[ # ] HDMI ver 1.3 Category 2 Certified Cables Explained

/* Posted June 4th, 2008 at 11:56am */
/* Filed under HDTV */

hdmi plug

I just bought a new PS3 to hookup as a Blu-Ray player for my 1080P LCD HDTV and was looking to purchase some HDMI cables on the Internet. What I thought was a simple task was actually more complicated than I imagined. Apparently there are many breeds of HDMI cables, defined by a version specification number, possibly a certification, lengths, and thicknesses. After a bit of research, I have compiled everything I learned into one post so that if you ever find yourself in the same situation, you’ll know what to do. Plus there’s a quiz at the end for you to take.

HDMI Versions

HDMI stands for high-definition multimedia interface. It’s currently the best video solution technology out there. HDMI is currently up to ver 1.3 but has undergone a few revisions since December 2002. The exact differences between each revision isn’t all that interesting or useful. Just know that any HDMI ver 1.0 to 1.3 is capable of displaying a 1080 pixel image, but that’s 1080i. If you want 1080p support, you’ll need to buy HDMI ver 1.1 and beyond. If you don’t need it because your HDTV only supports 1080i or your DVD player only outputs 1080i and that’s what you’re connecting to your TV, then all you need is HDMI ver 1.0 or greater. If you need 1080p support, get HDMI ver 1.1 or greater. Since HDMI ver 1.1 through 1.3 all support 1080p, what makes them different from each other? Honestly I found no useful differences between 1.1 and 1.2, but ver 1.3 makes a big jump in future proofing your HDMI cable for later technology. Know that all HDMI versions are backwards compatible so even if you don’t need HDMI ver X.X today, you can still buy it and use it with your current electronics until you upgrade tomorrow.

HDMI ver 1.3

Only useful if your devices support HDMI ver 1.3, like a PS3 for example, today’s most current revision increases the color depth from 24-bit to 48-bit, effectively increasing coloring capabilities from millions to billions. This advanced feature is referred to as Deep Color or xvYCC (Extended-gamut YCC) and goes beyond the color limitation of RGB (red, green, blue). HDMI ver 1.3 also supports higher refresh rates beyond 60Hz because it allows a higher bandwidth than previous versions.

Category 1 and Category 2 Certification

Category certification is a new testing standard introduced with HDMI ver 1.3. Any other certified cables you bought previously were not certified to a strict standard so you can’t really be sure what requirements the cable is certified to meet. Category 1 and 2 certifications, however, tell you exactly what your ver 1.3 cable is capable of doing. A category 1 certification means the cable means compliance testing is done at at least 720p/1080i frequencies. While there is no exact certification for 1080p frequency, category 2 measures a non-standard frequency at even stricter compliance than 1080p so for all intents and purposes, a category 2 certification means the cable is compliant for 1080p display or better.

Thickness and Distance

After deciding on a length of cable to buy, you might see “premium” versions of the same length cable at higher prices. These can be misleading and are there to trick you. The higher priced cables are generally thicker and while I can’t argue that a thicker cable isn’t better, it won’t really make a difference unless the length of cable you need is quite long. As long as you see that you are looking at “Category 2″ certified cables, THEY PERFORM EXACTLY THE SAME REGARDLESS OF PRICE. The category 2 certification means the cable is certified to category 2 compliance at that specific length. You would do yourself no favor to buy another category 2 certified cable of the same length that was simply marked “premium” and used a thicker cable. You can tell thicker cables from thinner ones because they have lower gauges. For example a 24AWG cable is thicker than a 28AWG cable.

Test Your Knowledge

Now pretend you’re me and you just bought a PS3 that supports HDMI ver 1.3 and you have a 1080p HDTV. You are looking for the best 6 foot cable to use that will fully utilize all your hardware’s capabilities at monoprice.com without having to spend more than you need. Which will you choose? For the answer, click here.

(source: bluejeanscable.com)
(source: wikipedia.org)
(source: hdmi.org)
(source: hdtvmagazine.com)
(source: audioholics.com)