Audio Video Cables

HDMI Cable Speed & Features Explained

Considering that an HDMI cable is, at bottom, nothing more than an arrangement of wire, foil and plastic, the purchase of HDMI cable has become awfully confusing. Everywhere one turns, there are all sorts of specification version numbers being tossed around, claims about HDMI cable "speed," and representations about support for 3D, 2K by 4K video, 1080p, Deep Color, and a host of other features. What does it all mean? Read this article to separate the fact from fiction.

Locking HDMI Cables and Connectors

Anyone who has read any of my articles long enough here at Audioholics knows the love-hate relationship I have with HDMI. Mostly hate, since I believe HDMI should have been more focused on protocol, and less on form-factor. Regardless, one of the most frustrating aspects of HDMI is the tendency for lower gauge (thicker) cables to weight down the connector and pull out of their sockets. With the complexity of the signal coursing through an HDMI cable, even a little tension can result in signal loss, especially over longer distances. So what's a custom installer to do? Well, for starters there are several solutions that provide a locking HDMI connection for HDMI - something the format surely lacks.

RedMere Active HDMI Technology Poised to Change Cabling

There are a lot of things wrong with HDMI. For one, the technology keeps pushing the limits of what a standard non-active cable can handle - this is especially true when HDMI is used over long distances. Some manufacturers have turned to making extra-thick, well-shielded solutions that utilize 22 gauge cables. The results of that method have been tragic - cables don't bend easily and they are generally unwieldy and impractical for most uses. So what's next? Well, almost any cable will work over a 2 meter or less distance, but beyond that things start to get dicey. That's where active HDMI cables come into play. While active EQ on HDMI cables isn't new, possibly the most advanced use of it is coming out of RedMere, who has shrunken down the technology to a point that it's all but negligible.

Why Your Cat6/5e Network Cable is Slowing You Down: Interview with Blue Jeans Cable

After reading Blue Jeans Cable's article showing that 80% of the Cat6/5e network cables on the market fail to meet spec, we decided to reach out to them for a followup interview. While we have covered the difference between HDMI and speaker cables to death, we have never really thought about or written anything about network cables. However, network cabling is now an integral part of any modern AV system, but there is a lot more to it than most people think. Read on to see what one of the most reputable cable manufacturers has to say on the topic.

The Truth vs Hype about Expensive HDMI Cables

One of the most common questions we are asked at Audioholics is, "Do pricey HDMI cables make a difference"? We've answered this in a number of highly technical articles, but this time around we wanted to answer it in more practical terms. What makes one cable different than another? What are some examples of good HDMI cables on the market? And how can I tell if a cable isn't working properly? Click through for the answers all these questions.

A Practical HDMI Cable Solution & Installation

Every house I've ever purchased, built and lived in all had one thing in common. A room built for Home Theater. Regretfully I had to sacrifice that in this house and after a long debate with my wonderful wife, I had her agree to allow me to have a Home Theater System in our one and only living room. But there was a huge contingency attached to this contract. She did not want to see any wires. We'll, everyone knows the impossibility of this monumental task.

Audio Cable "Break In" Science or Psychological?

'Breaking in' a cable has everything to do with the insulation - not the wire itself. The insulation (or dielectric) will absorb energy from the conductor when a current is flowing (i.e. when music is playing). This energy-absorption causes the dielectric's molecules to re-arrange themselves from a random order into a uniform order. Hogwash.

Audio Cables - Science or Religion?

It is interesting that audio is the exclusive field where cables have been so hotly debated. It seems to be the only field where science and engineering practices, along with common sense, are almost completely ignored by many cable vendors and audio forum cult hobbyists. We recently added a Youtube video discussing the myths that lead people to believe the more you spend, the better the sound.

Balanced vs. Unbalanced Cables

This article is a primer for discussing the differences and applications for balanced vs unbalanced cables. When using unbalanced interconnections between audio equipment the primary noise-coupling mechanism is due to common-impedance coupling. We discuss noise methods of eliminating this as well as common causes of such phenomenon.

Eliminating RFI/EMI Interference from your Audio System

I PRESENTLY HAVE my listening space in the attic of my house and less than 100 yards from a rather large and reasonably powerful ham radio antenna that points in my direction. I don't enjoy listening to my neighbor's ham radio transmissions through my stereo system, so I decided to take whatever measures necessary to get rid of the problem. This article provides methods of eliminating RFI/EMI noise ingress into your audio system by using proper cabling and grounding techniques.

Cable Distortion and Dielectric Biasing Debunked

Recently I've done a collection of measurements and tests on interconnect cables to see what I could find that would explain the sonic differences that many people, including myself, have grown accustomed to hearing. The test equipment was an Audio Precision System 2 Cascade. Test objects were a handful of cables of varying construction and claims to audiophile performance.

Calculating Inductance of Speaker Cables

A typical Twin Feeder cable, or more popularly referred to as "Zip Cord", consists of two adjacent conductors separated by insulation, or commonly referred to a "dielectric". For convention we assume Conductor 1(+) current flows from left to right, and Conductor 2 (-) return current flows from right to left.

Component Video Cables - The Definitive Guide

Component video cables are a key interconnect element to any Home Theater System. To better understand how these 75-ohm cables can affect a video signal from a DVD player, it is helpful to cover some fundamental engineering principles that define them. To begin with, the primary purpose for 75-ohm component video cables is to conduct an AC video signal from a source (DVD player) to a load (TV monitor) with as little change to that signal as possible.

Connection Tips 101 - Cabling Your System

I am often called on to provide calibration services for the budding audiophile and even the professional installer to try to maximize the performance of their systems. I am always shocked to see the mess behind their racks and built in cabinets. I find it humorous that we audiophiles debate the performance or the ability to hear differences in cables and then totally defeat and degrade performance of our systems by having our cables jumbled up like a tumble weed.

Cross Coax Cables Design vs Zip Cord

There seems to be a trend lately for DIY self proclaimed audio gurus to design alternative speaker cable designs using Coax cables (namely Belden 89259). While their efforts should be applauded, they should also be cautioned to consider any deleterious effects that may result, while also objectively analyzing their designs against conventional and proven twin feeder ones (ie. 12AWG Zip Cord) to determine if the design characteristics (namely DC Resistance, Inductance, and Capacitance) are at least equal to justify their design efforts.

Debunking the Myth of Speaker Cable Resonance

Some exotic cable vendors and esoteric audio magazines claim that speaker cables exhibit electrical and/or mechanical resonance at audio frequencies and that the RLC nature of the cable drastically changes at these frequencies causing the alleged cable resonance. They often cry bloody murder and seek out solutions to fix this alleged problem to preserve the pristine audio and save their golden ears from such atrocious distortion. I believe this claim was fabricated either because of a lack of understanding of basic principles of electronics, or an attempt to initiate a false scare tactic to rationalize how an exotic cable vendor can justify slapping an RLC network on the cable and charge consumers high asking prices. Some even pervert this fallacy one step further by suggesting it is necessary to isolate your speaker cables from mechanical vibrations. Before you run out and shop for a solution to stop your cables from resonating either electrically or mechanically, it may be best to examine if this is a real or made up problem to concern yourself with.

Dielectric Absorption in Cables Debunked

Before we debate the relevancy of Dielectric Absorption relating to speaker cables, and commonly perpetuated by many exotic cable vendors and cable cult hobbyists, let us first define the roll of a dielectric. Can an insulator really affect the sound quality of a speaker cable and can it exhibit characteristics of a capacitor dielectric as some cable vendors claim? Read on to find out.

High Fidelity, The Miraculous Invention

Audio or high fidelity has been a miraculous invention. If you need to understand why, read Steppenwolf. We audiophiles are at the forefront of a revolution written about by Larry Klein, in Stereo Review, over a quarter century ago. We believe that, if we can create the right conditions, the original reality can be recreated at will. Today we recreate auditory information, tomorrow information for all the senses.

Skin Effect Interview with Dr. Howard Johnson

Although this may seem to be a trivial matter to you, many audio cable vendors and forum cults enjoy spreading fallacies about skin effect and "strand jumping" on speaker cables and interconnects. I am attempting to disprove the relevance of Skin Effect at audio frequencies and the fallacy of "strand jumping" for this application.

Physics Tutorial 1: Coulomb's Law & Electrostatics

Atoms are composed of three particles with an electric charge: electrons, protons and uncharged neutrons. Electrons have a negative charge, and protons have a positive charge. The negative charge of the electron has the same magnitude, or amount of charge, as the positive charge of the proton.

How to Make Your Own DIY Speaker Cables

Contrary to audio cable marketing; anyone can cut, strip, and install banana plugs on speaker wire. The following is a step-by-step guide on how to do exactly that. Our recently added YouTube video supports this article and also gives examples of how to make more advanced low resistance and braided cable designs vs purchasing pre-terminated cables. Save thousands of dollars with our tips and make the right speaker cables and lengths to meet your needs.

Rubbing the Snake Oil Out of Speaker Cables

If we purchase expensive and more sophisticated speaker cables, we should expect improve audio reproduction, right? Digital audio, amplifier and speaker technology is now very sophisticated, and just by listening we can detect their contribution to improved audio reproduction.

Skin Effect Relevance in Speaker Cables

Some so called "exotic" Cable Companies enjoy spreading the fallacy that Skin Effect can cause deleterious effects on your audio performance. While Skin Effect is a real world problem in high frequency applications such as RF Power and Transmission, it is negligible at audio frequencies as I will demonstrate in this article based on fundamental engineering and scientific principles.

Long vs Short Speaker Cables: Does it Really Matter?

More often than not, I see the common question pop up in our forums regarding speaker cable length differences between two or more speakers. Folks often wonder if the cable length between the main front channels need to be identical. They are often misinformed by exotic cable vendors or cable forum cult hobbyists that cable lengths need to be kept identical to avoid amplitude or phase/time delay differences between the two. They even go so far as to claim transmission line effects can be seen at audio frequencies. This article and related YouTube videos serves to demystify the nonsense surrounding this topic.

The Truth About Interconnects and Cables

I refuse to prove that my cables will make your system sound better", says the snake oil vendor, "for proof denies faith, and without faith, you will hear nothing. This editorial discusses the crazy cable myths that float around and how audiophiles often fall prey to them. We recently added a satire YouTube video discussion on how the price of cables affects sound quality.

The Truth About Spiral Shield Cables

Normally when a spiral shield is used on a cable it is for one of three reasons, increased flexibility, ease of termination, or reduced manufacturing costs...

Top Ten Signs an Audio Cable Vendor is Selling You Snake Oil

The markup on cables is extreme. There are some good companies out there, but there is also a lot of snake oil and scam artists. We give you the top ten list (plus some bonuses) of what to watch out for when shopping for AV cables. Recent update includes test results of the Audioquest 72V DBS system. Does it work or is it snake oil? Read on to find out.

Transmission Line Effects in Video Cables

We established a pretty good foundation of the important metrics governing component video cables in our Component Video Cable Definitive Guide article. However, we recently stumbled on some very poorly designed component video cables which according to the manufacturer are best suited for audio and video applications because of minimization of "eddy currents" and a host of other unproven pseudo sciences contained herein.

APC Interview on Power Conditioner Devices

Over the past few years we have put forth our best effort to demystify the industry on cable snake oils and ficticious claims. While this battle isn't quite yet over, we are happy with the progress that is being made to educate consumers on sound engineering concepts about these products.

Audio & Video Connections Guide

For both the newcomer and the old hand alike, connecting equipment in the most efficient and effective manner can be a painful chore. It is hoped this article will improve your background knowledge concerning potential A/V system connection schemes and where each is most appropriate. The next time you find yourself in a "connectivity quandary" perhaps the ideas shared here will help you to quickly solve the riddle of which wire goes where and why!

DVI and HDMI Video Connections

During the next few months, many manufactures will release new consumer electronic products with DVI (Digital Visual Interface) and HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) connectors. DVD players, cable/satellite set-top boxes and High Definition televisions and projectors are the prime targets for these connections that provide superior digital picture quality and eliminate the need for unnecessary analog to digital conversions.

Exotic Materials and Audio Cable Construction

A lot of discussion of quality cables focuses on the materials used in audio cable construction. Just as with any physical product, the materials cables are made out of influence their performance characteristics, and so people want to know that the cables they're buying are made from the best possible materials. Are silver cables really better than copper? We answer that with our recently added YouTube video.

HDMI Fiber Optics & Copper Cable Considerations

When it comes to HDMI / DVI connectivity, you have two choices: Copper or Fiber Optics. Which is right for you? As digital displays become more popular, and more people understand that a DVI or HDMI "pure digital" connection delivers the best HD picture quality available today, the decision of which type of cable to use is challenging and requires thoughtful consideration.

Impact Acoustics Interview on the RapidRun Cabling System

We were absolutely stunned by the very innovative and practical new cable product Impact Acoustics announced at CEDIA this year - the RapidRun. So much so in fact that they recently received our 2005 Product of the Year Award for the most innovative cable product. In order to learn more about this product in preparation for our formal review, we conducted a detailed interview with Joe Cornwall the Business Development Manager for Impact Acoustics.

Selecting the Right HDMI Solution for Your Custom Installation

Digital is everywhere in today's home theater environment. But, despite this proliferation of digital technologies and content, most digital devices still rely on analogue interfaces. The use of analog in this digital environment is the weak link in the chain affecting the ultimate quality of the content.

Signal and Connector Types for TV and HDTV

There was a time, not so long ago, when television hookups were pretty simple. There were two screws on the back of the set, which went to two spade lugs on a 300-ohm twinlead antenna line, and that was it. Apart from plugging the set into the wall and waiting for the tubes to light up, there wasn't a whole lot else to know about connections. Today, things are a bit more complex as far as the digital age goes for television and HDTV.

Silver Saboteurs - Are Silver Audio Cables Better?

Certainly silver has always had a place in the wire and cable industry. It's long been a fixture in military and high temperature applications. In the case of Teflon wire, you have always seen silver as either the sole metal present or at least as the plating. The silver is necessary to counteract the corrosive process for coating Teflon to the wire.

TOSLINK Interconnect History & Basics

The transmission of signals using a beam of light was a topic for science fiction writers just a few short decades ago. The ability to harness the incredible speeds and data density capabilities of the optical medium was considered a "holy grail" for communications pioneers, who first began exploring this power of light in 1966. However, it took the digital revolution to bring fiber optic transmission to the mainstream.

Understanding Digital Interconnects

Keeping a signal in the digital domain until the very last instant before it is converted into the compressions and rarefactions that are sound - or the illumination of pixels or scanning lines that are images - is generally considered the best platform available to the contemporary audiophile. Regardless of the signal's origin we can all agree that multiple trips through analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters cannot do anything positive for the listening or viewing experience.

Understanding In-wall Speaker, Video and Audio Cable Ratings

We're often asked questions about the suitability of particular cables or speaker wires for in-wall installation, and it's not surprising; with surround speakers being wired all around home theater rooms, ceiling-mounted projectors being located across the room from their video sources, and video and audio being distributed all over the home, it's natural that people want a clean installation.

Video Cables from the Inside Out

When reading descriptions of home theater cable products off of packages in a big-box store, or off of websites online, it's sometimes hard to get a clear understanding of just what, exactly, is inside a length of cable. It often isn't clear where the engineering-speak ends and where the marketing-speak begins, and the marketing-speak certainly isn't usually designed to aid understanding.

Video Cable Shielding

All common video signal types--composite, RF, s-video, component, SDI, and the various flavors of RGB--are ordinarily run in coaxial cables, or, as the shorthand term goes, "coax." The features of coax which make it ideal for handling these multiple signal types are its excellent impedance tolerance and its shielding; here, we'll discuss what shielding is, why it's needed, and what the best types of shields for video cable are.

Thinking in Isolation – A Primer on Ground Loops

There is a humming sound coming from the speakers. A faint dark bar rolls from the bottom of the image to the top, changing colors and distorting the picture as it goes. What’s this? How is this possible? All this equipment is new and your home is only a few years old. Welcome to the nefarious neighborhood of the ground loop! This article details how to resolve a ground loop to help you achieve noise free connection of your equipment.

Thiel Audio Interview on Cables

During our review of the THIEL Audio SCS3 system, we pinged designer Jim Thiel on some technical questions regarding the loudspeaker designs and the choice of internal wiring and crossover topologies he employed in the speaker designs. With his permission, we captured the interview which oddly focused more on the topic of cables than it did loudspeakers as can be seen below.

SilverSmith Audio Cables Interview

Jeffrey Smith from SilverSmith Audio was nice enough to engage in an informative interview about his cable philosophies and the "science" behind them...

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Bi-Wiring A Loudspeaker: Does it Make a Difference?

Bi-wiring a loudspeaker involves running two pairs of cables tied together on the amp side but separated on the loudspeaker side to the low and high crossover sections. It's a controversial topic. Some people are quite certain it makes an audible difference. Some others are convinced that it can’t actually make any difference at all. The purpose of this analysis is to try and decide whether it is at least theoretically feasible that bi-wiring can make any difference. This is a tech article meant for propeller heads and not a general overview.

Un-Sound Advice About Cables

Over the holiday break, I decided to peruse my local A/V retail shop for a new Plasma for my master bedroom system. While I was walking the floor, I couldn’t help but listen in on a salesman espousing cable nonsense to a customer in attempt to land a sale. This article editorializes this experience. Slick marketing or snake oil? Continue reading.

Bi-wiring Part 2: The Cable Conundrum

One of the arguments presented in the web forum thread I’ve already examined on a previous article is that there is a difference between a bi-wired speaker system and conventional wiring due to a difference in their cable power dissipation behaviours. So let’s examine the systems described in the thread and see what difference there may be between them in practice.

DVI-D

What's the Matter with HDMI?

HDMI, as we've pointed out elsewhere, is a format which was designed primarily to serve the interests of the content-provider industries, not to serve the interests of the consumer. The result is a mess, and in particular, the signal is quite hard to route and switch, cable assemblies are unnecessarily complicated, and distance runs are chancy. Why is this, and what did the designers of the standard do wrong? And what can we do about it? Check out this informative article from our friends at Bluejeans Cable.

HDMI 1.3 and Cables Part 1: It's All in the Bitrate

With the advent of HDMI v1.3 and 1.3a, consumers are starting to really get confused about cables and what they need to worry about when selecting a product that's going to be compatible with the new specifications. We interviewed Steven Barlow from DVIGear to get a handle on why this is a more complex issue for some, and a non-issue for others. He allowed us to assimilate much of what we discussed into this article you are reading now.

Pear Cable Redux: How to Combat Scam with Science

A Case Study in Applying an Audioholics A/V Education to Identify Marketing Drivel. In this follow-up to our initial article, we will look at Pear Cable as a case study in evaluating exaggerated marketing claims about the audio performance improvements attributed to cables. We will use known science, established engineering principles, and the educated opinions of well known audio engineering practitioners to look for contradictory statements, mistakes and misuse of engineering knowledge, and exaggeration of the audible significance to certain aspects of audio performance.

Long HDMI Cable Bench Tests - Monster Cable Shootout

I decided to write this article the first time I saw another writer say "HDMI is digital - it either works or it doesn't." Then I saw that statement get repeated over and over. The problem is that HDMI isn't like a digital coax audio cable - it can degrade partially and produce sparkles and snow. We'll illustrate some of this below. It took nearly 6 months to research and prepare for this experiment. I intended to acquire as many HDMI cables as possible and focus on empirical testing of mostly longer lengths to show the differences that abound when you exceed 5 meters. The exercise, I believed, would save many consumers from losing lots of money and time - on a number of levels.

Wireless HDMI Takes Flight

Wireless HDMI seems to be coming to a living room near you. While everyone pretty much agrees that HDMI is the most bitter-sweet invention to hit the consumer AV electronics industry in some time, there's no denying that most are trying to make end runs around the format. In some cases that is through the use of cable conversion, while others are looking to send HDMI through the ether.

Myth vs Reality – Putting Cat5E-Based A/V Structured Wiring In Its Place

Sending audio, video and control signals over twisted pair cables have become common practice in the contemporary marketplace. There is a good reason for this. Twisted pair cables are cheap, ubiquitous and comfortably familiar to anyone with any level of installation exposure to data networking and telephony. UTP-based A/V installations are appealing for their perceived low cost and performance advantages. Widely accepted as a panacea that banished the need for task-specific cables to the equipment closet of history, those who universally advocate the use of balun-based infrastructure would do well to remember the words of Plutarch; “To find a fault is easy; to do better may be difficult.”

Do I Need 120 Hertz HDMI Cables?

One of the most common sorts of questions from our customers these days is some variant on this: "Do I really need a 120Hz HDMI Cable?" In consumer electronics stores across the country, consumers are being told that their new 120 Hertz displays will not work properly, or will not work optimally, without a cable designed for 120 Hertz. We'll address this question two different ways, beginning with the short answer and following with the long answer/explanation.

What Do HDMI Spec Versions (1.2, 1.3, 1.3a, etc) Mean For Cable Choice?

Many people are worried, when buying HDMI cable, about the spec version of the cable in question. Is it the latest spec version? Will it support all the features of the devices it's hooked to? Most of the fears and doubts associated with this question are unfounded, but there are some interesting issues with regard to HDMI spec version, and we'll sort those out in this article.

Crimping & Soldering - Keys to Connection Performance and Longevity

Audio and Video Cables are not just dependent on the wire or cable used, or the connectors used. The quality of the connection between the wire or cable and connector is just as important, if not more so. The biggest problem with the audio/video cable market is that marketing departments choose fads and fallacies, non-applicable specifications and pseudo science over real world objective measurements and tried and true methods of creating wire and cable assemblies that will last for many years with high quality results. Today we're going to look at those unsung heroes of our A/V world, the ones that hold it all together - the crimp and the solder joints.

Alternatives for AV Home Networking

The ongoing convergence of AV and computing is inevitable, rooted in the dawn of digital media with the advent of the CD, and nurtured by the Internet. Media servers, multimedia gaming consoles, HTPC, networked AV receivers, mp3 player docks, IPTV; digital entertainment is becoming as at home on computers as it is on traditional AV gear. However, all of this crosspollination between the two often leaves entertainment stored in disparate locations so a reliable connection is required to transfer the entertainment files between devices. For those who find the shortcomings of Wi-Fi make it less than an ideal solution, there are other methods available that are not as onerous as pulling Ethernet cable through walls and attics by making use of existing home wiring systems. These methods also provide connections that are more secure with better data throughput and reliability. There is a reason that mission critical business systems and servers are primarily hardwired and not connected by Wi-Fi.

HDMI 1.4 and Through the Ages

Key Digital had an interesting newsletter that got sent out this week. In it they had a table which went through the various iterations of HDMI, from version 1.0 through the newest 1.4. We thought it was a good chart, though we disagreed (slightly) with some of their assessments on the importance of each of the versions. As I hinted at in my article on The Twelve Biggest Industry Mistakes of the Digital Age I believe that HDMI is really more of a stop-gap interface whereas it could have been a new standard. Instead, we have a largely "stupid" new cable system that merely carries data. HDMI 1.4 does little to change this reality.

Audiophile Power Cords - Do they really make a difference?

We are sometimes asked our opinion of exotic power cords and cables and whether or not they are beneficial or worth the added cost over the stock power cords that come with A/V electronics. With the help of Blue Jeans Cable, we explore the importance of properly designed power cords while simultaneously debunking the myths and bogus claims perpetuated by many exotic cable manufacturers and A/V review magazines. Always remember the Audioholics.com mantra "only poorly designed cables can be sonically distinguishable" and you will never make a bad purchasing decision. Once all of the nonsensical claims are peeled away, only three very basic and essential metrics are left to ensure quality power transfer from your wall outlet to your A/V gear which we discuss in detail in this article and recently added YouTube video.

Choosing the Right Speaker Wire Gauge for Optimal Performance

Audiophiles are often seduced by exotic speaker cable brands that tout fancy materials over quality low gauge, low resistance wire. This guide cuts through the nonsense and gives some solid recommendations on selecting speaker wire and gauge based on cable length and impedance of your loudspeakers. Check out our recently added YouTube video discussion on choosing the right speaker cables to get the best performance out of your system.

Is Synergy In Audio Cables Real or Snake Oil?

Check any audiophile facebook group or forum and you will find dozens of enthusiasts asking "what are the best cables to use with my audio components?" There are never shortages of recommendations from fellow enthusiasts and sometimes even industry experts have their own recommendations too. PS Audio recently announced a partnership with Audioquest citing that their products have a real "synergy" together. Is there any merit to this claim or is it pure marketing BS?

HDMI 2.1 - Everything You Need to Know Explained

First announced in 2017, the HDMI 2.1 Specification will finally become reality in late 2020 when both Sony and Microsoft deliver new gaming consoles packed with the latest HDMI tech. The spec is designed to improve audio and video quality, while also improving the overall experience for the home user through eARC. Read on and watch our 3-part YouTube interview with Phil Jones of Sound United to learn more about the new features offered by HDMI 2.1, and the new cables you may or may not need to make it all work.

HDMI 2.1 Compliance Certification Explained

HDMI was designed to make life easier for the AV consumer, but new rules about HDMI 2.1 compliance testing have made an already-confusing situation far worse. The HDMI Licensing Administrator says that new HDMI devices can now be granted “HDMI 2.1 compliant” status even if they don’t support any of the advanced features associated with the HDMI 2.1 standard. Confused yet? Read on to learn more.

Should You Use Audio Cables as Tone Controls?

The debate over audio cables has been raging on for decades. But if you believe that different cables lend slightly different sounds to your system, it might stand to reason that you could use cables as a sort of tone control, to tweak the sound of your system to suit your tastes. Is this a good idea? Gene says no! Read on to find out why.

HDMI 2.2 New Standard Promises Higher Bandwidth?

It looks like HDMI 2.2 will be announced ahead of CES 2025. The HDMI Forum has scheduled a press conference for January 6th, one day before CES begins. The organization sent an invitation to press outlets teasing higher bandwidths and a new cable. Read on to learn more.

HDMI 2.2 — Everything We Know So Far

As promised, the HDMI Forum held a press conference at the beginning of CES 2025 to officially announce the new HDMI 2.2 specification. The new spec supports 96Gbps of bandwidth to enable a wide range of higher resolutions and refresh rates. The new Ultra96 HDMI Cable will make the next generation of AV components more capable than ever. Read on to learn more.