HDMI Labeling Requirements Promise a Stew of Confusion 396
An anonymous reader writes "In many ways HDMI has revolutionized the way we connect devices. By unifying video and audio into a single cable manufacturers have been able to make their products easier to set up than ever before. Until recently there hasn't actually been much difference in HDMI cables. But things are about to get confusing with the introduction of HDMI 1.4. By the 1st of January 2012 manufacturers of products with HDMI ports won't actually be able to call HDMI 1.4 by its real name. In fact, come November 18 this year those selling cables won't be able to use HDMI 1.4 or HDMI 1.3 to delineate between different products. Instead cables that support version 1.4 of the HDMI standard will have to use one of five different labels. The new labels? Well, as this story explains, they're going to cause a new level of confusion for anyone hooking up a home cinema. Add to this the fact that the HDMI organisation keeps the details of its specifications secret, and translation between version numbering and marketing-speak will be well nigh impossible."
How hard was it (Score:3, Informative)
> By unifying video and audio into a single cable manufacturers have been able to make their products easier to set up than ever before.
Seriously how hard was it to hook up the $2 three color coded RCA jacks?
Re:Remember kids (Score:2, Informative)
monoprice.com, the saver of dollars.
There are differences in cables (Score:5, Informative)
HDBaseT (Score:3, Informative)
Re:isn't that the point? (Score:5, Informative)
Once again a Slashdot summary designed to rage or amuse, yet the names are... wait for it....
Standard HDMI Cable
Standard HDMI Cable with Ethernet
Standard Automotive HDMI cable
High Speed HDMI Cable
High Speed HDMI Cable with Ethernet
Standard cables are tested to support video up to 720p/1080i.
High Speed are tested to 1080p resolution.
How can anyone complain about that? It isn't any more complicated than Standard vs HD, though admittedly some people won't know what ethernet means. I don't know what the difference with the automotive cable is either, but I assume that the High Speed with Ethernet would work for all needs.
Revolutionized? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Remember kids (Score:3, Informative)
Don't forget the all important "playing games" category where retailers try to come up with the most outlandish explanations for the premium widgets and compare stories in the breakroom. I understand it stems from the unending boredom of the job.
I'm surprised more of these are not on YouTube.
Re:There are differences in cables (Score:5, Informative)
Blue Jeans Cable [bluejeanscable.com] is an excellent source of HDMI cables, and information. That link will actually lead to their slightly less than reverant overview on HDMI which is quite informative.
For less information and more cabling, go here instead [bluejeanscable.com].
I do not work for or have any association with the above except that they sent me excellent cables as ordered for a good price and had excellent pre-sales customer service via E-mail.
Re:Wow... (Score:5, Informative)
Hell, as far as I recall, HDMI was the one that locked down everything with DRM and would no longer work with older devices.
Please, please stop spreading this bullshit, and start correcting people when they repeat it.
How hard is it to tell the difference between HDMI and HDCP?
HDMI -- DVI plus audio, maybe plus ethernet, in a neater form factor.
HDCP -- encrypted video signal, which works over DVI just as well as over HDMI.
If you're currently using DVI instead of HDMI because you're afraid of the DRM, you're a moron. Again: It's just DVI which is easier to plug in. It doesn't do DRM unless your video card, OS, and monitor all agree to do so.
I'm sorry if I'm overreacting, but EVERY FUCKING SLASHDOT ARTICLE that mentions HDMI, there's at least two people who confuse it with HDCP. That's like refusing to buy a DVD burner for backup because you're afraid of DRM on DVDs.
Re:My only question is... (Score:5, Informative)
I thought you were kidding so I went and looked:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Rocketfish%26%23153%3B+-+4'+Toslink+Optical+Cable/7832223.p?id=1142297086861&skuId=7832223 [bestbuy.com]
Damn...
Re:How hard was it (Score:3, Informative)
Well clearly you didn't teach him to cock his head at the right angle. [wikimedia.org]
That's not a right angle. It's clearly obtuse.
Re:Let's get one thing straight (Score:2, Informative)
Re:My only question is... (Score:5, Informative)
If you want to split the audio from the picture you can still do what everyone else does with a home theater system (or those of us with surround sound). You use the old RCA ended plugs or optical sound out from the TV/satellite box/cable box/blue ray/DVD/whatever device into the sound device. My old CRT TV has audio out. This thing is from 1996. Most TVs today have a way to send the sound to a separate device. The exact setup will be determined by what equipment you have.
As for PC's video look at the video card driver and how it is supposed to be setup. Nvidia uses a connection from the sound card (on board or card) to the video card to send the sound through the HDMI cable. ATI does it through software (according to what I have read). DVI does not have sound, only video. If you use a VI to HDMI cable (or adapter) you will only get picture and no sound. If you do have a separate system for sound this should not be an issue. Send the picture to the TV and the sound directly to your sound system. Isn't that what you are looking for in the first place?
Also the combining of functions to have fewer cables makes one's wife/girl friend happier. Fewer cables usually means less clutter.
I thought that display port was taking over from HDMI? I see many devices not just video cards with display port as an option.
Neal Stephenson has a fictional word for this (Score:3, Informative)
Bulshytt [wikia.com]
Re:why not REALLY simple? (Score:3, Informative)
Oh noes, how are we possibly going to be able to tell which cable to buy? :0
With the exception of "Standard Automotive HDMI cable" they all seem rather good, self explanatory names to me. Much better names than just "HDMI 1.4 cable" anyway. Besides, the packaging probably will still say HDMI 1.4 somewhere..?
Well, what happens at 1.5?
We get "Full Speed" which is going to be higher than "High Speed". Can anyone really remember which USB speed is "Full" and "High"?
It's all designed to sow confusion in the market, from which companies will profit.
"Oh, you have a standard cable. You really need a high speed cable."
$50 later,
"Did you say you have a high speed cable? Did you get the one with the integrated audio?"
$50 later,
"Did you say you have a high speed cable with integrated audio? You really need the standard c able with ethernet."
The folks in hyderabad are already practicing their scripts.
Re:My only question is... (Score:3, Informative)
For me, HDMI is basically DVI in a better form factor.
Actually it's a lot closer to DVI [wikipedia.org] then you might think.
A DVI signal is electrically compatible with an HDMI video signal; no signal conversion is required when an adapter or asymmetric cable is used, and consequently no loss in video quality occurs.[3] As such, HDMI is backward-compatible with Digital Visual Interface digital video (DVI-D or DVI-I, but not DVI-A) as used on modern computer monitors and graphics cards.
Re:Yes (Score:4, Informative)
Impedence isn't going to degrade the signal at audio frequencies (ie. kHz). At most it will cause a tiny voltage drop at the other end. You can compensate for this by turning the volume knob one degree to the right.
I once took a decent-quality amplifier apart and looked at the speaker-protection fuses. You practically needed a magnifying glass to see the fuse wire it was so fine. Six inches later and you need big thick cable to carry the signal? I lost my cable-religion that day and have never looked back. My advice: Use cheap electrical wire and spend your money on better speakers (and spend more money on your speakers than on your amplifier...)
Re:isn't that the point? (Score:3, Informative)
And funnily enough, you pay more for a cable with the better wire gauge... (Not necessarily $900 more, but it's probably the difference between the $15 cable and the $30 cable on ebay.)
The really annoying part is that HDMI 1.3b introduced the distinction in cable testing between "works to original spec" and "works to newer spec with more bandwidth", but both types are "1.3b-certified", you have to look at the bandwidth to distinguish them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI#Version_comparison