Are all HDMI cables equal?

jambredz

jambredz

Veteran
Im looking for a 50ft hdmi to use from my zacuto evf to another monitor. The longest i have now is 15ft i think. The prices range and reviews support different things...some say gold plated is better, some reviewers say a particular cable doesnt support 1080p ...all kinds of stuff. So are all hdmi cables created equal and are the fancy shmancy marketing all just hype? And can ya'll give me a link to a good brand 50ft cable?
 
Last edited:
No specific example, but I paid literally $17 for a 25' cable from a chinese ebay seller and have had zero problems with it. It might be a dice roll as far as quality control (might get a bad one), but in my experience an hdmi cable is an hdmi cable, buy the cheapest you can find.
 
AV people have been pushing gold-plated connectors for decades, and I've never noticed a lick of difference among any of them.

Try an inexpensive one from a good retailer, and if it doesn't work, return it and buy something pricier.
 
well, maybe not eBay cheap!

I'd recommend at least a good retailer so you can return it easily if there are basic problems with its function.
 
HDMI cable is HDMI cable, gold or platinum plated? Who cares, it's a digital signal. Either there is a signal going through the cable or there isn't, it's not analog where high quality cable material counts.
 
"Are all HDMI cables equal"


My 15 meter is usable about 50% of devices. Only 1 of my two (recently bought) mini HDMI works with NEX5.

They are not the same. Brands & materials on the other hand... I'll leave that to teh internetz to fight about. (My cables from the el cheapo swedish company Deltaco works great)
 
on almost exclusively buy the cheapest cables i can for video signal but not for audio. I always buy from monoprice.com and have never once had a problem with their stuff. I have bought easily $400 of cabling from them over the years between setting up networks at my offices and wiring home theaters and cables that i use on set.
 
Internally they are all virtually the same. The difference can be in the shielding and plastic coating. Some are more pliable than others but they will not give you a better signal.
 
Last edited:
I will second the recommendation for monoprice.com. Their pricing is very good, and their service is excellent.
 
Paul Hudson said:
Internally they are all virtually the same. The difference can be in the shielding and plastic coating. Some are mor pliable than others but they will not give you a better signal.
Click to expand...

Exactly, either a signal gets through the cable, or not (if the cable is broken). It's digital. I've been buying budget HDMI cables for a while now, there is no difference between my 20$ cable and my 200$ so called high end cable. OK it looks fancy, gold plated connector's will keep it from corrosion but the image and audio quality is 100% the same.
 
I have had about 50-50 success with cheap HDMI cables. I've also had about 50-50 with expensive ones so in my experience it makes no difference. I think the issues are primarily in the design over the manufacture. They really are one of the most poorly designed cables ever made. I cannot fathom why HDMI 2.0 hasn't come out yet with a locking mechanism, given the sheer number of issues consumers have had. For a cable this sensitive to movement it is ludricrous. I have enough issues just with my stationary tv. That said some people I know have had never had an issue and there's a lot of misinformation out there.
 

Length - HDMI has no length specification. So manufacturers and customers are on their own. But you can expect satisfactory performance from any HDMI cable to at least 25' if not a lot more. Literature suggests that cheap HDMI can go to about 50' before having issues. With better cable (24 gauge vs 28 gauge) 100' + can be reached with no issues.

The type of signal also dictates length. 720P can go farther than 1080P.

Plating - For the most part, unimportant. Plating mostly plays a role in how well a connection holds up over time (corrosion over time and environment); not how well a signal gets through. Any plating will do for HDMI for the normal environments that cameras and monitors operate in.

So if you're running a 25' cable, go cheap. If you need to go farther, consider 24gauge cable.
 
Acctualy there IS a difference and altho it is a digital cable, electricity is still a very analog thing. higher quality cable will give a better chance of the digital signal being usable at a longer distance, however it should not degrade the video quality, in this form it is true to the digital saying "its either there or its not".
If you look at the signal with a scope you can see the difference.
and unlike most video signal, it is equalized at the receiving end rather than the sending end..
I have seen instances when some brands of cable do not work well together, I have allways liked and had good luck with HDMI cables from Gefen.

Hope that helps a bit
 
Running it to a monitor less than 1ft from your camera, you are a complete idiot for spending anything more than £2 on a cable. I bought 10 for under £20 and yes, they do occasionally break (as any cable would if hit wrong) but who cares? You have another 9 left, throw that one away and use a brand new one.
Running longer distances might be different, but you need powered hubs to send a signal further anyway so it still won't matter what cable you use. Or, if you've got $1000 to spend, get this http://www.bestbuy.com/site/AudioQu...24437192&skuId=2383276#tabbed-customerreviews
 
[URL said:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/AudioQuest+-+Diamond+3.3'+High-Speed+HDMI+Cable+-+Dark+Gray/Black/2383276.p?id=1218324437192&skuId=2383276#tabbed-customerreviews[/URL]
Click to expand...

The customer reviews for that are pretty amusing.
 
if all hdmi are the same, does such designations as 1.3 or 1.4 matter?

thanks in advance.

be well.

rob
smalltalk productions
 
Yes, it does. the newer 1.4 spec supports features, like more 3D options, that the 1.3 spec does not. But if you're connecting an 1.3 device, don't worry about it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top