly useful for those who have Dolby Digital or DTS machines while analogue audio outputs enable you to hook up to the stereo use multi-channel connections - an essential with DVD-Audio, SACDs and CDs.