Don’t buy the wrong HDMI cable! | Buying HDMI 2.1 cables

Things have changed since HDMI 2.1 and associated features like 4K 120 Hz, eARC, and VRR have grown more prevalent. The old rules no longer apply, so here’s what to consider when getting new HDMI cables for your new gear.

Our top TVs you can buy right now on Amazon:

More HDMI buying advice from Digital Trends:

00:00 Intro
01:30 HDMI basics
03:50 Understanding HDMI 2.1
07:24 What to look for
09:41 HDMI AOC & Cable Power
10:49 In-wall use

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[Caleb_Denison]

Hey everyone. A lot of concern out there that I don’t know my meters-to-feet conversion. So let me clarify here: When I say “about 6 feet” etc. I’m referring to lengths commonly sold in the U.S. Most HDMI cables are marketed in whole numbers of feet Hope that helps.

[msd]

Thanks for the overview, but ridiculous that cables have gotten complicated again. The whole point of HDMI and USB standards was to keep things simple for the consumer.

[LanceHarbart]

I’ve just found your videos, and your “in depth” tangents are the perfect mix of easy to swallow, and technical savviness that I’ve been looking for. Thanks for your work. Keep your chin up.

[AustinBruner]

I just had to come here and give this video a like for the thumbnail alone. Quality content never stops here 😂

[gmemo]

This video helped a lot. I purchased a cheap 5 pack of hdmi cables 7 years ago for my old 1080p tv and old blue -ray player. But I have been having some problems with cables starting 3 years ago and I'm like what heck is going on. I've now upgraded to a 4K tv last year, a newer blue-ray player, a PS4 and a new a/v receiver. A few cables I had to toss which was annoying part but someone told a cable is a cable is a cable, they are all the same and buy the cheapest. So now I know, thank you!

[urbancorso]

I found this channel looking for a specific Denon review. I found that your knowledge and completely usable and understandable material is refreshing. One comment is I have a bit of hearing loss, your voice is not only pleasant, but it's extremely easy to hear and follow. That's more important than I can say. Please keep up the good videos.😎

[photobriangray]

Bought an Apple TV 4K and experienced audio drops, glitches, pink screens, etc. I realized I was running the same HDMI cables from my first 1080p capable TV. I have a Samsung with the connect box, so the stack is tidy. Found short Audioquest cables perfect for my purpose, 4K 4:2:2 with LPCM has been flawless.

[grimzadi]

Linus Tech Tips did a great review on HDMI cables. Linus bought a $10K cable tester and a whole bunch of common HDMI cables and the results were pretty thorough. Basically, most of the cables touting 2.1 standards failed miserably. Including Monoprice. Infinite Cables consistently performed as advertised and are not expensive. The only exception is their fiber optic long HDMIs. They are expensive, but not as much as the uber-expensive cables for money-spending enthusiasts.

[jaynine]

I just have to say that the Cable Guy thumbnail is absolutely everything!

[russAGE]

👍🏾 for that thumbnail!
Thanks for updating me on cables. My brother inlaw just gifted me an 8k cable for our incoming sony x85k, which I haven’t seen a review from you.
Thanks again

[garylester]

I have a 15 meter Active Optic Fibre going from my 4K player to my 4K projector. I also bought 2 optic fibre 2 meter length cables on Amazon; it gives you a perfect clean picture, no specks, they were about $30 each on Amazon.I’m changing all my HDMI cable’s over to optic fibre. Cheers

[sneakingelephant]

I already knew about everything in this video from reading on it a few months ago but I literally decided to click and watch the whole thing because of that MASTERFUL thumbnail

[tricksietalon]

Late, but I just bought an OLED TV and soundbar, my first soundbar, and looking to understand the best set up led me to your optical vs HDMI video, breadcrumbed me to this one. Went to your site to see which cables you recommend...long story to thank you for saving me money. I wound up getting the 3 pack of color coded cables for half the price of the recommended cable, which may be great but seemed a rip-off. I appreciate it. The TV was quite expensive for me so not spending more than necessary on cables is appreciated.

[By_Rant_Or_Ruin]

I had to buy an 8K fiber HDMI 48Gbps 50ft cable to go from my Onkyo to my viewsonic laser projector. Distance - is - everything when thinking about a digital signal. Even if you don't have 8K anything, you need the largest bandwidth straw you can get if you are running 4K from a device, into another device, and then out to another device. You need signal amplification and zero signal degradation. Fiber is the only patch cable spec that can do all of that.
Anyway I went through two different fiber cables, the first one would glitch and sputter the signal like a copper HDMI cable did. So I spent more money on a very high spec fiber cable and - POOF- awesomeness ensued.

[virdinbarzey]

Thanks. Much needed Caleb. More of these please. Reviews are cool but we have ton of options. Explaining tech we need, not so much

[anandc]

I like seeing all your videos, infact I have been seeing most of your videos over the years but did not comment, but today is the day that I should take the first step to say thank you for all that you posted over the years, this video was something which mostly people would not know much about HDMI cables or even have the knowledge that what it does, and does not. Yes it was very informative and as technology keeps changing every moment one should also know that buying a TV is not just important but also what you connect also plays an important role which many of us would not know. Thank you once again. You make things simple to understand

[paulstubbs]

I kind of think HDMI has come to its end. If you have to totally re-spec everything, and the old cables won't work anymore, then maybe a totally new interconnect is called for.

[Caleb_Denison]

Thanks for watching, everyone! Please see the description for a list of resources used for info in this video as well as helpful info on recommended HDMI 2.1 standards and verification practices.

[hjahnke]

1 meter is 3 ft. A 6 ft cable is 2 meters. There were a couple of instances where you misspoke these measurements. 8:30 mark being one of them.

[AeleksDesigns]

Pro Tip for advanced Users regarding stresstesting HDMI Cables:
(because Resolution, FPS/Hz and even HDR are only one half of the video signal)

If you own a PC or Laptop with a modern GPU/Graphicscard, connect it to your TV via HDMI and set Resolution and FPS/hz to what you want to test (like 4K 60hz/FPS) ... then go into the GPU Settings (Nvidia Control Panel, AMD Radeon Software ect.) and look for the Setting that lets you choose the Pixelformat (like RGB... & YCbCR...).

Based on the TV/Screen you have (it needs to support the higher end formats), there should be a couple of settings to choose from ... the most demanding Format (regarding Cables) is "RGB 4:4:4 Full Range" at 8, 10 or even 12 Bit. If your TV/Screen supports this, activate it and see if it you have a stable connection for about an hour.

I've had plenty of self proclaimed high end cables which seemingly supported these types of outputs, but a lot of them had the tendency to randomly loose the signal (short interruptions aka black screens) after some time of usage.

PS.: Sometimes TVs/Screens don't correctly report their supported signal formats to the graphics card and let you choose formats they themselfes do not support. AMD has a Setting called "HDMI Link Assurance" to prevent this from happending. Nvidia should revert to previous Settings (if you receive a black screen after applying) after about 15 Seconds, if i remember correctly ... don't quote me on that^^ And Intel ... *sigh* ... just don't try this stuff with Intel GPUs, trust me.

Kind Regards