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Optical: Though a similar technology to the old-school audio interface, HDMI-over-optical is capable of far greater bandwidth. It's also capable of far greater distances. It's easy to find options that are over 330 feet. Prices have dropped radically in the last few years, with options available for similar prices per-foot as traditional copper cables. Most don't even need external power. They work and look just like a thin HDMI cable. Most people don’t need to use HDMI 2.0 for what they want to do. If you’re looking for a simple HDMI cable that’s good for essentially everything besides running UHD content at full-speed, then you’ll want to consider the StarTech Flat HDMI Cable. Inch for inch, these cables are an amazingly good value. The only catch is you end up using the older HDMI 1.4 format, which isn’t exactly future-proofed. If you want to keep hunting for the best deal, make sure the cable you're considering is either Premium Certified, says it can do 4K/60, or can handle 18Gbps bandwidth. And it's an added bonus if it has a great warranty like the Monoprice cables. No, not all HDMI cables have the bandwidth for 4K 120Hz signals. “Standard” and “High Speed” HDMI are still widely circulated and can support 4.95 and 10.2 GB/s, respectively. High Speed HDMI can support up to 4K resolution at 30 Hz, which is good enough for most film and television, though not all the most advanced, dynamic forms of HDR. “Premium High Speed” is the next step up, jumping to 18 GB/s, or enough to handle 4K HDR content at 60 Hz, which can support almost any contemporary application. The fastest level, “Ultra High Speed,” can transmit a whopping 48 GB/s, opening the door for 10K resolution at 120 Hz. Final thoughts on the best HDMI cables
Flat Cable HDMI - 2.0 - High Speed HDMI Flat Wire, by Ultra Flat Cable HDMI - 2.0 - High Speed HDMI Flat Wire, by Ultra
HDMI Ethernet and Audio Return Channel (HEAC) and ARC were introduced with HDMI 1.4, and are primarily designed to reduce the amount of cables you need to connect to your devices. Using HEAC, you can have a single HDMI cable transmit (and receive) visual, audio and network data. While HDMI 2.0 is actually about five years old, 2.0b is not yet three years old. The difference between these formats is actually quite simple. The newest version, 2.0b, carries double the bandwidth of the 2.0 format, reaching a maximum of 18Gbit/s. That higher bandwidth is necessary for 2.0b to support high dynamic range content. Cable Size Why it made the cut: Monoprice’s dependable and inexpensive cables are the way to go when running HDMI over long distances.Standard Automotive HDMI Cable: This cable type has the same capabilities as a standard HDMI cable, but is used to connect portable or in-car DVD players and other devices to in-car video displays. Extra shielding is provided to suppress interference from other car electrical systems and wiring. Gold-plated connectors make a marginal difference with analog signals, because the connections don’t oxidize, but they don’t matter at all with the digital signals an HDMI cable carries. If you care about a solid picture, you only need to pay attention to a cable’s speed rating and length, and whether it’s passive or active. That’s it. HDMI cables vs. HDMI specifications Each connection head has the HDMI and 4K UHD logo branded across its topside. Though this might be less preferable than a neutral-looking cable, like the StarTech Flat HDMI Cable, the logo can be somewhat useful.
Flat HDMI Cable [1M Lead] Angled TV Connectors JuicEBitz® Flat HDMI Cable [1M Lead] Angled TV Connectors
If you’re buying a new cable now, we only recommend considering the last two. Right now, Premium High Speed HDMI can handle content in 4K at 60 frames per second, which covers almost anything you can throw at your TV. Ultra High Speed may be necessary for some PS5, Xbox Series X, and high-end PC graphics cards to output at their absolute best in some cases, but right now it is fairly rare. Meanwhile, 8K video only exists for research and tech demos. In other words, Ultra High exists mostly in anticipation of future hardware and content. There’s nothing wrong with future-proofing, but know that Ultra High Speed is overkill for most people. ARC and eARC If you’re using one of the more bandwidth-heavy formats, then you’re going to encounter possible issues with length. This is mostly true for cables that need to exceed 25-feet without any attenuation in the data. That’s why it’s best practice to use a cable sized specifically for the job you have in mind. Build Quality For instance, the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 all come with a HDMI 2.1 cable in the box, because that's the route to the best picture you can get (providing your TV supports HDMI 2.1, that is), as the new 2.1 standard is needed to achieve 4K gameplay at 120fps, or 8K gameplay at 60fps. The Xbox Series S ships with an HDMI 2.0 cable instead, though it has an HDMI 2.1 port. As with pretty much any type of cable, shorter is better. With a longer HDMI cable, you’re more likely to experience some level of signal degradation. If you run an HDMI cable over 25 feet or more, you may notice issues like visual artifacts, dimming, and input lag. The StarTech Flat HDMI Cable uses the slightly older HDMI 1.4 format. That’s not going to be the right choice for everyone, but it’s going to be more than adequate for most people searching for HDMI cables. In addition to the flat version, these particular cables can be found constructed in a normal version and slim-normal version.If you absolutely can’t bring your source and monitor closer together, you should consider using an “active” HDMI cable, which draws a little bit of power from the connected device to boost its signal and send it substantially further while maintaining quality. Active cables are a little more complicated to set up because they only draw power from one side. You’ll need to ensure it’s plugged in the right way before committing to a setup. They are also more expensive than other cables, given their length and the additional tech involved. As long as that pipe is "big" enough, which is to say it has enough bandwidth, you should be good to go. The 18Gbps bandwidthmentioned above came about with the HDMI 2.0 spec, so if a cable claims it, it's likely built to handle the additional data that HDMI 2.0 connections can provide. The new Ultra High Speed cables are capable of 48Gbps, but that's far beyond what any current source can send.
Flat HDMI Cable High Speed with Ethernet 4k Ready 15m Flat HDMI Cable High Speed with Ethernet 4k Ready
The good thing is, if it works, it works. For example, if you're sending a 4K HDR signal from your 4K Blu-ray player to your 4K HDR TV and the TV shows a 4K HDR signal, you're set. It's not possible to get a better image using a different 4K HDMI cable. That's not how the technology works.There are a couple of advantages to using standard round cables. In some circumstances, cord holders and similar devices are designed for round cables. But outside of terribly niche examples, flat HDMI cables are really the way to go. Choosing a Flat HDMI Cable
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