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Is there a difference in HDMI Cables?

amirm

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This is an old video (circa 2012) but it is still pretty relevant with respect to what goes into manufacturing an HDMI cable by one of those honest companies (BlueJeans Cable). I am posting it because my body Kevin Collins is hosting it (used to be on my team at Microsoft) and thought it was very well done and worthwhile to watch and maybe even applicable to other types of cabling.

 

NorthSky

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Once in a while I want to watch a movie from one of my players.
I'm using many HDMI cables because I have many sources using HDMI connections. So I turn everything on with the simple press of one button from my programmed universal light saber...remote control...Harmony.
But there is no picture! ...No more harmony/sync between all the HDMI components. So I spend an hour or so trying to locate the undesirable problem. Very simple; one of the HDMI connectors or from the TV or from the pre/pro or from the Blu-ray player pulled away from the jack because of its weight. I need lighter HDMI connectors or lock-in connectors.

Today we need certified HDMI cables, not the fake certification but the real certification to give us the assurance. Monoprice make them, for five bucks, a 2-meter HDMI cable.
A six-foot HDMI cable is recommended over a shorter one, because a shorter HDMI cable, say one meter, can give bad handshakes between components...according to some experts.
And long HDMI cables, say fifty feet, you'd better have good ones, with integrated power boosters. Some of those cost in excess of $300/400.

I have never seen an HDMI cable costing more than $10,000 ... good, because it makes me feel that I don't need a ticket to Mars in one of Elon Musk spaceships.

Amir, did you measure few different HDMI cables yet?
...From the 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0b variety. And are you intending to write a future article for Widescreen Review on the latest HDMI version 2.1 cable?
 
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amirm

amirm

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Amir, did you measure few different HDMI cables yet?
I tried once with DVD player connected to AVRs. I could not see a measured audio difference between a short and very long cable.

It is not an easy test to do because I have no DAC that accepts HDMI. There are a few out there though.
 
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This is what Supra cables wrote, any truth/experience?

"Note! Be careful in the use of ferrites. Not all ferrites are tuned correctly to be used with this high frequency data transfer cable without changing the electrical proporties of the cable to the point where the data transfer is corrupted and/or slowed down. This is a general notification for all digital interconnects. We have encountered HDMI cables not coming even close to the original excellent performance, thanks to later added ferrites with the benign intention of reducing RFI."

http://www.jenving.com/products/view/usb-2.0-a-b-1001908381
 

DonH56

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Ditto. Ferrites act as HF filters, not always what is desirable on a high-speed cable. A proper cable does not need them anyway.
 

Darwin

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Same here. They make products at reasonable prices but pay attention to quality.

Yup and they aren't much more than say the Amazon HDMI cables but look to be better quality so why not spend a little extra.
I did just ask them if they are going to make USB-C cables as I have a 15 inch MacBook Pro at home and work for work and they said they have no plans too which is kind of odd since USB-C is becoming more prevalent in general.
 

NorthSky

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Interesting, many TVs come with ferrites integrated to their AC power cords.
And Oppo includes an HDMI cable with integrated ferrite.

Widescreen Review had an edition in the past mainly dedicated to HDMI cables; I have it right here in front of me. But it's not about the new 2.1 version. Nonetheless they mentioned some good points about the construction of the terminators. What I love best about Widescreen Review is they don't make the very educational articles for free online.

Our best option is us; try them for ourselves in our own separate systems, different from each other and with different electrical power grids.

How do we know with exactitude that the moving pictures from our screen displays and sounds playing through HDMI cables are perfectly reproduced with the utmost signal's integrity? ...Measurements?
 
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amirm

amirm

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Interesting, many TVs come with ferrites integrated to their AC power cords.
With power cord, you want to transmit 50/60 Hz signals. So filtering the highs generated inside the equipment is fine and possibly required for passing emissions standards. The issue with HDMI is that it is designed to carry high frequency signals so there, filtering can hurt.
 
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amirm

amirm

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How do we know with exactitude that the moving pictures from our screen displays and sounds playing through HDMI cables are perfectly reproduced with the utmost signal's integrity? ...Measurements?
Video is not an issue since such gear is routinely tested and verified with video signals. Audio testing is non-existent though. So far my sense is that far more damage is done internally to the AVR/processor to HDMI audio than the cable upstream. But I should test that again one of these days.....
 

NorthSky

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And what about the audio/video circuitry inside our 4K Blu-ray players?
Most of them are on the same circuit board...audio and video, without being separated and isolated. And HDMI jitter free, can it improve the audio signals?

Ok, we're talking HDMI cables, not pre/pros (receivers), Blu-ray players and TVs using HDMI jacks. The cables themselves are just transmitting what they are fed, as long as they operate properly within their specs and construction.
 
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