HDMI 1.4a question

[I9000gt]

Hi there

Complete noob here!

I just upgraded my tele to a Sammy 6 series 51" plasma I've currently got a DVI
to HDMI 5m cable connected from my PC to the Sammy.

I'm.planning on buying a 5m HDMI to HDMI 1.4a cable and using that instead.

Will I be benefitting from HDMI 1.4a? Cuz I'm planning on streaming 3d content to my new tele from my PC also playing games (got the ati 6950 2gb)

Any replies will be appreciated thanks :-)

[shaithis]

No.

All HDMI cables will carry what you want. The only fancy cables that do not follow the norm are the ones with Ethernet over HDMI

[directhex]

HDMI 1.4a is the minimum version of the standard required to transfer 3D content in true "packed frame" format

However, chances are an older cable would be fine, as long as the devices at both ends are 1.4a - the only change in cable bandwidth requirement versus 1.3a is support for 2160p. Old 1.3 cables support 1600p maximum

[Giraffe]

Suitable cables are labelled "high speed" or "super speed" (shades of USB over-hyping here!); 1.4a ertc. is the chipset, not the cable.
Look for cables that have Ethernet and ARC (audio return channel), just for a bit of future-proofing.

You don't need to pay a lot - around a fiver up would be OK.

http://www.tvcables.co.uk/
http://www.kenable.co.uk/

are a couple of sites that seem to find favour in AVForums.

[Rave]

I've got 1080p 3D going over a 2m HDMI 1.3 cable I got off ebay for 3 quid delivered no bother at all.

[watercooled]

Same as above, spend about a fiver. Those ~£50 cables are a complete scam.

[abaxas]

Personally I'd spend a little more than the cheapie quid cables and get something which tends to be better built.

Also for long cable runs, you'll probably need a better quality cable.

However if you spend more then £20 on any HDMI cable, you've been conned.

[timread]

You could check out Amazon's 'AmazonBasics High Speed HDMI Cable with Ethernet' range. They're very affordable and decent 1.4-compliant cables. They support 3D TV.

3.0m is £7.39, 2.0m is £5.79. It doesn't look like they do a 5.0m version, unfortunately.

[watercooled]

Yeah they're not the cheapest but they are solid cables + come in 'frustration-free' packaging i.e. not clamshell...

[Funkstar]

Yeah they're not the cheapest but they are solid cables + come in 'frustration-free' packaging i.e. not clamshell...

Which is always a bonus!

(btw, clamshells are ok, it's the blister packs you need to watch for )

[shaithis]

Don't like the "hard to bend" ones. Had 3 out of 4 break on me.

Where as the thin, flexible and cheap ones (it's how I like them! ) are all 100% working. Most of them purchased from scan but I see they don't seem to carry the cheap and cheerful ones any more

[watercooled]

Hard to bend probably implies solid cable or thick braid so more vulnerable to stress.

[Spud1]

The rules for HDMI cables are very similar to network cables - for short runs (a few M) then quality is almost completely irrelavent. Those Cheap £1 cables are perfectly OK for this sort of usage - digital is digital, they will generally either work or they won't. In fact, most cheap HDMI cables are effectively just Cat5 cables wired up differently with different ends, and usually with a black sleave.

For longer runs (5m+) you really do want good quality cable that is properly constructed to allow for bends, twists and other contortions that can exist - although you can get away with cheap cable here again if you plan your wiring run correctly.

[I9000gt]

Thanks guys I refrained from buying any. My current dvi to HDMI serves me well enough :-)

[ristac]

I had a couple of the slightly thicker braided cables (hard to bend) I loved them until my Samsung D8000 arrived and it was a nightmare trying to keep the TV flat against a wall so I too went back to thin and flexy

[Antagram]

Do you need to worry about shielding with HDMI cables? For 10m or less length carrying signal from a PC/laptop to TV.