HDMI cable
- Thread starter Star10
- Start date
Any sales person who pushes expensive HDMI cables is working on comission. One of the criteria which developing the HDMI standard was to remove the need for expensive cables.
HDMI signals are digital, so they are not susceptible to the same interference and signal degradation you get with analogue signals.
Leo
HDMI signals are digital, so they are not susceptible to the same interference and signal degradation you get with analogue signals.
Leo
I suppose now isn't the time to mention metastability...? 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metastability_in_electronics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metastability_in_electronics
There actually is in reality though, as digital signals are transmitted as voltage levels. Voltage drops over a length of cable run, and what was transmitted as a one might drop to the level where it's interpreted as a 0 at the receiver. TTL chips generally take 0-0.8V as 0, and 2-5V as 1. So there is a middle ground there, but error-correction usually takes care of that.
Leo
I looked into this issue a while back. From what I could figure out it turns out HDMI cables are a bit like computer ethernet cables. Yes, they transfer ones and zeros and that either works or it doesn't. But the newer cables can transfer more data faster. So it is like saying all ethernet cables will attach your computer to a network but Ethernet will only give you 10Mbit speed, fast-ethernet will give you 100Mbit speed and gigabit-ethernet will give you 1000Mbit speed. However that doesn't mean you have to buy a gigabit cable, because who needs 1000Mbit speed if you only use your computer to surf the net on a 2Mbit DSL connection or your PC doesn't support gigabit speeds?
The same is true for HDMI cables. There are different levels available (1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.2a, 1.3, 1.3a, 1.3b, 1.3b1, 1.3c, 1.4 and finally 1.4a). However, do not despair, even though each type of cable is able to support slightly more functionality than the previous version, most of it means absolutely nothing to anyone except the real experts and boffins.
To summarise, any cable in the 1.3-1.3c group supports everything the normal user needs. It will support full 1080P video and full lossless audio. So this covers the 99% of the people who want to do anything up to and including attaching a 1080P Blu-Ray player with lossless audio support to a 1080P TV.
You only need to use a 1.4 group cable if you want to connect a 3D Blu-Ray player to a 3D TV. (1.3 does not support 3D).
As for the price, it might be worth paying a couple of extra quid for a thicker stronger or longer cable but other than that all cables marked as anything from 1.3-1.3c will do exactly what you need (except 3D). There should be no difference between the cable for 1 Euro and the cable for 100 Euro other than build quality.
The same is true for HDMI cables. There are different levels available (1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.2a, 1.3, 1.3a, 1.3b, 1.3b1, 1.3c, 1.4 and finally 1.4a). However, do not despair, even though each type of cable is able to support slightly more functionality than the previous version, most of it means absolutely nothing to anyone except the real experts and boffins.
To summarise, any cable in the 1.3-1.3c group supports everything the normal user needs. It will support full 1080P video and full lossless audio. So this covers the 99% of the people who want to do anything up to and including attaching a 1080P Blu-Ray player with lossless audio support to a 1080P TV.
You only need to use a 1.4 group cable if you want to connect a 3D Blu-Ray player to a 3D TV. (1.3 does not support 3D).
As for the price, it might be worth paying a couple of extra quid for a thicker stronger or longer cable but other than that all cables marked as anything from 1.3-1.3c will do exactly what you need (except 3D). There should be no difference between the cable for 1 Euro and the cable for 100 Euro other than build quality.
That's a function of the transmitter & recevier circuitry, not the cable. A decent cable can support the fast transfer of data, but no matter the quality, it can't speed it up.
A lot of money is being made in certifying cables, and misinformation is being spread by premium cable manufacturers.
Forget all about myself and Leo trying to complicate matters!
Aw, but I like trying to sound clever!!
Arrived today, works fine. Bought from [broken link removed], on the receipt it says to use the code "EBAY" at checkout for 10% discount (10c - go mad).
I suppose now isn't the time to mention metastability...?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metastability_in_electronics
I love discussing metastability, but it might be seen as "off topic" a tiny bit.