Are all HDMI cables the same

[astral]

Remembering the discussions about jitter on CD - DAC cables

One manufacturer says "No they are not all the same", just because the signal is digital

http://www.qed.co.uk/hdmi-and-digital/hdmi.htm

[The Fat Controller]

The construction may vary in quality BUT as the signal is entirely digital, the cable will either work or not.

There was a recent comparison on a UK TV programme which concluded that the cable from the POUND SHOP worked exactly the same as the £49.99 gold-plated version.

There can be issues with cables longer than 8m or so requiring a signal booster.

Just make sure the cable is to the specification you require.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI

My £2.49 5m cable works fine from my PC to my TV, don't fall for the hype !

[taotoo]

They talk about it being scientifically-measurable, and objective. I'm sure they're right.

I wonder if they've ever conducted a blind consumer test, and if not, why not?

It would appear that most people don't even notice the horrific picture stutter that their LCD TV puts out. So I'd be amazed if many people could notice the difference between HDMI cables.

[RichCor]

Any cable which conveys high speed data will cause variable delay in the rise and fall times between voltage levels corresponding to the 1s and 0s. This variation is called jitter and it has been shown to affect the perceived quality of the video and audio data when reproduced by a TV.

Perceived quality?

If you buy hdmi cables at a really great price, it's probable that they are out of spec and could lead to bit-rate errors upon end-point rendering. I have yet to run into a cheap hdmi cable here in Thailand that produced a flawed video render or broken audio.

Just upgraded all our SAT, DVD/BD and Android Smart TV boxes to HD quality gear and the image that hdmi delivers is very noticeable over their Composite RCA counterparts -- the digital transport is a great advantage. Love it.

QED is really trying to hard. Comparing font faces to hdmi cable quality?

Then again Home Theatre boffins who have 25m+ cable runs might have more to say.

Edited April 14, 2014 by RichCor

[rhythmworx]

Think of it this way.

If an analogue signal degrades loss of electron flow via cable or any other means so will picture quality (marginally).

If a digital signal eg...HDMI degrades the 0's and 1's the TV will receive it or not.

Gold plated HDMI leads at the cost of £80 or more performno better than a £10 cable that is not gold plated....its all marketing bollo cks.

Pretty much the same with audiophile speaker cable that has a print on the cable for directional electron flow...same again all balls.

You hear people saying oh this £15 a metre cable is the dogs balls, in real life it performs just aswell as twin and earth cable, unless shielding is needed, in which case a balanced XLR cables are used.

[astral]

I have certainly had cheap Chinese hdmi cables fail after quite a short time.

[RichCor]

I have certainly had cheap Chinese hdmi cables fail after quite a short time.

Any idea why the cable failed?

Signal wire breaking or solder point coming loose? Corrosion on the socket due to high humidity, maybe the signal wire rusting out?

I was going to mention cheap Chinese product, but these days I have little to know idea where most any product is produced or assembled.

Where would one complain if the child in the sweat shop isn't making the cable to spec?

[Pinot]

Being keenio, if it's cheaper, it's better.

[IMHO]

No, they are not the same... Category 2 (high speed) HDMI cables can support data transfer up to 18gbps/10.8gbps (HDMI2.0/HDMI1.4), while Category 1 are only tested to 2.25gbps - then each Category has variants with/without Ethernet support...

However, claiming one can make a HDMI cable that can achieve noticeably better sound or picture quality over another (non-faulty or of the wrong category for application) cable is frankly just a good way for me to lose all trust in a company.

In short, yes, there are 4 types of HDMI cable, each with different levels of data throughput, so they are not all the same

[JimShortz]

In short, yes, there are 4 types of HDMI cable, each with different levels of data throughput, so they are not all the same

But.... All of those transfer rates are so far beyond what even super high definition video requires that it makes no real world difference at all!

The only time I had a cable fail was when the actual HDMI plug fell apart as I pulled it from the TV, so it's worth having a look at that to see if it looks well made. Other than that any should work just fine.