HDMI Cables standard or high speed

MadDad

Just got a new smart tv and want to buy hmdi cable, some help please

Do i need a high speed hdmi cable for 1080p?

Is there a difference between high speed and standard?

What is the price range of a decent hdmi cable, just need about a metre, any idea of best buy/price?

rednik

I bought a projector last year and I went out and bought a 7m HDMI cable for €100. I got a good mate to install everything for me. The 7m cable was not long enough and he used a 10m cable that he had. I asked him how much the cable was and he said €20. He then told me they are all the same, so don't waste your money on a so called superior cable. Go into Power City and get one for less than €10.

Smiler

As far as I know. HDMI is a digital signal.

So it's 1 & 0,s. it'll either work or won't work.

If it was an analog signal (speaker cables etc) the cable quality would matter

not too sure what the story with a high speed hdmi is though. Is it a new thing?

ZENER

There's a poster here who's job is to do with design of IC's for HDMI (I think). From reading his posts it seems there is no difference - HDMI is HDMI and no benefit is gained from "higher spec" cables as the data rate is the same regardless.

For short cables (less that 2M) there is no need to spend a fortune on gold connectors etc. The only difference is that the cheaper cables may not be as well made or use cheaper cables but I've used several sub 10 euro cables and haven't had a problem yet !

AFAIK the HDMI spec includes 1080P as standard so no special cables should be required.

Ken

andy1249

For cables , standard speed and high speed is a test done on samples from a manufacturing line. Its a QA mark , if it has the logo then its guaranteed , but for short cables , you dont really need it.

The tests are very expensive , most cable sellers wont have it done at all , more would have just the standard speed test done , and few will do the high speed test because it costs millions and will drive up the price of the cable.

For anything less than 8 meters , any cable will do.

Tescos have them for less than a tenner , they work fine and its all you need.

There are no slight picture or sound improvements due to HDMI cables , that really is impossible.

High speed for 1080p used to be true , but that was before blu ray came along and the only 1080p available was 1080p @ 50 or 60 fps.

Blu ray is 1080p @ 24 fps and that falls firmly within the standard speed bandwidth , in fact it uses less bandwidth than 720p.

coylemj

I think when it comes to HDMI, calling a cable 'high speed' is probably nonsense designed to justify a higher price.

For a short distance buy the cheapest HDMI cable you can find but for future-proofing I would buy a cable that meets 1.4 specs which is required to support audio return channel (ARC).

andy1249

For a short distance buy the cheapest HDMI cable you can find but for future-proofing I would buy a cable that meets 1.4 specs which is required to support audio return channel (ARC).

Sorry , but no , ARC works on any HDMI cable ever made. The numbers ( 1.3/1.4 etc) do not apply to cables and never have , they apply to chipset electronics only , if you see them on a cable then thats purely a marketing con.

Only the Standard Speed / High Speed "with ethernet" tag denotes a cable that would be needed for the ethernet option of a 1.4 chipset , but there is not a single device on the market that supports that and there most likely never will be , as it is nowhere near as capable or stable as a standard ethernet RJ45 socket interface.

See here , www.hdmi.org is the official site for HDMI ,

http://www.hdmi.org/consumer/buying_guide.aspx

and about ARC

http://www.hdmi.org/manufacturer/hdmi_1_4/arc.aspx

Dazzling D

In no way spend big money but don't buy dirt cheap either as the build quality of the connections on cheap cables break over time.

Thefirestarter

Apolgies if it is too large, but this is the best explanation to the HDMI 'quality' rip off.

Oh and please don't buy into what the sales person tells you about a brand called 'Monster'.

coylemj

The Hi-Fi magazines are partly to blame for the myth that spending more on HDMI cables gets you a better picture and sound. The problem is that the cable manufacturers spend a packet advertising in the same magazines so there is a blatant conflict of interest.