The most common question I get asked is, "Is there a difference between all the HDMI cables out there?" This is often followed by, "It's so confusing because there seems to be such a variety in the costs." If you are frustrated and confused by the myriad of HDMI cables on the market, stay tuned.
The answer to the question is simply, "Yes." There is a difference to all these cables when it comes to HDMI. If you are talking about a PS/2 keyboard cable, or a DB9 serial cable, there are a few differences, but generally, whatever you get will work because there is not a lot of date being transferred. However, HDMI is a very complex, high-speed, high-tech cable designed to carry a lot of data, both video and audio simultaneously, and there are certain characteristics which need to be met in order to comply with HDMI specifications. HDMI has specified how an HDMI cable should be manufactured. If you comply with these specifications, you should be OK. However, there are factories that try to cut corners by using less shielding or thinner wire gauges. This is when you run into trouble because you will not get true HDMI performance from these cables. So, in this sense, you get what you pay for. Does this mean that you need to go buy the most expensive cable you can find to get the best performance? No. This also is not necessary. You’ll get great performance from cables like “Monster” at the big retail outlets, but you are paying for a lot of fancy packaging, marketing, and “fluff” or “bling” that does not affect performance. Unless you’ve got money to burn, your cables don’t need bling.
As an AV installer, or a professional audio video integrator, you simply want to make sure that you are consistently getting the best quality cables at a fair price (the best value for your money). You need to partner with a manufacturer like Professional Cable that manufactures pro-grade cables, without all the extra gold monster “bling”. If you are looking to connect an HDTV at home, you can turn to WhataCable! for your cable needs. Both Professional Cable (for resellers, distributors, and professional installers) and WhataCable! (for home users) offer a lifetime warranty on high-quality HDMI certified cables.
We ran into this same problem back in the 90’s with SCSI cables. There were only so many short-cuts you could take with a SCSI cable before it affected the performance. Then later you had factories trying to use really thin wire on USB cables, and they couldn’t obtain true USB 2.0 speeds because of poor shielding or sub-par components or wire gauge. There are a lot of things that go into the quality of the cable during the manufacturing process. These are copper cables, so the copper must be of good quality. They have to meet the AWG that is specified for the technology. They are susceptible to EMI (interference from electricity) and data loss because of poor shielding. They require an aluminum foil shield and in addition to that, a copper braided shield. This is all very costly, especially with the shortage of copper and rising costs of copper and PVC. So again, factories will try to take short cuts. Aluminum braiding can replace the copper braid shield, but strict testing and quality control must take place to make sure that there is a sufficient shield to pass EMI testing.
Hopefully this clears up the question, “Is there a difference between HDMI cables?” and “Which HDMI cable should I buy?” You don’t want to be left with a fuzzy screen or loss of that crisp clear picture that you saw at Circuit City when you bought the HDTV. At the same time, you don’t want to pay the outrageous price for a tricked out HDMI cable that will give you no more clarity than the one that costs half the money at http://www.whatacable.com/ After all, these are the cables that the professionals are using to install the mega-home theaters that you see in the homes of the Rich and Famous. If it’s good enough for the professionals, it’s good enough for the home users, and you’ll have plenty of money left over for popcorn.
Until next time
The Cable Guy
http://www.professionalcable.com/
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