HDMI cable question

[W3H5]

Does the quality of an HDMI cable affect audio/ visual output from a machine?

The reason I ask is that my PS3 and home computer both run through HDMI cables to my projector. For the last 6 months I'd been using the same cable for both, switching between each one by unplugging and reconnection.

Recently the cable I was using for both failed to work on the PS but was as good as ever for the computer. I put this down to the constant unplugging and switching between both as the braids on the cable began to fray on the end I was switching with and is probably evidence that the cables integrity had been damaged somehow. Neither end worked on the PS but were fine on the computer.

Thinking it may be the port on the PS I bought a cheap HDMI cable to be sure and upon testing it found it to be fine.

The cable I had originally used for both was a high end, high speed gaming unit which cost around 100 yuan (roughly 10 English pounds) which in China is expensive. The new cable cost 60 yuan and from it's appearance is clearly lesser quality.

The problem I find using this new cable is that some of the audio sounds are omitted from my games, for example, the pit crew sounds in GT are replaces with the idling of the engine and nothing else, the rumble strips hit at high speed hardly cause a sound and the tyre squeal has become less prevalent. Could this be down to the quality of the cable?

Thanks for any info/ answers in advance. 👍

 

[Casio]

Short answer. No it doesn't matter.

 

[Fastas]

I think it does.

I don't know if there is a direct corelation between cost and quality (I doubt it), but I have had similar issues.

I bought some cheap HDMI cables of the webs and they worked fine for a while until I started loosing audio and then, eventually, the picture started to flicker or disappear. I thought at first that it must be a terminal at one of the ends and so went about disconnecting and reconnecting the cable to restore picture and sound. This only worked for so long.

I eventually bought a new cable and have never had a problem since. I can only assume the causes but would guess that the quality of materials used in the cable were sub-standard. There should be no drop of in the quality in principle but it does happen.

 

[Ibonibo]

Well...

Do you know what Tüv is? (German Certification)
They tested both cables, very expensive and normal (15€ for 1.5m). For their tests they didn't found a difference.
As the signal over HDMI is digital, it is nearly lossless.
Only over a lenght over 10m + , digital signal will loose slightly depending on the isolation of the cable. Or it can be resolved with a splitter (reinforces the signal)

Gold plugs are useless even with analog signal. Gold is not the best electrical conductor (silver and bronz is very good)

Now on my personal experience. I been using both, extremly expensive (Oehlbach, over 100€ per meter) and normal (15€ for 1.5m).

The difference I found, can not really justify the surplus on money.
With the cheap ones, I sometimes (very rare) have a line or 2 which is lost of the 1080p lines. Doesn't happen with the expensive ones. On audio I didn't really notice a difference.
I guess to justify the expensive ones, you need to be an audiophile and cinema-enthusiast.
Now there is also cheap and cheap.
I would go for the middle segement (8-10€ / meter) and not go for the ultra cheap (sub 5€/meter)


Also on the subject of switching HDMI cables all over the place. BEWARE. You can easily fry up a port if your electronics are still on stand by.
I fried a HDMI port on my AVR like that. Rather invest in a second cable

Hope I helped a bit

 

[Sprite]

Hi Shem,

HDMI carries a digital signal which isnt subject to the same degridation as say an analogue signal so qulity of cable at short distances doesnt really matter its just a prefrence. but over 3 meters in length then the signal can be effected and the quality of cable can become important.

HDMI Just the Facts - AVforums

the best read is here which they did an experiment on HDMI to see what kind of difference types and length make.

HDMI test's

Buying an HDMI for say £10 or less will not have any negative effects compared to say one for £100+ I have tried many HDMI cables ranging from a basic black bargin cable upto a 3 meter Sony high speed cable and they all produce the same image. As for 3D you may need an HDMI 1.4 capable cable to transmit the high bandwidth 3D needs but I dont use 3D so I have no real experiance with this.

 

[GilesGuthrie]

I agree with what others have said. If you buy an above-base-level cable you get a better quality of manufacture around the connectors. I wouldn't spend any more than £20/m for an HDMI cable, and I have some reasonably high-end gear. In fact, when I specced cables for my custom install, I downgraded the HDMI from the dealer's recommendation because I didn't share his belief that I needed to spend £50/m!

As for 3D you may need an HDMI 1.4 capable cable to transmit the high bandwidth 3D needs but I dont use 3D so I have no real experiance with this.

Although HDMI 1.4 has a much higher bandwidth than 1.3, this is slightly off the mark (sorry Sprite!!). HDMI 1.4 carries a channel allowing the display to auto-detect a 3D signal, but it's not necessary from a bandwidth perspective. The 1.4 spec includes 100Mb ethernet connectivity, and support for 4K display resolutions, as well as an Audio Return Channel. ARC is used to carry sound upstream from a display device (TV) to a receiver that's acting as a video switch.

I've just configured this correctly in my setup, and it's really good. The volume control on the TV remote controls the volume on the amp when ARC is active, and on the TV when ARC is off. It also powers on the amp when the TV is switched on.

Finally, it looks like Sony has implemented some backchannel version of the HDMI autodetect. My PS3 is connected via a 1.3 cable to the amp, which is connected via a 1.4 cable to the Sony TV. When I start a 3D game, the TV autodetects the signal and displays it correctly. Can't vouch for it working with other makes & models of kit though.

 

[BobK]

Cable quality makes no difference whatsoever with a digital signal; it's there or it isn't. Claims that different cables give "brighter color" or "better audio balance" or whatever are from people trying to deceive themselves or you, or both (usually in an attempt to justify a bigger price tag).

Having said that, however, connector quality does matter. Shoddy connectors will lead to signal dropouts and things like that, such as missing audio.

HDMI cables are not designed for frequent plugging/unplugging. If you do it a lot you will soon wear out the connectors on even the best of cables (but likely they'll last longer than cheaper ones).

Gold plugs are useless even with analog signal.

Not true at all. Although it's true that silver and copper are better conductors, they both tarnish readily while gold does not. This is why connectors are never bare copper. Sometimes they are plated with nickel, sometimes gold. Which is better depends on usage. Gold is soft and wears away quickly, while nickel is very hard and quite wear-resistant; note remarks above about frequent plugging and unplugging. Both are tarnish-resistant, gold more so than nickel.

This shouldn't need to be mentioned, but I will anyway: just because the connector is gold-colored doesn't mean it's really gold.

 

[Sprite]

Although HDMI 1.4 has a much higher bandwidth than 1.3, this is slightly off the mark (sorry Sprite!!).

Its ok Giles as i said I have no real experiance with the 3D side of stuff, I have a 3D Capable TV but I'm half blind in one eye so Active and passive 3D doesnt work with myself.

I personally have two £8 braided HDMI cables running from PS3 to TV and iMac to TV. They are good build quality and will last me till I move (May need longer runs when I move). We have a 3m Sony cable in the living room from the second PS3 to TV and this is a high speed cable but again in picutre and sound quality i have noticed no difference.

 

[Robin]

The HDMI cable quality has no effect on the quality of the picture whatsoever but obviously the cable itself might last slightly longer if its better made etc.

Its one of the biggest cons in the AV market today, I see these gold plated super expensive HDMI cables and feel sorry for those buying who arn't in the know when a $5 cable will do fine.

It pretty much also goes for any other digital signal medium, its only analogue where it matters.

Robin.

 

[W3H5]

Thanks for all the info. I'm still unsure as to why the computer will run through a cable that the PS will not.

There isn't any picture quality difference between the good and the standard cables I have, just seems like the audio was suffering but there could be some other cause for that.

I'm imagining that the constant plugging and unplugging may be to blame for the issues. At least now I know when I buy another new cable not to worry about the price affecting the image quality. Thanks again to all for the input.

 

[Sprite]

Shem I read last year about a guy who had a switching box that switched from HDMI to another, one night he switched over he HDMI and this was while he had power to the devices. This in turn damaged the HDMI port on the TV (a Sony incidentally) and he needed to have this fixed, he noted that he heard a crackle at the time.

Seeing as the PS3 works with another HDMI cable but not the frayed one I can only conclude the HDMI signal from the PC may not be using all of the cores of the HDMI thus the PS3 maybe using all cores hence lack or working.

Again this I just speculation on my part. I'm not a cable engineer.