HDMI Help!?!?!?

Question

Alot of people say that all HDMI cables are the same because they just transfer 1's and 0's. It can't be that concrete. What is the actual difference between the cables (other than price).

Answer 1

The cost and maybe signal degradation over distance. If your application is less than 3 meters you should use the least expensive cable.

The other difference is; it's a new technology and few people know better, so they are willing to pay outrageous amounts for the equivalent of a FireWire cable.

Answer 2

I guess what you are referring to are the different versions of the HDMI specifications.

The first HDMI 1.0 specification was released in Dec 2002.

Ver 1.1   was released in May 2004.

Ver 1.2   was released in Aug 2005.

Ver 1.2a was released in Dec 2005 and

Ver 1.3   was released in June 2006.

The functions that were added to each specifications are:

HDMI 1.1  - support for DVD Audio

HDMI 1.2  - support for one bit audio format such as Super Audio

                   CD's DSD (Direct Stream Digital)

HDMI 1.2a - Consumer Electronic Control (CEC) features  and

                    command sets and CEC compliance tests are fully    

                    specified, etc, etc (go to www: HDMI.org) and

HDMI 1.3   -  main feature being High Speed, Deep Colour,  

                     Broader colour space, New mini connector, Lip Sync

                     features and New HD lossless audio formats.

You could learn more about them if you go to :

www:HDMI.org

Answer 3

Quality of components (e.g. plugs), attention to details like how the twisted pair internal cables are twisted and positioned, braided or solid wire, guage of internal wiring, fancy plating (gold), shielding, protective covering (important for in-wall installation), colour, strain relief provisions, flat or round cable, provision of s***w-in tethers (link below for an example), etc.

http://www.bestdealcables.com/hdmiballmo...

Many of these are more use oriented (e.g. stiffer or more flexible), some are cosmetic (finish, colour), and the most important effect performance (e.g. wire guage, wire impedence).

There are also A and C (mini) type connectors and single (19 conductor) and dual link (29 conductor) cables.

But in the sense I think you mean, while the cables are functionally the same, some are constructed to pass higher bitrates (higher resolution) at longer distance with less degradation. Cables should be certified for performance (e.g. CL-1, CL-2, CL-3, CM).

See the article at the link below for a good description of differences in performance of low (Monoprice) and high priced (Monster) cables when tested at different lengths with different resolution material.

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/hdmi-cable-ba...

The next link is to some material from Blue Jean Cables ... a good read.

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/hdmi...

http://www.audioholics.com/education/cab...

For details on HDMI versions, etc see the last link.

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

Answer 4

Yes it does matter what cables to use, but it is going to depend on what application, source, and equipment you intend to use. So if you provide more detail on the exact application, you will get a better answer.

I hope that you are not fomenting a highly debatable issue.

Answer 5

Some cables are made from better materials than other cables.  For example, Monster Cables uses gold plating, so it costs more because gold is more expensive.  Acoustic Research has HDMI cables that are silver plated, and it costs less than Monster Cables because silver is worth less than gold.  Then you have the copper cables, which is probably the cheapest because copper is cheaper than gold and silver.  

In terms of quality, there really is no difference when it comes to the average home theater.  Unless you're using a HDMI cable that's several miles long, you won't get signal reduction.

All you're paying for is the name and the material used to make the cables.

Answer 6

The High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a licensable audio/video connector interface for transmitting uncompressed, encrypted digital streams, this includes audio and video. There are different versions of HDMI cable 1.0, 1.1, 1.3, 1.3a and so on. Each subsequent version uses the same cable but increases the throughput and capabilities of what can be transmitted over that cable, basically bandwidth. The HDMI specification does not define a maximum cable length. As with all cables, signal attenuation becomes higher at longer lengths.  Opportunistic cable manufacturers have marketed electrically identical 6-foot cables for as little as 10 dollars, all the way up to hundreds of dollars. Because the digital datastream is less susceptible to interference than its analog equivalent, the picture quality is 100% similar on properly functioning cables, regardless of price, especially for short cables.

In short ; 1) if you have short runs, any HDMI cable should suffice and 2) stay away from price gougers such as Monster who do not even advertise what gage wire they use but depend on fancy marketing schemes and pretty packaging.