Does bending HDMI cables affect signal quality in any way?

Question

Does bending HDMI cables affect signal quality in any way?

Answer 1

Possibly - contrary to popular belief, not all HDMI cables are created equal, and there are partial failure modes.  Odds are, the cable you have will carry the signal you're sending, but if the cable is marginal, then a bend may keep the signal from getting there.

The partial failures I've observed are sparkling and solarization - sometimes the screen flashes and goes blank.  I've experienced this when attempting to send 1080p (48 bpp / 60 hz) accross cheap Chinese cables that were 10' long.  The cables barely meet the 1.2 specification and fail completely against HDMI 1.3 requirements.

[edit] Our MSEE friend below outranks me on issues of an electrical nature - I'm just a dumb mechanical engineer.  However, my experience with marginal cables is vindicated by bluejeans cables in their article at the link below.  Bending alters impedence, and impedence is a critical factor in HDMI performance.  I would encourage you and 42 to take a look at the link - and the other articles that bluejeans has put together.

Answer 2

HDMI is not impedance dependent like video cable. So only the flexing will wear it out. However HDMI is far from perfect and needs serious work to become a viable connection.

Answer 3

Possibly - contrary to popular belief, not all HDMI cables are created equal, and there are partial failure modes.

Nuff' said.