Is your HDMI Cable rated for 120 Hz or 240 Hz?

Well, that’s actually a trick question.  The truth is, there is no such thing as a 120Hz or 240Hz HDMI Cable?  We recently wrote an article explaining the HDMI ratings, as specified by HDMI Licensing, LLC.  No where does HDMI Licensing, LLC specify an HDMI cable rating of 120Hz or 240Hz, but rather the HDMI specification uses speed ratings, which mean cables are certified for a specific data rate.

Why do so many HDMI companies advertise their HDMI cables as being able to carry a 120Hz or 240Hz signal?  The truth is that many HDMI manufacturers are using deceptive advertising practices to confuse consumers and promote their cables as being superior to other cables.

[adrotate group="6"]

By advertising that “if your HDMI cable does not handle a 240hz signal it will not work with the newer 240Hz TV’s,” they are implying that the source (DVD player, Satellite box, etc) is sending a 240Hz (or 120Hz) signal via the HDMI Cable, and if your cable is not rated as such, then it will not work.

There is no component available that outputs a 120Hz or 240Hz signal, and as far as we know, there is no display device (TV, projector, etc) that can accept a 240Hz signal on its input (new 3D TV’s will have to accept 120Hz on the input).  If this is true, why are so many TV’s advertised as 120Hz or 240Hz displays?

Video sources, such as DVD players and Cable/Satellite boxes transmit their signal to the TV at a rate of 60hz.  Once the signal reaches the TV, the TV’s processor will take the 60Hz signal and “upconvert” it to 120HZ or 240Hz.  This is done mainly in LCD TV’s to allow a faster refresh rate, which helps the LCD TV’s deal with faster moving images (this was one of the downsides to LCD Tv’s).  We won’t get into how the specifics of how the processing works, but for the scope of this article it’s enough to know that the signal leaving your source (DVD Player, etc) is transmitted at 60Hz, not 120Hz or 240Hz, and it gets increased to 120Hz or 240Hz ONLY AFTER it has entered the TV’s processor, which then converts it to a 120Hz or 240Hz signal.  This means that there is no such thing as a 120Hz or 240Hz HDMI cable!

[adrotate group="2"]

Any HDMI cable you purchase will work with your 240Hz TV, regardless of whether it’s “rated” for 120Hz or 240Hz.  There’s no need to consider this rating when purchasing an HDMI cable because it’s not a valid rating.  The only ratings you should be concerned about are the ones given by HDMI Licensing, LLC which are Standard Speed, Standard Speed with Ethernet, High Speed, High Speed with Ethernet, and Standard Automotive HDMI cables.

[adrotate group="4"]

[adrotate banner="12"]

{ 12 comments… add one }

  • Jub Extreme August 22, 2010, 10:10 pm

    I think I agree with your idea. But, what I have learned is that there are versions of HDMI and not the Hz thing; versions such as 1.0 or 1.3. I’m still confused with these specs actually.

    Reply
    • tonyblue August 23, 2010, 10:21 pm

      Thanks for your comment! Yes, the HDMI versions have been very confusing. We wrote this article, http://www.blueechoav.com/2010/03/17/hdmi-cables-making-sense-of-speed-ratings-categories-and-versions/ , which expains the different versions of HDMI.

      HDMI, LLC realized that this was extremely confusing, and so they have simplified the HDMI versions into Standard HDMI (with or without ethernet), High Speed HDMI (with or without ethernet), and Standard Automotive HDMI Cable. Companies are no longer allowed to use terms such as 1.4, 1.3, etc in reference to HDMI Cables. Read the article mentioned here for a more detailed explanation, and that should clear up any confusion you may have.

      Reply
  • SirIronpaw January 2, 2012, 10:35 am

    First I’d like to thank you for clarifying the whole refresh rate conundrum. I have a “240Hz” TV and it is noticeably clearer than my 60Hz TV. However, I have always wondered how much influence HDMI cables had on their picture, but thanks to your article I will now shop for HDMI cables with a bit more confidence.
    Now for my question. In this article you state that upconverting a 60Hz signal to faster refresh rates “was” one of the LCD TV’s processor’s downsides. Why is this a downside and why use it in past tense?

    Reply
    • tonyblue January 3, 2012, 8:31 pm

      Hello, thanks for your comment! We’re happy to hear that our article has been of help!

      Whether cables make a difference or not has been heavily disputed for quite some time…and it’s no different with HDMI cables. Some say buy the cheapest you can find, and others say you should invest heavily in quality cables.

      I say “was” because this doesn’t apply to Plasma (and CRT) TV’s, and new LCD’s have improved their processing so they do a much better job. The LCD TV’s have come a long way to be comparable to Plasma TVs (and some people think even better).

      Reply
  • Hollie January 14, 2012, 5:37 am

    A pealsignly rational answer. Good to hear from you.

    Reply
  • Victor January 20, 2012, 8:40 am

    Hello,
    I currently purchased a playstation 3 3D Display and it says it has a 240Hz refresh rate, yet it still displays 60Hz. I mean it does look alot better than my 32 inch 720p LCD but i can tell the refresh rate is still the same and i have it connected to a new slim ps3.

    My problem summarized would be…its not moving smoothly as i would like it to, and im not really a electronically savvy person so any information you can provide me would be very much appreciated. How do i achieve smooth motion display? or is it even possible on this Playstation 3 3D Display?

    Reply
    • tonyblue January 27, 2012, 12:52 am

      Hello,

      I’m not familiar with the settings of the PS3 3D Display, but i’m sure it works the same as most. Have you checked the settings to make sure it’s set to upconvert? Also, depending on your source (DVD Player) and how it’s hooked up, it may not be upconverting. Are you connecting with HDMI?

      Does the display show you that it’s displaying at 60 hz? If so, check the things above (is it set to output 240hz from the menu settins, and is it connected via HDMI). also, if your dvd player is of very low quality, that will affect the picture, since it’s being upconverted.

      If you can post more details i can try to help more…

      Reply
  • mindy February 4, 2012, 9:54 am

    I just bought new HDMI cable cyshc1020d for my new Samsung un46d7000 LED with 240hz. I noticed that i am not getting 1920/1080 resolution. I am only getting 1280 x 720 resolution with 60p could it be the cable or the cable box problem?

    Please advise.

    Reply
    • tonyblue February 4, 2012, 5:34 pm

      Hello,

      Sounds like a nice setup! The HDMI Cable does not set the resolution. The cable only passes the signal that is sent through it…if it could not pass the 1920×1080 resolutions, you would know because you would see things like “sparklies,” noise, etc or no picture at all.

      I would check the setting in the menu of your cable box…you have to tell it to output in the desired resolution. Also, your TV most likely has a setting that also upconverts the resolution. I would check both menus and make sure they are set to display the full 1080p that you want.

      Hope this helps!

      Reply
  • Edward L. Sholly October 5, 2012, 4:59 pm

    Thanks for the info on the 240 Hertz cables I’m going to buy a new Sony 3D TV soon and the 240 Hertz cables at some retailers are selling for $119.95 and on E-Bay for $ 25.00 and thanks to your information I don’t F-ing need them. This should be exposed to the general public ! It proves to go ya again that you can’t trust these guys.
    Thank you again

    Reply
  • mario February 22, 2013, 5:33 pm

    Hello
    well, I purschased a Samsung tv LED un40eh6030f and it says 240 cmr but I know it handles 120 real Hz, but I have changed the settings and I do not watch any difference , also, I changed the blu ray”s setting and still nothing
    I watch the movies but on the tv these look like 60hz so i read again the instructive of tv and blu ray but I just found in. blu ray”s instructive this ” if I choo s e 10 80p output i have to use an HDMI cable category 2, the sellers have told me i need to use a better cable for a better quality and better motion , because my tv is series 6 and I know it is not so bad, so really I do not understand what happens even I update the firmware it supposes get better quality and better sound but I do not see any improvement, sorry about how i wrote this but I hope you understand my problem, I do not see any improvement when I change the options and nothing good happens so, will I get better motion if I buy a better cable!???? Thank you I hope you can help me

    Reply
  • Jawad April 23, 2013, 2:03 pm

    I just bought a SamsungUN46ES8000FXZA LED television. I have dish network and Toshiba DVD player SD7300KU connected with HDMI cables (HDMI 1 & HDMI 2 slots). Now dish works perfectly fine with excellent color and sound on the other hand the dvd player has a pink / purple screen. I have tried switching the HDMI cables but that’s not the case. Now can it be the old Toshiba dvd player not compatible with the new T.V? Or settings?

    Reply

Leave a Comment

Next Post:

Previous Post: