Linus tech tips testing HDMI cables… for Science

[spacebar]

I found this interesting and maybe you do too Any thoughts?

We told you we’d do it, and here it is! Testing a whackload of HDMI 2.1 and 2.0 cables to find out if you’ve been wasting your money on cables for no good reason.

Forum link here with test data: https://linustechtips.com/topic/1387053-i-spent-a-thousand-dollars-on-hdmi-cables-for-science/

 

[sweetchaos]

This is wonderful. Is he planning to test more cables in the future?
I didn’t watch the video yet.

 

[sgent]

Very interesting testing of 55+ cables. Found a 17% failure rate overall, with Monoprice in the lead for the worst cables. IDK know what he plans, but they bought a 15k cable analyzer, and Riley did a great explainer.

Results spreadsheet found at https://linustechtips.com/topic/1387053-i-spent-a-thousand-dollars-on-hdmi-cables-for-science/ -- although I do recommend watching the video.

 

[escksu]

Haha, yes. Many of the cables actually dont meet the specs. Its not just hdmi, even usb cables as well.

 

[spacebar]

This is wonderful. Is he planning to test more cables in the future?
I didn’t watch the video yet.

I believe they asked the community for other brands like the very expensive ones for testing.

 

[abdo123]

The HDMI 2.1 spec is honestly bordering the insanity in terms of durability of commercial cables. I really wish TVs would assume the position of A/V Processors in the future and we're done with long runs of anything digital. Or optic cables would become the norm at least.

 

[restorer-john]

I really wish TVs would assume the position of A/V Processors in the future and we're done with long runs of anything digital.

Put the A/V processors in the LCD panels, a gaggle of (say 15/16 Class D power amplifiers (all assignable), full DSP room correction and complete control via your phone/ipad.

One killer device. Sure it'd be expensive, but it's got to be time to kill the AVR.

 

[abdo123]

Put the A/V processors in the LCD panels, a gaggle of (say 15/16 Class D power amplifiers (all assignable), full DSP room correction and complete control via your phone/ipad.

One killer device. Sure it'd be expensive, but it's got to be time to kill the AVR.

it might be even right out impossible since people are obsessed with how thin their TV must be (I mean who isn't? it's not the prettiest thing in the world) and whatever heat-sinking left it is there to cool the panel itself. This is specially the case for the less power efficient OLED panels.

As for audio processing alone, barely any heat-sinking or significant extra power is needed and most modern TVs can decode proprietary formats anyway so half the work is done too.

It really feels like the natural next step.

 

[spacebar]

I tried to understand how the optical hdmi cables is build. But I don’t see any optical fiber in the pictures from the brands. I’m just browsing Amazon and I can’t see any “real” optical hdmi cables. What am I missing?
I believe some wires are for handshake and general communication.

 

[PierreV]

I tried to understand how the optical hdmi cables is build. But I don’t see any optical fiber in the pictures from the brands. I’m just browsing Amazon and I can’t see any “real” optical hdmi cables. What am I missing?
I believe some wires are for handshake and general communication.

Not sure what you are missing - there are plenty of them

https://www.amazon.com/Certified-Optical-phoossno-HDCP2-2-Compatible/dp/B091DT28SF

 

[voodooless]

Not sure what you are missing - there are plenty of them

https://www.amazon.com/Certified-Optical-phoossno-HDCP2-2-Compatible/dp/B091DT28SF

I think the issue is that there are no optical cables to be seen This is correct since they are hidden within the cable and terminated in the connectors. Usually, they are hybrid cables. There are still some low bandwidth copper cables in there as well.

 

[spacebar]

I think the issue is that there are no optical cables to be seen This is correct since they are hidden within the cable and terminated in the connectors. Usually, they are hybrid cables. There are still some low bandwidth copper cables in there as well.

Ah, thanks for the information.

 

[sgent]

I tried to understand how the optical hdmi cables is build. But I don’t see any optical fiber in the pictures from the brands. I’m just browsing Amazon and I can’t see any “real” optical hdmi cables. What am I missing?
I believe some wires are for handshake and general communication.

There are also a lot of 4k over MM/SM fiber extenders that can use pure fiber with SFP like connectors. I assume there will be an 8K extender at some point but I haven't seen one yet. (see Vanco, AVProEdge, TrippLite).