During the last decade, most multimedia devices have transferred to digital formats. From DVD players to the simple act of watching television, everything is available in the digital form these days. This also brought on the need for a standardized method of connecting such devices, and so the HDMI interface was created. HDMI stands for High Definition Multimedia Interface. The HDMI standard is basically a replacement for the old analogue cables, such as the S-Video, Composite or Component connectors. The HDMI standard replaced all of these with standardized HDMI cables that can be used to connect multiple types of devices, whether it’s a flatscreen TV, a computer monitor or any type of digital video player. In this article, we’ll give you an overview what you should know when purchasing HDMI cables.
The trick of HDMI cables
If you’ve bought a new multimedia device recently, such as a Blu-Ray player or an LCD TV, you will probably want an HDMI cable to connect to these devices and use the best they can offer in image quality. Fortunately, HDMI cables are now available almost anywhere, and any cable will work as good as another one. Some people will stop right here and consider it strange that every cable is as good as the next one, since there is a huge difference in the prices of various HDMI cables. Something that costs more money is surely better, right? This is actually the most important thing to remember when buying an HDMI cable: the price doesn’t really matter. The beautiful thing about the digital age is that everything is binary, meaning that it either works perfectly or it doesn’t work at all.
How do HDMI cables work?
HDMI cables basically perform the task of transferring digital information, all in the form of a bunch of 1’s and 0’s. As long as it is a standard HDMI cable, it will transfer the data properly at all times, regardless of whether it’s a $6 or $60 cable. There are also some brands that present the old rule of analogue cables, where metals with better conductive properties, such as gold, delivered better picture quality, and then try to convince their customers to buy more expensive HDMI cables. However, this is no longer valid in the digital age, as many tests available online have proven it does not matter whether an HDMI cable uses iron alloy or pure gold connectors; it will deliver content from one device to another just the same since all it is transferring is basically binary data.
Other important features of HDMI cables
Another thing to consider is the length of your HDMI cable. Even though longer HDMI cables are more expensive, they may sound more convenient. However, this isn’t necessarily true. A typical HDMI cable is thicker than most multimedia connector cables, so you may want to buy one that is just about the right length instead of an oversized cable. You’ll spend less, and there’ll definitely be less cable tangling behind your devices. Last but not least, HDMI cables can have several extra functions, which are usually designated by a numerical marking. An HDMI 1.1 cable only transfers image and sound data, while an HDMI 1.4 cable can transfer network data between devices. Some brands, such as the Panasonic Viera TVs, use these network functions for their own brand. In any case, you can safely ignore anything a salesman is trying to push on you and choose any HDMI cable up to the 1.4 standard without thinking twice about it. Keeping these simple guidelines in mind will remove any stress or concerns you may have when buying and HDMI cable.
This article has been written by our guest author who writes on the behalf of Digiquick. Digiquick all sorts of camera and camcorder accessories like HDMI Cables, camcorder batteries, camera cables etc.
One reply on “Basic facts you need to know when buying HDMI cables”
HDMI cable is often the handiest way to connect two devices; at the moment, that’s really the best reason to use it. However, in the future, it may become necessary to use HDMI connections with certain devices, or certain recorded media, in order to get full HD content.