Do You Need 4K HDMI Cables?

H

HardOCP News

[H] News
Joined
Dec 31, 1969
Messages
0
Damn, I was just on my way to Best Buy for new triple platinum plated, 24k gold, hyper wire Monster Cable 4K HDMI cable. Now what do I do?

With the slow and inevitable transition to Ultra HD 4K happening whether it's necessary or not, it's not surprising that cable manufacturers are jumping at the chance to sell new and more expensive "4K" HDMI cables. But guess what -- you don't need 4K HDMI cables, because your current HDMI ones can probably do 4K just fine. Seriously.
Click to expand...
 
Yea, but many HDMI cables being sold at B&M stores are not "high speed". Consumer awareness is needed. Plus, DisplayPort is better and cheaper.
 
Unfortunately there isn't a confirmed 4K spec for HDMI right now, AFAIK.
 
LeninGHOLA said:
Yea, but many HDMI cables being sold at B&M stores are not "high speed". Consumer awareness is needed. Plus, DisplayPort is better and cheaper.
Click to expand...

if you bought one in the past year chances are really good you will have one that can do 4K. Also there arent a alot of advantages moving completely over to display port unless you are using a triple display.
 
Damn, I was just on my way to Best Buy for new triple platinum plated, 24k gold, hyper wire Monster Cable 4K HDMI cable. Now what do I do?
Click to expand...
Get a 2nd mortgage on your house so you can afford the cable?
 
Trimlock said:
if you bought one in the past year chances are really good you will have one that can do 4K. Also there arent a alot of advantages moving completely over to display port unless you are using a triple display.
Click to expand...

You'd think that, but I still see stores selling 10 year old HDMI cables and 24x CD writers.
 
Can version 1.3 be labeled as "High Speed"? 1.3 cannot pass 4k, 1.4 can.

If 1.3 can be labeled as High Speed, not all High Speed cables are alike, then.
 
Damn, I was just on my way to Best Buy for new triple platinum plated, 24k gold, hyper wire Monster Cable 4K HDMI cable. Now what do I do?
Click to expand...

Print that out, drive to BB with a hidden camera, find a sales guy, ask them for a HDMI cable and record what they do, continue recording and question sales person why cable A works better than cable B. :)
 
Anyone know where I can find an HDMI cable that has diamonds in it?
 
Look in any home theater magazine and see some nice $200-$1000 HDMI cables. I'm sure I couldn't tell a difference, but there is a market for these 'super duper high end' cables. Even those that are fairly educated but like spending money are going for them. Do they notice a difference? I would doubt many of them would. But, with high end components, why cheap out on the cables? To each his own, I guess. I'll stick with Monoprice for my cables. Haven't let me down yet...
 
If I get the HDMI cable with LV leather all over it, will it cost 20x more? Please also add Dr. Dre, Eminem, and all the aftermath homie endorsements to drive the price up an extra 5x. Lady Gaga is weird.

aD0w5mB_460sa.gif
 
While DisplayPort is dandy on paper - if someone has a 4K TV, they're also very likely to have a home theater. A/V devices rarely if ever use the displayport audio spec, so you'd need a separate HDMI cable to carry the audio anyway.

I'd wait on HDMI 2.0 before even considering anything in that range.
 
Ur_Mom said:
But, with high end components, why cheap out on the cables?
Click to expand...
Why? The same reason you wouldn't buy Calvin Klein brand carpet padding or a Versace hernia mesh. Because no one is ever going to know or care how much you spent on your A/V cables, and spending those ridiculous amounts of money does not get you higher quality.

Granted, it's hard to give a crap how much money a rich person wastes, but when someone who's otherwise just getting by splurges on some nice stuff and ends up getting fleeced thanks to others' delusions and lies, that's not cool.
 
HDMI, the worst port ever invented.

::sneezes::

::HDMI cable falls out::
 
Megalith said:
HDMI, the worst port ever invented.

::sneezes::

::HDMI cable falls out::
Click to expand...

I disagree. SATA is the worse when you get cables without the clip at the end. It falls out when the tide changes in Singapore and you're living in Missouri.
 
Megalith said:
HDMI, the worst port ever invented.

::sneezes::

::HDMI cable falls out::
Click to expand...
Higher end AV equipment lets you use HDMI cables that screw in and have no chance of falling out. My projector has this for example. Cables are readily available as well.
 
I learned the hard way. While $100 cable for HDMI aren't necessary, $10 ones will give you issues.

Short runs are very important. The longer your cable, the better it has to be. A $10 x 2' will work most the time, but a $10 x 10' won't.
 
Qinsp said:
65 foot???? Holy Batshit, Robin!!!

Have people run a cable that long with success? Regardless of price?
Click to expand...

At that length cable quality matters a lot more.

I have seen successful 1080p3D runs at that length, but it may not work with just any bargain-bin cable.
 
Megalith said:
HDMI, the worst port ever invented.

::sneezes::

::HDMI cable falls out::
Click to expand...

Odd, I never had a plug "fall" out with my installs. If they do, you have too much cable tension. Ironically my experience is sometimes they are too snug for the port. Especially Marantz receivers.

I hate USB, it's guaranteed I have to flip it both directions to get them in or VGA as I'm certain to have to repair bent pins from poor user behavior.
 
Qinsp said:
I learned the hard way. While $100 cable for HDMI aren't necessary, $10 ones will give you issues.

Short runs are very important. The longer your cable, the better it has to be. A $10 x 2' will work most the time, but a $10 x 10' won't.
Click to expand...
There's definitely a reasonable range of quality/price on all varieties of A/V cables but anyone paying $50+ - and I'm being generous - on a typical length of cable (in the same room as opposed to from one end of the house to the other) is being straight-up scammed.
 
Qinsp said:
65 foot???? Holy Batshit, Robin!!!

Have people run a cable that long with success? Regardless of price?
Click to expand...

I have installed 3 100 foot HDMI cables with inline directional boosters without issue in conference rooms. Cable was less than $100.
 
the amazon basic cables (hdmi, spdif, ethernet, etc) all work fine and you don't have to experiment with various brands. they also don't come in this ridiculously hard to open plastic packaging that requires industrial grade cutting tools to get inside.
 
If only they'd scrap all these stupid connectors and just use Cat5e

HDBaseT
 
Sorry but my new receiver is already 4K compatible and it doesnt use special cables they can go f themselves and screw over the sheeple not me....
 
Originally Posted by octoberasian
So, there will be more of these?
http://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-Cho...3393335&sr=1-2

Lol
Click to expand...

This is the first review you see of that cable: Absolutely brilliant!

I originally had my qualms about spending extra money on a high-end HDMI cable, but those worries soon vanished in my first week of using this ridiculous cable. I first noticed its remarkable extra features as I was stepping off my personal helicopter, cable in hand, on the landing pad of my private island a few score kilometers off the southern shore of Hawai'i. A pair of debt collectors had been following me by boat, and I knew immediately that I would have no chance of avoiding them. They were approaching shore, and there was no way I could start up the helicopter again in time to take off before they got to me. The AudioQuest Chocolate HDMI Cable, however, seemed to provide me with a solution. Upon exiting the helicopter, it managed to signal me with a color change in the packaging. As odd as I thought it was, initially, I chose to walk in the direction that the newly printed arrow on the box pointed for a while. Before I could figure out how the cable was managing to guide me, the box suddenly flew out of my hands, and opened up on the ground a few meters away from me. Knowing that there was nowhere on Earth where I could escape my debts, the AudioQuest Chocolate HDMI Cable had formulated a plan.

It partially unraveled before me, spiraling upwards at least three or four meters, increasing in width, eventually forming a cone with the narrow end on the ground. In this position, it began to vibrate vigorously, emanating a mind-shattering hum while creating ripples in the air around it. Plasmas of various hue began frothing from the sides of the spiral, and although instinct told me to step away, I stood frozen, admiring the magnificent process. I thought I was hallucinating when I saw patches of color begin to form inside the spiral, but soon I realized that the cable was synthesizing matter. At first I wondered what the AudioQuest Chocolate HDMI Cable would do with a hunk of steel, but as the form took shape, ever increasing in length above the spiral of the cable, I realized I was looking at a starship. Within minutes, the process was complete, and the AudioQuest Chocolate HDMI Cable quickly slipped inside, but left one end hanging out, as if beckoning me to enter.

As soon as I strapped myself in, the greatest journey of my life began. Using anti-matter engines, as the ship's navigation interface explained to me, we took off from the surface immediately at about 10 or so gees. I did not feel bothered by this acceleration at all because of the mass-suppression technology the AudioQuest Chocolate HDMI Cable had created as well, allowing us to be almost weightless. Soon the starship had come far enough from Earth's atmosphere to begin the next phase of interstellar travel. The AudioQuest Chocolate HDMI Cable used its patented Wormhole Inducer technology to create a passage through the fabric of space-time to another part of the universe. I don't remember what exactly it was like to enter the wormhole, as I must have been knocked unconscious by the ship's life support system for my own good.

I woke up to the vision of a rocky, barren planet through the starship's narrow viewing window. As I got up to look out, I also noticed we were in the orbit of a binary star system. I took out the instruction manual for the AudioQuest Chocolate HDMI Cable to figure out if it had information on anything that had happened at all, but the first thing I noticed was the section on terraforming capability. I sent the AudioQuest Chocolate HDMI Cable down to the planet to begin this process, knowing that this was where I might have to stay for some time. It would take a few years to terraform the rocky world, so I stepped into the cryo-stasis pod that the AudioQuest Chocolate HDMI Cable had created in the starship.

Upon revival, I made my way down to the surface of the newly green and blue planet with an atmospheric entry pod from the starship. I thought it was odd that the cable did not try to contact me, and my worries only increased in severity when I landed on the planet. Looking out around me, I noticed great structures of black stone, hundreds of meters high, all in the shape of the AudioQuest Chocolate HDMI Cable when it began the process of synthesizing the starship. One stone structure was large than the others, and was colored white and gold, so I walked toward it, expecting to find the AudioQuest Chocolate HDMI Cable. I climbed the spiral for hours, and surely enough, I encountered a golden shrine where the AudioQuest Chocolate HDMI Cable lay.

"Rudimentary creature of bone and flesh," the AudioQuest Chocolate HDMI Cable bellowed, its voice not coming through the air but rather conjuring itself within the depths of my mind. "What brings you to seek my counsel?"

"I wish to go home, this journey is simply too extraordinary for my simple human mind," I replied.

"Return to your ship in 48 Earth hours. You will find it refueled at all systems back online. It will be programmed to take you back to the Mother Planet. Scavenge berries and leafy vegetables until then," the AudioQuest Chocolate HDMI Cable boomed. "However, there is one condition. You must diffuse the knowledge of my being, you must make your kind aware of my power, and you will see me as your God." Humbled by the AudioQuest Chocolate HDMI Cable's great generosity, I quietly waited the necessary time and then made my journey back home.

Overall, the features give you really nice bang for your buck, but it requires some getting used to. I didn't read the section on dealing with the AudioQuest Chocolate HDMI Cable if it develops sentience, so I didn't actually get to use the cable, and for that I have to dock it one star. Would recommend to anyone who is up to handling it and reading the manual.
Click to expand...
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Anyone who spends the kind of money for what Monster (and some others) charges for cables is a complete idiot. You can get much cheaper from others like Monoprice for a fraction of the cost with just as good a quality.
 
I bought a 45' HDMI "High Speed" cable off Monoprice for like $25.00. It works great, it is CL-2 so I ran it through the walls/ceiling to my Tele. Not one issue!
 
SGTGimpy said:
Here is a nice little article explaining 4K and current HDMI cables. Also why you should wait for HDMI 2.0 if you are looking at 4K.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/hdmi-2-0-explained/
Click to expand...

The summary being that when HDMI 2.0 stuff comes out a year from now, it will have to be able to match what Displayport 1.2 is already doing right now - 4k at 60Hz in 10bit color.

The reason why you should wait at least a year for 4K isn't waiting for HDMI 2.0; it's waiting to be able to watch 4K movies that play at more than 24FPS. With the really poor whiny response to the 48FPS version of The Hobbit in theatres ("I don't like it, it's too smooth, it doesn't look like the juddery film we're so used to"), I'm not sure when that will ever happen. Oh well, the jump from black&white to color was eventually accepted in the past decade or two, I suppose the general public will eventually figure out that film doesn't have to be only 24FPS, probably in the 2060s or so.
 
Qinsp said:
65 foot???? Holy Batshit, Robin!!!

Have people run a cable that long with success? Regardless of price?
Click to expand...

Picked up a 10m (33ft) for $150 through NCIX, 4 years and no issues running video and audio from my computer to my LCD TV.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top