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Michael J. Descy (Marlboro, NJ) –

  

  

This is the HDMI cable to get right now: an HDMI 1.4 cable at a good price.

HDMI 1.4

HDMI 1.4 is the latest standard (as of November 2010 at least). It is backward compatible with other HDMI gear (mine all are HDMI 1.3 compliant). And it will be more useful to you if your TV supports HDMI 1.4 networking. I was not able to test the Ethernet networking capability of this cable, but I think the idea behind it is a good one.

For my current home entertainment setup, I had to set up separate Internet connections on my TV, set top box, Blu-Ray player, and WD TV LIVE (HTPC). It would have been a lot easier if I could have just set up my TV’s internet connection, and allow all of my components to share it. That’s what HDMI 1.4 promises to let you do–as long as all of your hardware, including the cables, supports it. This cable will support that functionality; it’s more “future-proof” than the HDMI 1.3 cables I have been using.

Learn more (and see nice diagrams) at [...]

This Cable

This cable is really long, so I don’t recommend it if your components are very close together. A 3-foot cable would easily suffice in that case.

Overall Impressions

This cable is a great buy. Definitely order it if your new A/V or PC components don’t come with an HDMI cable.

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 Comments (11)

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Sadie (Ventura, CA United States) –

  

I hooked this braided HDMI cable between my HDTV and my computer to stream video from the internet to my HDTV. The picture is clear and the sound quality is very good. I don’t see any difference while using this cable from computer to HDTV than I do when watching TV directly from my satellite box. The only problem I have with this cable is that it is very thick due to the braiding, which makes it hard to turn. I need to plug it into one side of my HDTV, loop it around the back of the TV and bring it out on the other side where I place my computer out of tripping range. The thickness of the cable makes it hard to loop around and it’s heavier than the other cables I have. This cable would probably be best for professional use where there might be heavy usage and plugging and unplugging of the cord. It will probably stand the test of time and constant movement easier than the regular smooth vinyl cables. But, for normal home use, the vinyl cables are easier to handle.

For anyone who has not used an HDMI cable and is new to HDTV, this cable can be used to hook up your cable box, DVD or Blu Ray disc player, computer, Wii, sound system and whatever else you have that has an HDMI cable connector. You do not need to use separate audio cables as this beauty steams everything through it. It’s super simple to use – just plug it in to your HDTV and plug the other end into the other component and play. I suggest getting HDMI cables for each separate component so you don’t have to pull out the DVD cable to plug in your computer.

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A. Dent “Aragorn” (Minas Anor, GD) –

  

  

  

WHO NEEDS IT?

This cable will work well with anything that supports HDMI 1.3x but it’s built to comply with the higher HDMI 1.4 standard. You may consider this product if you have TWO devices that support HDMI 1.4 such as TVs and Blu-ray players. For these, the cable will carry through HD images and Ethernet data therefore eliminating the need for one dedicated Ethernet cable and one Ethernet port. You may also consider this cable if you currently need an extra HDMI 1.3 cable but you are planning to to replace your existing equipment with some HDMI 1.4 ready hardware in the near future.

Unless either of the above is true, you will not need this cable and, given that the HDMI 1.4 standards aren’t set in stone yet – the HDMI 1.4a was released recently – you may be better off waiting for the dust to settle if you don’t need it today. Keep in mind that BOTH connected devices need to support the HDMI 1.4 standard for this cable to make a difference and that it is NOT possible to upgrade any existing equipment (TV, Blu-ray player) to support HDMI 1.4. Also, I would not pay a premium for the ‘braided’ feature. Other than ‘cosmetics’, the cable being braided does not add value to it. If the cable is going to spend its lifetime of service at the back of my entertainment center, never to be seen by anyone but me, I would not care about this and I would not pay extra for it.

HOW GOOD IS IT?

On my equipment, this worked as well as any older HDMI 1.3x cable. It replaced an existing ‘cheap’ wire at the back of my entertainment center and, nothing unexpected happened. The picture on my TV was as beautiful as before. The 3-meter length is a little bit too much for what I need but, since this is a certified ‘high speed’ wire, I am not worried.

Briefly, this cable:

- Behaves as a HDMI 1.3x ‘high speed’ or ‘category 2′ cable.
- As a ‘high speed’ HDMI 1.4 cable, it supports video resolutions of at least 1080p and can go as high as 4K.
- The ‘data channel’ (Ethernet support) works only with HDMI 1.4 ready equipment.
- The ‘audio return channel’ is another feature supported by HDMI 1.4 ready equipment only. It will allow for audio to be sent ‘back’ from, let’s say a TV to the HDMI 1.4 compliant receiver, therefore eliminating the need for a dedicated audio cable.
- It should support all the HDMI 1.4 extra color palettes because those are implemented by the HDMI 1.4 compliant connected equipment.
- It being braided does not improve or degrade the quality of the signal because all certified ‘high speed’ cables should be able to deliver good picture and sound or they would not be certified.

A 4-star rating should be fair for this cable because, while it is fully HDMI 1.4/1.3x I feel that the braided feature is only a gimmick that that only adds to the price without adding much if any value.

END OF REVIEW

______________________________________________________

What follows is the byproduct of me attempting to clarify ‘HDMI 1.4′ for myself and understanding this specific product’s features. I thought I’d share.

WHAT’S IN A NAME? (understanding this cable’s features)

- HDMI 1.4 is a new HDMI standard adopted in 2009, backward compatible with HDMI 1.3. This cable should work with your existing equipment.
- HIGH SPEED indicates that this cable supports resolutions of 1080p or higher and 3D video (unlike the HDMI 1.4 STANDARD cables which, believe it or not, are limited to 720p/1080i – why? nobody knows).
- ETHERNET means that this cable supports a full-duplex 100 Mb/sec Ethernet connection – if you have 2 HDMI 1.4 ready devices and they both need an network connection, this cable will carry through the Ethernet datastream to the second device, therefore saving you the need for one extra Ethernet cable.
- Audio Return Channel would save you the need of a dedicated audio cable between 2 HDMI 1.4 compliant devices.
- This cable supports the full set of 3D features found in the new TVs.

THE HDMI 1.4x DIFFERENCE

HDMI 1.4 allows for the following new features:

- Ethernet Channel – allows for the 2 connected devices to communicate with each other and share one network connection.
- Audio Return Channel – eliminates the need of a second cable if you want to send audio from your TV back to your receiver.
- 3D – It’s supported by HDMI 1.3x but HDMI 1.4a specifically supports all the currently agreed-upon industry standards
- 4K resolution – good to have it but there is nothing on today’s market that would take advantage of this
- Expanded support for new color spaces – by supporting sYCC601, AdobeRGB, and AdobeYCC601 it better aligns your display with the color spaces supported by digital cameras.
- Type D connector – the ‘Micro’…

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