Your Ultimate Fact Check Sheet to HDMI Cables
HDMI stands for High Definition Multimedia Interface and is the most frequently used HD signal for transferring both high definition audio and video over a single cable.
It is used both in the commercial AV sector and is the most used cable in homes connecting devices such as digital TV, DVD player, BluRay player, Xbox, Playstation and AppleTV with the television.
More and more home AV devices are being connected using this simple, effective cable, but now HDMI is also featuring on laptops and PCs and therefore becoming the standard for the corporate and commercial markets – for education, presentation, digital signage and retail display to transmit high quality audio video signals from device to device.
Are the expensive HDMI Cables better? Should one use the old version of these cables or new one? Does the type of cable affect audio/video quality? And the saga of questions about HDMI continues…Search the internet and you will come across the answers to all or some of these questions. When it comes to HDMI, the confusion just doesn’t seem to end.
HDMI 1.4 cable” is a lie
Yup, The term HDMI 1.4 cable is no less than a delusion and its name evolved during the process of HDMI licensing. With the advent of 3D resolution, many people were of the opinion that one needs HDMI 1.4 to run 3D resolutions. Well, it is essential to remember that 1.4 is not a cable spec but a connection one. Also, it is possible for any kind of high speed HDMI cable to transmit 3D resolution.
In short, HDMI 1.4 refers to the type of hardware and has no relationship with the cables whatsoever. Majorly, there are 4 HDMI cable types – Standard Speed (with or without internet) and High Speed (with or without internet).
Wireless Does not Always Mean the Best
There are several Wireless HD devices available in the market. Quite clearly, they cannot compete with HDMI cables and it is quite easy to install them. But there are some drawbacks to the Wireless HD standard that run at 60 GHz. They do not work well when installed through the cabinet doors. There are other versions that work on the 2.4GHz wireless spectrum. It is the same spectrum that your cordless phones use.
Most of the HDMI cables come with a reasonable price. So, if you do not want to run cables through your walls, you can always go for wireless HD. But there’s no guarantee that they will work without any glitches.
The Expensive VS Cheap Fallacy
“Cheap HDMI cord wouldn’t work well so I searched for an expensive HDMI cable near me and replaced it. Now everything works fine” - This is a big misconception. At times, you might have gotten a bad quality cable in the first place. And that will definitely not work for long distances.
The best way to check whether or not cheap HDMI cables work is to get another one for the same price and try using it. It mostly will. Thus, whether you buy a cheap HDMI cord or an expensive one, the workings of both will remain the same.
Recognizing the Robust Cables
How would you define strongly built HDMI cables? You might say, cables with thick jackets and strong plugs and quality internal wiring are robust. But just because they are strongly built, it doesn’t mean they have to expensive. Search the market and you will also find sturdy and well-working cables at low prices.
Cables with strong jackets are important when you are installing them around the floor as there are chances of them getting damaged in a long run. In fact, there are chances that some expensive and strongly built cables don’t work as they come with very heavy plugs causing wear and tear to your equipment. Make sure you don’t go over the board with the word “strong” as you will not observe much difference between the video and sound quality.