by Mark Schneider
There is no shortage of opinion on the value of premium HDMI cables, many written by people who's main goal seems to be to debunk overpriced HDMI cables. The trouble is that, in their enthusiasm for consumer protection, some important points are being lost.
First of all, I will agree that there is very little reason to spend thousands of dollars for an HDMI cable - on that much, most sensible and informed people can agree. But to say that all HDMI cables are the same...that it doesn't make any difference at all...well, that simply isn't true. I have seen $5 HDMI cables that were so poorly made that they didn't work at all, right out of the package. I have seen failure rates as high as 30 percent. Those cables never even made it onto our website. Conversely, I have seen intermittent system issues solved by replacing multi-hundred dollar HDMI cables with "sanely-priced" ones.
And honestly, the standards and testing system that is currently in place just doesn't help very much. First of all, getting a cable certified is quite expensive. Something like $160,000 per cable. It's so expensive that some vendors don't do it at all. And the ones that do, typically only do it for certain lengths within a given series of cables. Then they just imply that the entire series is "High Speed with Ethernet", or whatever the certification was that they got for some particular length within that series. So the 2 meter length might be certified, but longer ones are not. Meaning that one cannot expect a 15 meter cable to perform the same way as a 2 meter cable. All else being equal, physics demands that shorter cables will accommodate more bandwidth than longer cables. That's just the the way it is. There are some schemes to cheat physics, such as using larger/better cables for the longer lengths, and there are also active designs that can help with longer distances, but then active cables come with their own set compromises.
To make things even more confusing, many times the certification is associated with the actual manufacturer, as opposed to the seller. For example, many well-known US-based companies buy HDMI cables from manufacturers in China, so the certification(s), if any, are awarded to the manufacturer, not the seller. Since buyers typically have no way to know the name of the company that actually manufactured a given cable, one can't even go and look up the certification to find out exactly what was certified. Given the high cost of certification, all of this is to be expected. It seems that the the process is more about perpetuation of the certification industry than it is about giving consumers useful information. If the price was right, then everyone who makes worthy cables would get all lengths certified, and that would actually help buyers.
But that's not how it works at the time of this writing, so unfortunately, certifications, and in particular, claims of certification, are not very helpful. What a buyer would really like to know is the actual performance potential of a given cable. In my mind, it would make an awful lot more sense to grade performance in terms of maximum bandwidth. That way, one could easily look up the bandwidth requirements for, say 4K 2160p with a 60 Hz refresh rate and 4-2:0 sampling, then go shop for a cable that exceeds those requirements.
It would be a lot like shopping for light bulbs in the incandescent era. If one needed 850 lumens, then one could just buy a 60 watt bulb. 1700 lumens? Buy a 100 watt bulb. Even light bulbs aren't so simple anymore...one buys a bulb labeled as "60 watts", but it only uses 43 watts, which seems good until one notices that with a rating of 750 lumens, it's also a 100 lumens dimmer than the bulb it was intended to replace. And while they don't say so on the package, the underlying technology is tungsten-halogen, so the there is more UV and the color temperature is not quite the same either. This is relevant only in that this sort of dumbed-down standards, labeling, and marketing mentality makes it much harder than it needs to be to make informed purchasing decisions. This same attitude permeates multiple markets with similar results. Like smart phones that are so advanced that they "just work". Until they don't. Or HDMI cables that are so easy to buy that all one needs to look for is any cables that is labeled "High Speed". That would be nice.
Most people are not aware that cables that carry no certifications can work just as well as cables that do. Or that advanced HDMI features are more about the connected equipment than the physical cables that connect that equipment. The reality is that some very good HDMI cables that were created before the existence of UHD, 4K, or even 1080p work just fine with the new resolutions and features. At the end of the day, it comes down to bandwidth, and as long as a given cable accommodates the required bandwidth, the HDMI versions and sub-versions don't make very much difference. Which really does make it harder than it needs to be to select a cable.
As it stands today, we have less information than we need in order to make good HDMI cable purchasing decisions, so we must rely on other information. For example, do we trust the seller? At Cables Solutions, we do have a number of customers who have come to trust us because we have never sold them a cable that didn't work flawlessly for the intended application. One might also turn to trusted brand names, but with brands being bought and sold as often as they are, brand names mean less than they used to. And even within brands that have not changed hands, it can be hard to know what you'll get. For example, a television manufacturer might source LCD panels from multiple manufacturers, and then use all of the different panels interchangeably in the same model TV. So even if one went to the trouble to read reviews before buying, there is no reason to believe that one would get the same panel as the one in the TV that was reviewed. Maddening.
If you have read this far, then you're probably expecting a conclusion, or at least some advice. I regret that I don't have any perfect answers. I can offer that if you buy a cable from us, then you can have some confidence that it will work as advertised, because we don't sell any cables that don't work as advertised. Assuming that you believe me to be truthful, that is. And granted, I do not qualify as a disinterested third party, so you might consider this - a great many cables are made in China. Even the best ones. The range of quality varies quite a bit, but there is one thing that seems to remain consistent, and that is that (in my experience) the very cheapest cables typically cause the most problems. With that simple fact in mind, my best advice would be to avoid shopping at the bottom end. Paying a high price may not guarantee high performance, but low price certainly can be related to low performance. So there is that.
With HDMI cables, there is a very thin margin between acceptable and unacceptable. For example, with analog video cables, degradation is gradual and predictable. Assuming a good cables, component video might look worse at 100 feet than it does at 10 feet, but it still looks fine. If you couldn'tperf compare the images side by side, you'd probably never notice the difference. We've done runs over 500 feet, and while the video quality did suffer to some extent, it was still perfectly acceptable for most purposes.
That's not how it works with HDMI. By comparison, it is a fragile interface, both mechanically and electrically. At high resolutions and frame rates, common HDMI cables work fine at 3 meters (10 feet), but wouldn't work at all at 30 meters (100 feet). And the degradation is drastic and unpredictable. If one could try cables out, adding one meter at a time, one might observe a perfect picture at 8 meters, "issues" at 9 meters and no picture at all at 10 meters. It goes almost straight from perfect to bad, and even faster from bad to non-existent. That is the nature of digital signals. It will look perfect right up to the point that the decoder can no longer detect the digital waveform, but at that point, it will fail catastrophically. If you want to read up on it, search the Internet for "HDMI eye pattern".
This is almost certainly the reason that any number of authors have been prompted to write that there is no difference between HDMI cables. And within a certain range of acceptability, it is true. But in the real world, there are many factors that can affect that range. For example, the weak point of any cable is typically the interface between the cable and the connector. It's more of a problem for HDMI cables than for more traditional signal cables because with HDMI, there is more than one cable "channel" hidden beneath the jacket. When the cable is bent, the channels on the outside of the bend are stretched while the channels on the inside of the bend are crumpled together. Most HDMI cables employ foil shielding, and foil doesn't respond well to stretching and crumpling. Simple bending can break conductors, break or deform the shielding, short-circuit at the connector, and even rip pins right out of the connector housing. It is less of a problem in the middle part of the run because the bundled channels are often twisted into a spiral, so where there is some length to work with, the stresses tend to offset each other. But at the connectors, there is not enough room for the spiral geometry to offset the stresses, making that the most common point of failure.
Something that most people have never done is to cut an HDMI connector open. I have. I think most people would be surprised to see how it looks. First, most HDMI connectors that I have cut open were obviously hand assembled. This is not what one would expect to find in this age of mass production. And it's kind of a mess in there. They must have lots of people with small hands soldering connectors onto HDMI cables because the connectors are physically small. The cable prep and solder were not consistent. There are definitely varying levels of design quality, expertise, and quality control. They are not all the same. Not by a long shot. A connector that has a lovely over-mold may have a dreadful design and ugly assembly work inside. With the shoddy designs and workmanship, it's not surprising that so many HDMI cables fail at the connectors. And this certainly supports my own observation that just because a cable works okay when it's first hooked up, that doesn't mean it will keep working the same way.
More expensive cables can afford to employ better materials, connector designs, and better assembly techniques, so even if the skill of the assemblers is the same, they still have a better chance of producing a good result. And then there is the cable itself. Some cables are more flexible, making them easier to work with and more resistant to failure. Some have superior internal geometry, which helps reduce flex-related failures. Some have the materials properly stabilized so that they don't deform during assembly and/or stiffen over time. So while it may be true that a cheap cable will perform the same way as a high-quality cable when initially tested, that doesn't mean that they are actually equal.
And then there is that threshold of failure that I mentioned above. Take a look at the eye patterns at the upper right. It's clear to see the that the top example has a great deal more headroom than the bottom one. We could probably get by with the middle one, but what we really want is the top one, because that one has plenty of performance to ensure that that the bandwidth will remain well above the threshold. This threshold is often referred to as the "cliff effect" in technical papers because once the critical threshold is reached, it's like the signal just falls off a cliff. A cable that barely performs above that threshold when new may not do so over time.
Flexing hurts the performance of any cable, and some much more than others. And let's face it - there is no way to install a cable without flexing it to some extent. Just the weight of the cable hanging on the connector can produce enough stress over time to cause a failure. Environmental EM also conspires to reduce performance. And EM interference can be transient, causing a cable that worked when first installed to stop working. Or to fail intermittently. The take-away is that it is best to use a cable that has some bandwidth overhead. It needs to be good enough so that even if it degrades to some extent, the signal quality will remain above the required threshold. We need that "eye" to remain wide open. Good quality cable, well-designed connectors, good termination techniques and good quality control all contribute to trouble-free HDMI hook-ups.
So you see, all HDMI cables are the same. Until they're not. To recap, my best advice is to buy from someone you trust. Beyond that, avoid the cheapest cables. You don't have to get crazy, but at the same time, don't be afraid to spend a few extra bucks on quality. You might also take a clue from professional installers. For example, the the origin of Audio Authority's HS-Series High Speed HDMI Cables with Ethernet was that they needed some HDMI cables that were good enough to use in their own retail demonstration installations. And good enough for their professional integrators and installers, but not too expensive. They are not the cheapest HDMI cables in the world, but they are certainly modest, by most standards. And they have proven, over many professional installations, to be reliable. That's why we continue to offer them. We might not recommend the longest lengths for the highest bandwidth installations, but they're good basic, professional-quality cables.
As always, if you need some help, please don't hesitate to contact us!
Here is a link to our HDMI cable offerings.
A cable assembly is a group of cables of varying constructions, sizes, lengths and colours arranged into a single unit. Pre-terminated cable assemblies are widely used by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to make installation quicker and easier when mass producing kit.
Whilst standard cables may work in many instances when dealing with specific or complex applications, off-the-shelf cables often fall short.
In the case of critical applications such as military bases, large-scale industrial production lines or medical equipment, improper set up when using an out-of-the-box cable assembly could prove disastrous. Even seemingly simple electronics applications, such as a home theatre system, will require a custom cable assembly to ensure they function well and deliver, while at the same time being compact and user-friendly.
As such, custom cable assemblies explicitly created for the task at hand are a valuable solution for OEMs across a range of different sectors such as automotive, utilities, aerospace, security and telecommunications. From simple cable assemblies including external cabling and internal wiring to pre-formed looms, wiring harnesses and ribbon cables, various types of constructions can be customised.
Here are just some of the advantages…
Suitable materials
The better the materials, the better the end product will be. Opting for a custom cable assembly gives you greater control of the materials used for the construction. For instance, the insulations, shield and jacketing material can all be specified to suit the application, and the cable harness manufacturer will be able to source the best materials for the product.
Having control over the material sources and manufacturing process is especially important when products are to be used in critical applications such as the medical industry.
Accuracy
Finding a ready-made cable assembly to fit your exact project requirements can prove difficult, if not impossible. But custom cables are manufactured as per the specifications in the design.
As an example, the cables could be colour coded or labelled — reducing the chance of elements being installed incorrectly and guaranteeing a perfect fit from production through to implementation.
The length of each cable can also be manufactured exactly as per the requirement of the project to ensure the setup is clean and eliminating the need to hide additional cables and wires.
Quantity
With custom cable assemblies, the manufacturer can order the exact amount of cables required for the needs of the application. The precise count for the conductor, stranding and size can also be optimised during the design phase.
By only using the correct quantities, you will avoid wastage and won’t have any excessive cables left after the assembly is completed.
Quality assurance
When being used in critical applications, cables can’t afford to fail prematurely. Custom assemblies will undergo much more rigorous testing than off-the-shelf products to ensure uniform functionality and quality.
To certify the cable is tested for the given requirements before assembly, applicable test data including tolerances, electrical parameters, temperature performance and resistance to chemical exposure can all be supplied by the cable manufacturer.
The cable manufacturer should also test the product in the environment it will be used in to guarantee a particular combination of components will stand up to the elements. Prototypes can be used to test the components in real-life situations to ensure the assembly meets the design requirements. If any attributes need to be tweaked, this can then be done before the production stage.
Higher performance
Thanks to the stringent manufacturing process, custom cables often offer higher performance when compared to their standard counterparts.
Custom cable assemblies are designed around your exact product requirements and manufactured to work with your equipment and environment — which means they are also extensively tested with those requirements in mind to ensure a successful finished product that will function and last as expected.
What’s more, custom cables can be manufactured to incorporate multiple functions —including power, signal, video and cable shielding — into one cable. These custom solutions are built for unmatched performance and take up minimal space, making them ideal for specialised applications such as surveillance systems in the security industry.
Save time and money
Initially, you might think it’s cheaper and faster to pick an off-the-shelf cable and simply connect it to your equipment. However, in most cases, these cables won’t work for any but the most straightforward applications. Attempting to retrofit standard cables takes time and money that could have been saved by working with a custom cable manufacturer to create the perfect setup.
Although custom solutions might be more expensive upfront, better performance and longevity will save you money in the long run as you won’t need to replace the assembly as often. Many cable manufacturers will also offer additional services such as design support and laser marking, which could serve as a significant cost-saving factor.
With over 35 years’ experience in the industry, EC Electronics has the knowledge needed to provide a complete custom cable assembly service — from design, drawing and prototyping through to full production volume. Contact us today to find out how we can support your next project.