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HDMI cables - the basics
What is HDMI?
HDMI stands for High Definition Multimedia Interface. It's a medium-sized 19-pin connection that's becoming standard on a range of audio-visual products. For TV, DVD and game playing it replaces SCART socket by carrying sound and pictures simultaneously. HDMI cables, unlike SCART cables use digital signals throughout and, the HDMI cables replace the separate digital audio connections such as optical or coaxial leads. The end result is that they not only give you better image/sound but they also make it easier to link you AV components together.
Like its name suggests, HDMI can deliver high definition pictures and multichannel digital soundtracks. It can also carry some standard definition formats, which is useful in the case of HDTV receivers, because not all programmes are shown in HD or with 5.1 surround sound.
Of course to take advantage of the benefits offered by HDMI you TV needs to have at least one HDMI input . If you run out of available HDMI inputs you can get switch-boxes for connecting more than one HDMI product and swapping between them. One, two or more HDMI inputs are now standard on most new flat-panel LCD and plasma TVs as well as rear-projection TVs and standalone video projectors.
Does HDMI always mean better quality?
Mostly but not always - having a HDMI socket does not guarantee that the product can show or support genuine HDTV (at least 720 progressively scanned lines or 1080 interlaced lines) because some displays convert to a lower native resolution. Look for an 'HD Ready' logo to confirm HDTV compatibility.
Similarly, using HDMI does not guarantee a better performance. In most cases you will get a superior result compared to "old fashioned" analogue connections such as S-Video, RGB and component video, but some standard definition digital TV channels or DVDs can look worse when delivered d digitally onto very large high resolutions TV's, particularly if they use heavy compression. However, with more HD broadcasts now becoming available (Sky, Virgin Media, Channel4, BBC etc.) and HD/BlueRay discs becoming available, it's getting easier to enjoy the full splendor of true HD
Are there different versions of HDMI?
Yes, like the humble USB ports on your PC, there are different standards of HDMI. As with USB, products using newer standards of HDMI can be plugged together and are 'backwards compatible' with earlier flavours of HDMI, so you shouldn't be left facing a blank screen and silent speakers.The HDMI spec is currently at version 1.3. This offers a few optional enhancements over older versions, notably more accurate colour reproduction, faster frame rates and lip-sync correction to prevent that 'loose lipped' problem that happens when the sound runs out of step with the image.To take advantage of the new features your source machines and TV or projector must all be fully compatible with the latest HDMI version. This also includes any surround sound amp or receiver that might be connected via HDMI in your system. Products with HDMI v1.3 are becoming more widely available during 2007, such as Sony's PlayStation 3 and Toshiba's HD-XE1 HD DVD player.
Most of the new HD-ready TVs already support the new features that come with HDMI v1.3 and the range of othe accessories that fullyt support v 1.3 is growing fast. Good quality cabling is also important to take full advantage of the increased bandwidth of v1.3.
Aren't HDMI cables all the same?
It's long been known that better quality cabling can minimise signal loss and distortion in the analogue domain, both in sound and picture. Although digital systems are generally more robust due to technologies such as error correction, signals can still be influenced by variations in the quality of the cable or affected by interference. Higher grade HDMI cables are especially important for carrying the highest resolution video, which uses 1080 progressively scanned lines, also known as 1080p, but in the future products could increase this to 1440p. If you want to connect across a long distance - to a ceiling-mounted projector for example - then you'll definitely need a high-performance cable.
Here are some recommendations all of which are available from AVNow:
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