1.4a/3D/ whatever you want to call them HDMIs

[Petruchio]

I'm upgrading all my kit to all 3D (call me crazy, the wife does). What I need to know is...what HDMI cable should I buy?

I have QED HDMI-P ones at present and I'm happy with QED so I went on their website to look at their up-to-date range, but it's all a little vague as to which ones carry audio return, 3D etc etc. Basically I want a good quality cable that will do the lot. Any suggestions?

NB I'm happy to look beyond QED if there are alternative ones at around the same price/quality. I need a 3m one to link TV to amp, and then a 1m to link to Bluray. I presume the ones I have to my Sky HD and PS3 can stay as 1.3...??

 

[Anonymous]

Petruchio:

I'm upgrading all my kit to all 3D (call me crazy, the wife does). What I need to know is...what HDMI cable should I buy?

I have QED HDMI-P ones at present and I'm happy with QED so I went on their website to look at their up-to-date range, but it's all a little vague as to which ones carry audio return, 3D etc etc. Basically I want a good quality cable that will do the lot. Any suggestions?

NB I'm happy to look beyond QED if there are alternative ones at around the same price/quality. I need a 3m one to link TV to amp, and then a 1m to link to Bluray. I presume the ones I have to my Sky HD and PS3 can stay as 1.3...??

I believe you require HDMI 1.4 for 3D

The PS3 is upgradeable to 3D for gaming at the moment , for bluray later so same would apply here

SKY is going to transmit 3D , some content already exists same would apply here

That is if the HDMI sockets on SKY and the PS3 support HDMI 1.4 audio return?

Hopefully the WHF team can confirm my assumption

 

[cstanwhf]

You just need a high speed certified cable for 3D and 4K (even if the cable is HDMI V1.3)

If your QED HDMI-P is the newer one (link below) it will support 3D if the length is less than 5M. No ethernet or ARC.

http://www.whathifi.com/Review/QED-HDMI-P/

If you need ethernet and ARC, can consider the AudioQuest (link below) that support all the HDMI V1.4 specifications.

http://www.whathifi.com/Review/Audioquest-Forest/

 

[Petruchio]

Thanks for this. My QED-Ps are the "older ones" so will need upgrading. I might invest in the the Audioquests as they look great.

I am still confused about the Sky HD and the PS3 though. I was under the impression they weren't 1.4 "ready" and that 1.3 cable would do the job nicely, even for the 3D channel and games. Is that right?

 

[cstanwhf]

Even the older HDMI-P (now known as Classic HDMI-P) may be high speed complaint in short length like 1 to 2m. My guess is that QED will not say if it is high speed or not otherwise those using this cable will not upgrade.

Why don't you buy your 3D equipment first, try your existing cable.

If you face problem, then get the new cable.

Since V1.3 High Speed certified/complaint HDMI cables can support 3D, it is no surprise that the PS3 HDMI output can support 3D, as it is also HDMI V1.3. Just that Sony never mentioned that it is high speed. But obviously, it is.

 

[daveh75]

Petruchio:
Thanks for this. My QED-Ps are the "older ones" so will need upgrading. I might invest in the the Audioquests as they look great.

I am still confused about the Sky HD and the PS3 though. I was under the impression they weren't 1.4 "ready" and that 1.3 cable would do the job nicely, even for the 3D channel and games. Is that right?
Sky+HD boxes are HDMI v1.1. So you'll be fine with your current cables.

 

[Anonymous]

I would support the suggestion of buying the kit and if there is issues then change the cable.

But

Are the posters 1.3 cables suitable for audio return , I dont think so?

Do you need it to be ?

 

[TKratz]

Petruchio:

I am still confused about the Sky HD and the PS3 though. I was under the impression they weren't 1.4 "ready" and that 1.3 cable would do the job nicely, even for the 3D channel and games. Is that right?

PS3 has HDMI 1.3.
This is the exemption to the rule that you need HDMI 1.4 to run 3D. That is because the PS3 is a powerhouse able to do the necessary calculations and 'cheat' the standard. As I have understood, the PS3 runs a double 1080i signal rather than the official 1080p when playing 3D, in order to make it within the band width of HDMI 1.3.
You will not find any other existing Blu Ray players able to do this trick.

As for cables this has lead to a lot of confusion. Again, this is not 100% clear to me, but as I have understood many existing 1.3 HDMI cables have sufficient band width to fulfil the 1.4 specification and can therefore pass through the 3D signal.
What they on the other hand can't do is other new functionalities like audio return and ethernet.

 

[professorhat]

There's no such thing as a 1.3 or 1.4 cable, they're split into different categories like Standard, Standard with Ethernet, High Speed and High Speed with Ethernet (see here for details).

Since a certified High Speed cable is necessary to guarantee transfer of 1080p material (Standard is only certified to guarantee 720p / 1080i), then this will also happily transfer 3D signals so you shouldn't need to upgrade your QED cables unless you desire the Ethernet Channel, in which case you'll need a High Speed with Ethernet certified cable.

 

[cstanwhf]

Some current V1.3 cable can support ARC. Like Chord's Active and Supershied which Chord had announce in their website.

Not sure if they will support ethernet though.

So far, if you need ethernet, best to go for cables that meets the full v1.4 specifications.

 

[visionary]

Petruchio:

I'm upgrading all my kit to all 3D (call me crazy, the wife does).
OK, you're crazy

With so little 3D content, why don't you wait until the dust settles and the prices are more sensible and there's something to watch? Fair enough, if you were going to replace everything about now anyway but if not then why pay premium cutting edge prices .

only my opinion

 

[Anonymous]

You will not need a cable rehaul if you dont need ethernet and return channel, most hdmi cables which where 1.3 certfied will do as they can handle bandwiths that are still enourmous. Most of them are 4K x 2K capable in terms of bandwith.

 

[Anonymous]

What if like me your replacing all your old kit.... because its old, and yes I'm getting a 3D TV, but primarily because the 2D picture will be great too. So should I go straight away for the Audioquest 1.4 spec, would that seem sensible?

 

[TKratz]

professorhat:

There's no such thing as a 1.3 or 1.4 cable, they're split into different categories like Standard, Standard with Ethernet, High Speed and High Speed with Ethernet (see here for details).

Since a certified High Speed cable is necessary to transfer 1080p (Standard is only certified for 720p / 1080i), then this will also happily transfer 3D signals so you shouldn't need to upgrade your QED cables unless you desire the Ethernet Channel, in which case you'll need a High Speed with Ethernet certified cable.

I see what you mean Professorhat.
On the other hand, isn't these cathgories a rather new initiative/demand? Can you be absolutely sure all 'old' 1.3 specified cables fulfils the High Speed specification? After all 3D is not just 1080p, but double the amount of data as far I know.

 

[professorhat]

Yup, the High Speed spec was brought in a while back. As far as I'm aware, according to the official HDMI spec, there has never been a 1.3 compliant cable, it's always just been High Speed Certified and this hasn't changed - just the addition of the Ethernet Channel.

The idea of a 1.3 certified cable came about from the cable manufacturers using this term, rather than anything official from the HDMI organisation themselves.

 

[cstanwhf]

OK, all revealed here:

http://www.hdmi.org/index.aspx

and here:

http://www.hdmi.org/manufacturer/hdmi_1_4/index.aspx

and also here:

http://www.hdmi.org/manufacturer/trademark_logo_pub.aspx

 

[professorhat]

Indeed, note this here:

All HDMI cables will support Audio Return Channel functionality when connected to Audio Return Channel-enabled devices. You can use your existing HDMI cables or choose a different cable type.

i.e. High Speed cables can already cope with the ARC functionality so there's no need to replace them.

 

[TKratz]

Ok, that is nice to know and new information for me.

Seems like ethernet is the only real new functionality.

 

[Steve Reichert PR Manager ArmourHome]

Reluctant as I am to get in the way of a man who wants to spend a lot of money on high quality cables

, surely the only sensible thing to do (unless the new installation means running cables in walls etc.) is to try the existing QED cables and see if they work? I expect they will be absolutely fine.

At the risk of adding to the confusion, the Professor, whose posts are usually faultless, is not completely correct when he says a "High Speed cable is necessary to transfer 1080p"

It is certainly true that if an HDMI cable only meets the MINIMUM spec required for 'Standard Speed' then it will not support 1080P. However, every cable's real performance specifications will depend on the quality of the individual cable concerned. As stated elsewhere on this forum, all QED 'Standard Speed' cables exceed the minimum spec by miles and are absolutely guaranteed to deliver perfect 1080P signals. To be fair, I expect this will be the case with HDMI cables from most of the better manufacturers.

Very best regards,

Steve Reichert - PR Manager, Armour Home (QED)

 

[professorhat]

Understood Steve, have amended that post to include the word "guarantee" - since not all cable manufacturers build to the high standards of QED and others, the only way to guarantee 1080p is to use a certified High Speed cable, though as you say, plenty of Standard cables will actually do it just fine.

Hope this clears it all up