HDMI Cables – Making Sense of Speed Ratings, Categories and Versions

In a recent article, we talked about some of the issues surrounding HDMI, and one of those was the constant changes in terminology and revisions, along with the confusing, and sometimes (often) misleading or deceptive marketing of HDMI products.

If you’ve been shopping for HDMI cables or components, you’ve no doubt seen terms such as High-speed, Category 1, Category 2, 1.2, 1.3, 1.3a, 1.3b, 1.4, 240 hz, 120 hz, and on and on.

In an effort to eliminate the confusion, HDMI recently issued its new Trademark and Logo Usage Guidelines. These new guidelines attempt to simplify things by limiting HDMI Cable names to five groups:

1. Standard HDMI® Cable
2. Standard HDMI® Cable with Ethernet
3. Standard Automotive HDMI® Cable
4. High Speed HDMI® Cable
5. High Speed HDMI® Cable with Ethernet

Sounds simple, right?  Well, it’s still all very confusing.  The cable names above are to be used only for cables.  You still have different connector types:

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1. Type A connectors shall be referenced as the “HDMI® Connector.”
2. Type C connectors shall be referenced as the “HDMI® Mini Connector.”
3. Type D connectors shall be referenced as the “HDMI® Micro Connector.”
4. Type E connectors shall be referenced as the “HDMI® Automotive Connection System.”

Components currently have a different set of rules regarding HDMI terminology until January 1, 2012, at which point they will no longer be able to reference version numbers either.

This leads to an example of why this is so confusing.  HDMI recently released its new spec, HDMI version 1.4.  There was a lot of buzz about the new HDMI 1.4 specification.  Many cable manufacturers jumped the gun and assumed, reasonably, that the new HDMI Cables would be called (what else) 1.4 HDMI Cables.  BUT, under the new HDMI Trademark and Logo Usage Guidelines, they are very clear that HDMI Cables cannot use “1.4,” effective immediately.  They are even going so far as to call out companies that are calling their HDMI Cables 1.4 cables, and letting consumers know that they are violating the HDMI trademark.

This is not intended to be a rant against HDMI, but we wanted to give a little background as to why all of the confusion, and offer some clarity specifically regarding HDMI Cables.  Keep you eyes open for a future article that talks more about HDMI components, but it seems that there is much more exaggerated advertising and marketing when it comes to HDMI Cables.

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So what does it all mean?  Well, effective immediately, no manufacture should call their version 1.4 (oops) HDMI Cables “HDMI 1.4.”  And manufacturers have a little under a year remaining to refer to earlier versions of HDMI such as 1.3 and 1.2.  Here’s a breakdown of the five HDMI names:

HDMI Standard
Standard (or Category 1) HDMI cables have been tested to perform at speeds of 75Mhz or up to 2.25Gbps, which is the equivalent of a 720p/1080i signal.  Standard HDMI Cables have not been tested to perform above 1080i, which means they are not designed to work with 1080p signals.

HDMI Standard with Ethernet
Standard HDMI Cable with Ethernet connectivity.  HDMI Ethernet Channel technology consolidates video, audio, and data streams into a single HDMI cable, combining the umatched signal quality and convenience of HDMI connectivity with the power and flexibility of home entertainment networking. It incorporates a dedicated data channel into the HDMI link, enabling high-speed, bi-directional networking at up to 100 Mb/sec.

HDMI High Speed
High Speed (or category 2) HDMI cables are tested for speeds of 340Mhz or up to 10.2Gbps, which is the highest bandwidth currently available over an HDMI cable.  High Speed HDMI can successfully handle 1080p signals including those at increased color depths and/or increased refresh rates from the Source. High-Speed cables are also able to accommodate higher resolution displays, such as WQXGA cinema monitors (resolution of 2560 x 1600).

HDMI High Speed with Ethernet
High Speed HDMI Cable with Ethernet connectivity.  HDMI Ethernet Channel technology consolidates video, audio, and data streams into a single HDMI cable, combining the umatched signal quality and convenience of HDMI connectivity with the power and flexibility of home entertainment networking. It incorporates a dedicated data channel into the HDMI link, enabling high-speed, bi-directional networking at up to 100 Mb/sec.

HDMI Standard Automotive
HDMI Standard Automotive HDMI Cable allows the connection of external HDMI enabled devices to an
in-vehicle HDMI device.

So by these standards, if you’re only concerned about 720p/1080i you’ll need a Standard or Standard with Ethernet HDMI Cable, and if you’d like resolutions beyond that such as 1080p, you’ll need a High Speed HDMI Cable or High Speed with Ethernet HDMI Cable.  The Standard Automotive is reserved for in-vehicle HDMI devices.

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We’d recommend future-proofing your HDMI Cable purchase by going with a High Speed HDMI Cable.  Although we’re not aware of any HDMI components with the Ethernet connectivity (and not sure how well that will take off), if you’d like to ensure you have the latest in HDMI Cable technology, look for a High Speed with Ethernet HDMI Cable.

One last thing we’d like to mention here, without going into detail in this article, is that many HDMI Cable manufacturers claim to support 240hz technology when promoting their cables.  Don’t be fooled by this deceptive marketing.  240hz is a process internal to some newer TVs, and since it is done internally in the TV has nothing to do with the HDMI Cable.  It’s a term that has been latched onto by some companies to fool customers into thinking they have a better HDMI Cable.  There is no such thing as a 240hz HDMI Cable, and that’s why you don’t see it mentioned in the HDMI Specification.

Hopefully this helps clear up the confusing terminology, and hopefully this will make it easier for everyone to understand once the new terminology is fully implemented in the industry.

View Blue Echo High Speed HDMI Cables here or Blue Echo swivel-head HDMI Cables here

View the HDMI Adopted Trademark and Logo Usage Guidelines here