All HDMI cables are the same?

Question

WHY ReALly?

Answer 1

- Short answer: Many can be built differently, some will break more easily than others, some will not perform as well on long distances.ect



- HDMI is digital (no analog to digital conversions) and uses TMDS which is Transition Minimized (shortens transitions using 8bit to 10 bit encoding) and Differential Signaling (shielded twisted wires and measuring systems to eliminate EMI/RFI or other noise in those small transitions).

- Depending on the manufacturers max build quality (materials): v1.4 hdmi cables can do 1920x1080p/24bpp/60hz up to 15 feet for 28 AWG, up to 25 feet for 26 AWG, up to 50 feet for 24 AWG, up to 100 feet for 22 AWG. v1.4 hdmi cables can do 4096x2160p/24bpp/24hz or 3840x2160p/24bpp/30hz up to 10 feet for 28 AWG, up to 12 feet for 26 AWG, up to 15 feet for 24 AWG, up to 25 feet for 22 AWG, up to 15 feet for 36 AWG RedMere, up to 50-60 feet for 28 AWG RedMere.

- With bad build quality, connectors and/or pins can break if you unplug and plug a lot and if it's a thick (lower AWG) cable and the cable weighs a lot when hanging when plugged in can also break connectors and/or pins. With bad build quality a cable will not take much bending and/or squashing abuse, and also it may not have protection against fire, water, and cuts.

= So what does any of this mean? If there is to much interference/noise even after TMDS, it will mute the video/audio (example: %95 of the video is fine quality while %5 of it is missing OR you get %100 no picture), if it did not mute it then you will get a regular artifact such as sparkles(color problems) or blur, or static/snowy .ect pixels. If the build quality (AWG) is not good enough the signal will not reach from one end to the other thus you get %100 no picture (especially if the cable is broken) or some artifacts. Also hdmi cables can have communication channel protocols such as DDC/HDCP or TMDS or CEC or ARC or HEC and the input+output devices talk to each other, if there is any communication error between one of the channels, then that's channel's feature will not work.



- MONOPRICE: http://www.monoprice.com/ = Popular (famous for their hdmi cables), Best Quality for the price (very high/good review ratings), Cheap (lowest prices and discounts for buying in bulks), Safe (no viruses and secure purchases.ect).

- Recommended cable from monoprice: 1 ft. to 15 ft. & $3.28 to $15.07: = 24AWG CL2 High Speed HDMI® Cable w/ Net Jacket = (Buy separate, I think 22AWG will fit, but not 24AWG will not: Ferrite Cores (1 PAIR) for 22AWG HDMI® Cable).

- Recommended cable from monoprice: 6 ft. to 15 ft. & $9.67 to $19.94: = 24AWG CL2 Silver Plated High Speed HDMI® Cable (buy separate: Ferrite Cores (1 PAIR) for 24AWG HDMI® Cable).

- Recommended cable from monoprice: 3 ft. to 50 ft. & $9.90 to $58.58: = RedMere - Ultra Slim Series High Performance HDMI® Cables.



- Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/ = Popular (many popular hdmi brands/sellers), Good Quality and Cheap (you can find good quality hdmi cables cheap), Safe (I recommend Prime: Free shipping and products sold by or fullfield by amazon).

- Some brands I looked at: AmazonBasics 2-Pack, Cable Matters Ultimate Series, Mediabridge Ultra series, BlueRigger, StarTech, C2G / Cables to Go Velocity = I plan on adding more to the list later but I like monoprice the best so far.



- HDMI cable (v1.4): Standard speed up to 1920x1080i/24bpp/60hz or 1280x720p/24bpp/60hz. High speed up to 4096x2160p/24bpp/24hz or 3840x2160p/24bpp/30hz or 2560x1600p/24bpp/60hz or 1920x1080p (48bpp/60hz or 24bpp/120hz or 24bpp/60hz for 3D). (HDMI v1.0 to v1.2, high speed is similar to DVI-SL, standard speed is similar to component).

- HDMI (v1.3 to v1.4) cable: Up to 7.1/24bit/96khz or 5.1/24bit/192khz (192khz for PCM). Up to 8 channels (7.1) uncompressed PCM and lossless compression surround sound formats DTS-HD-MA or Dolby TrueHD and lossy compression surround sound formats DTS-HD-HR, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS 96/24, DTS-ES Discrete, DTS, or Dolby Digital.

= You need a hdmi cable that has ethernet channel do be capable of doing the ethernet feature (a feauture that's built into the cable). You need a hdmi cable with enough bandwidth to support 3D or 4k x 2k resolutions (newer hdmi versions added more bandwidth to support those features, but it's up to input+output device to do/have those features). (Tip: If you have a receiver (input device) or output device that does not support DTS-HD-MA, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD-HR, or Dolby Digital Plus bitstreams, you can tell your output device to decode it into PCM and then send it over the hdmi cable to the reciever).



- 24K Gold connectors+internal+pins prevent corrosion that would otherwise impede signal transfer and could damage connections on equipment.

- Full metal zinc alloy connector heads protect against EMI/RFI or other noise. Ferrite cores have magnetic materials that asborb EMI/RFI or other noise, but they can be bulky for side by side connections.

- Screened shielded twisted pair (S/STP or S/FTP): Usually uses three layers of sheilding of 100% aluminized+Mylar foil and %100 copper/tin braid metal-to-metal shielding for protecting against EMI/RFI or other noise (conductors are usually copper and are covered in insulation, there may be drain wire too a few more other stuff).

- TPE, APE, or PVC.ect jacket is a cheap and felxible insulator for the whole cable. Net jacket or nylon mesh jacket is a additional layer of protection for the cable jacket to keep it safe from knicks and cuts that otherwise might penetrate the jacket and render the cable useless.

- AWG stands for "American Wire Gauge." It is the thickness of the wire inside the cable. The lower number AWG denotes thicker wiring and thicker overall cable. Thicker cables are recommended for longer cable runs because they offer less resistance along the signal path (more bandwidth). Thicker cables become less flexible and the weight can pull connecters out of connections.

Answer 2

Some have better shielding than others; shielding is not as important as it is with analog cables but it can have an effect in longer runs some have thicker wire which is beneficial for longer runs also some have better tip ends that do not allow the wire to kink when pressed up against the wall...also the weld between the tip end and the wire is better on some than others some are soldered by hand while others use robots and electronic welds for better contact and longer lasting welds...some have a lifetime unlimited warranty others maybe no warranty or only a 90 day limited warranty.....Most any HDMI cable will work for a while out to about 15 feet longer runs especially inside a wall may require a better cable....also quality control is better on some than others so some cables will have a tighter fit on the connection than others.....but as far a video quality the cable will either give the best quality or nothing you will never get a slightly better picture from one cable over another...its all or nothing....You could get picture freeze and pixelization as the cable starts to give out but nothing watchable.....if the picture looks good then its working if the cable is defective more than likely it will not work at all or be of such poor quality that the picture is unwatchable.....with picture freeze; wash out; snow on a constant basis....

Answer 3

No. There are differences in build-quality, thicker inner wires and insulation means some HDMI cables can go 20+ feet while others start to have errors above 15 feet.



There is also 'certification' where a company sends the cable to the HDMI corporation and they validate it passes the specs for 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, etc.



Compared to Analog cables - digital signals are a lot less sensitive to the 'cost' or build quality of the cable. This means you can find some $9 cables that appear to perform as well as the Monster $120 cables that scream "120 hz compatible" on the package.



But as screen sizes get bigger (or you use a projector) small defects become more visible.



In general I use budget HDMI cables to connect things in my rack. I use a higher quality Belden based cable to run to my HDTV and I would recommend a better cable for long-runs or in-wall use.

Answer 4

Unfortunitely everyone seems to give the same wrong answer about cables. First there is a difference in All cables weather its analog or digital.



But with that said, it depends on the quality of the system or components how much of a difference you will see. Better the system of course the bigger the difference you will see or hear.



The system or TV in this case needs to be properly calibrated as well.



As with HDMI cables people get it in there heads that because its digital it will make no difference. Unfortunitly again they would be wrong, there are a number of things that contribute to the degragation and alteration of a digital transmission.



So not only is there a difference in the quality of image and sound in HDMI Cables, there have been improvements made in 1.4 compliant hdmi cables. Of course the components your hooking it up to must also be 1.4 compliant to get the bennifits.



You have to weed through the answers from those who know what there talking about and those who dont have a clue.



Kevin

40 years high end audio video specialist

Answer 5

If the cable is short 2 or 3 meters I think as not a matter, but is long 5 or 10 meters then matter the quality

Answer 6

So long as they are built to spec, a cheaper cable will work the same as a more expensive cable. HDMI cables carry a digital signal (1s and 0s). Digital signals will either work or they won't.

Answer 7

cables of the same version do the same, there can be differences in quality of material and/or construction. Assuming you realy ask whether price matters - no. A cheap one will do the exact same thing as a more expensive, its just that the more expensive might be better shielded etc. You are no tlikely to notice the difference.

Answer 8

They are the same. Some just make their sellers more profit than others.

Answer 9

Yeah they really all are some are a tiny bit faster but you will not notice any difference.

Answer 10

No. They are frequently different lengths.