Best HDMI cables
Discussion
The Mad Monk said:
Damn! I overpaid by 2 pence:https://www.toolstation.com/proception-hdmi-lead/p...
Red 5 said:
RobXjcoupe said:
I’ve found keep the picture digital via hdmi but use the analog outputs if you have them for sound. Sound seams to sound better from analog outputs for me
I can’t work out what you mean here. Where do you send the picture from / to in your example?
Where to do take analog audio from / to please?
OldSkoolRS said:
Red 5 said:
Zirconia said:
My disk player has analogue out in 7.1 config.
Not useful these days. FWIW in my current set up I don't pass video through my AVR at all, except for set up purposes as I think video overlay can impact on the picture quality, especially when watching on a projector screen.
The hd freeview channels I mostly watch only put out the old Dolby digital 5.1 sound anyway.
I still have and use plasma display monitors. Perfectly happy with the out of date 1080p resolution and 7.1 surround
RobXjcoupe said:
Agreed, keeping up with the latest audio formats is a waste of time. Bit like keeping up with the Jones lol.
The hd freeview channels I mostly watch only put out the old Dolby digital 5.1 sound anyway.
I still have and use plasma display monitors. Perfectly happy with the out of date 1080p resolution and 7.1 surround
Yes, I should have remained happy as I was too. When I re-did my room 2 years ago I 'upgraded' to Atmos 5.1.4, changing my AVR for a suitable Atmos/DTS:X capable one, upgraded my LCR speakers, so bought one extra and re-cycled them as the Atmos channels. It's a serious system (my Atmos speakers are typically used in fairly high end systems as the LCRs for example) that I spent a lot of time setting up, treating the room, etc. However, I'm quite underwhelmed by it all really; I don't really like a lot of the sort of films that have Atmos sound tracks and it's more the quality of the LCR and subs that I notice, especially when watching concert discs. It wasn't exactly rubbish with the previous Oppo player/old Arcam processor using 7.1 analogue outputs, even if I was 'restricted' to Dolby Digital 5.1 for TV content (and to be fair a lot is still just straight stereo even today, being 'upmixed' to 5.1 or in my case pseudo Atmos).The hd freeview channels I mostly watch only put out the old Dolby digital 5.1 sound anyway.
I still have and use plasma display monitors. Perfectly happy with the out of date 1080p resolution and 7.1 surround
I had a load of demos first too and kept saying I was underwhelmed by it, but got swept along with the whole thing, so it's my own fault really. I watch more stuff on my 39" TV in the conservatory on a simple 4.1 set up...if it's a crap film then great sound isn't going to save it (I'm way past watching 'demo' stuff these days).
Edited by OldSkoolRS on Sunday 18th August 14:15
silentbrown said:
RobXjcoupe said:
The hdmi picture goes to my display, the audio to my amplifier.
OK. So when you say "sounds better", what are you comparing it with? Does your amp also have an HDMI input or are you taking analog audio out the back of the TV into your amp?All settings left alone with no adjusting I found the stereo rca output had a warmer sound less harsh so to speak. This equipment I have is positively ancient compared to current levels. It’s 2007-2009 spec. It’s never broke and works well for me.
The tv sound was no different if I used the stereo rca output to the amp or the spidf cable. Both only stereo as my tv is just a regular freeview tuner. The hd box I use the spidf for audio to the amp as I can see the Dolby digital logo light up. So after all the trials of cables, I settled on via my blu ray to use the stereo rca for cd music and the hdmi to the amp for surround sound as a pcm signal from the blu ray player.
It all get tricky when you go 4k AND also like proper sound.
Every component needs to be HDCP2.2 compliant or things either won't work or will drop back to 1080p.
As a result of this I went out and bought an AV amp that was 2.2 capable and has full HDMI pass through. Very glad I did as everything is now is very nice and 4k-eee where possible. The only annoying thing was that I had to retire my trusty Yamaha amp.
I still use cheap HDMI cables though.
Every component needs to be HDCP2.2 compliant or things either won't work or will drop back to 1080p.
As a result of this I went out and bought an AV amp that was 2.2 capable and has full HDMI pass through. Very glad I did as everything is now is very nice and 4k-eee where possible. The only annoying thing was that I had to retire my trusty Yamaha amp.
I still use cheap HDMI cables though.
I do AV design for a living, commercial rather than residential but the principles are the same.
Cheap HDMI cables are fine almost all of the time. There are some reasons to spends more though.
Firstly at longer distances (typically over 10m) the cable quality can make a difference - although it's popular to say that digital either works or doesn't, HDMI involves a bundle of different signals. If you get errors on the TMDS lines, which carry video and audio, you can get sparkles appearing on the screen. If they go away at lower resolutions then it's possible that a better cable might just fix it. It's more common, in my experience, for the HDCP to fail first though. Couplers make it worse - each is like 5m or so of cable.
Also more expensive cables can be more resilient and/or more flexible.
Seriously expensive cables aren't worth bothering with though - decent CATx extenders or fibre cables aren't super-daft money and will get you to 100m of 4k60 444. You can also use cable equalisers if you're just past the limit - they're basically a super-high-sensitivity input stage and a good quality output stage in a box.
We use cheap (£2-4) cables inside racks and behind displays, and nice Extron ones (£30-40 for 1.8m) at lecterns and on tables - the plugs are tougher, they're more flexible, and they last longer.
Cheap HDMI cables are fine almost all of the time. There are some reasons to spends more though.
Firstly at longer distances (typically over 10m) the cable quality can make a difference - although it's popular to say that digital either works or doesn't, HDMI involves a bundle of different signals. If you get errors on the TMDS lines, which carry video and audio, you can get sparkles appearing on the screen. If they go away at lower resolutions then it's possible that a better cable might just fix it. It's more common, in my experience, for the HDCP to fail first though. Couplers make it worse - each is like 5m or so of cable.
Also more expensive cables can be more resilient and/or more flexible.
Seriously expensive cables aren't worth bothering with though - decent CATx extenders or fibre cables aren't super-daft money and will get you to 100m of 4k60 444. You can also use cable equalisers if you're just past the limit - they're basically a super-high-sensitivity input stage and a good quality output stage in a box.
We use cheap (£2-4) cables inside racks and behind displays, and nice Extron ones (£30-40 for 1.8m) at lecterns and on tables - the plugs are tougher, they're more flexible, and they last longer.
Zirconia said:
4k I send my sound to the amp via the TV. Not perfect but when I upgrade, might keep an eye out for an amp with 2.1......
I did that too but had time alignment issues, which I could never resolve despite lots of careful adjustment of the delay, so went out and got an amp with HDMI pass through. I've not regretted it although it is a superfluous expense.Be careful whatever amp you buy, the HDCP protocol for the HDMI ports needs to be 2.2 and not 2.1 for 4k to work properly / at all !
colin_p said:
Zirconia said:
4k I send my sound to the amp via the TV. Not perfect but when I upgrade, might keep an eye out for an amp with 2.1......
I did that too but had time alignment issues, which I could never resolve despite lots of careful adjustment of the delay, so went out and got an amp with HDMI pass through. I've not regretted it although it is a superfluous expense.Be careful whatever amp you buy, the HDCP protocol for the HDMI ports needs to be 2.2 and not 2.1 for 4k to work properly / at all !
HDCP goes without saying.
Thinking about it, a new batch of snake oil must be running off the production lines with 8K (HDMI 2.1). Bet the sales blurb is already being trotted out in the usual places.
Edited by Zirconia on Monday 19th August 12:46
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