Slashdot Mirror
HDMI Labeling Requirements Promise a Stew of Confusion
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."
Will my $600 gold-plated monster superconductor cable support the new standards?
and so will your coathanger.
Unless you are doing a permanent wall installation, if you spend more than $10-$15 on an HDMI cable, you got Effed in the A!
Living With a Nerd
Confuse customers so the only guidance they have is the price. "Well, it's more expensive so it has to be better!" Once you get consumers thinking that, they're easy pickings. Oops. I should have sugar-coated that with some intellectual discourse to obscure that simple truth... Oh well.
#fuckbeta #iamslashdot #dicemustdie
Welcome to marketing ploy 101.
There are a myrad of confusing options. The only real solution is the really high end that does everything costs the most. Anything else is "it might work". It can also be sold with the "you are going to get the 4K TV someday arn't you?" approach.
There is only one solution and it will cost the consumer. It was planed that way.
Are we surprised ?
That depends. If you're asking the "average" consumer, the answer would be "very!"
Living With a Nerd
...just jizzed all over his monitor.
I used to have an old cheap HDMI cable I bought off of newegg that I used for my old TV and it worked fine. When I upgraded to a new Samsung TV, it worked for picture, but not for audio. At first I thought the TV was defective. So I tried another cable of the same type (I had bought them both at the same time) and got the same results--picture was fine but no audio. But when I tried out a newer, more expensive cable it suddenly worked fine. So, while I don't advocate spending big $ on ridiculously overpriced Monster cables, there apparently is a difference between some HDMI cables, at least for some TV's (maybe Samsungs are especially finicky).
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Looks like we'll just have to adopt the HDBaseT spec instead.
'Impossible' is a word that humans use far too often. -- Seven of Nine
Depends. Do you have a nice setup, or are you reaching your arm in back of your A/V equipment trying to do things by feel? Avoiding the need to pull out the components to actually look at them (since you can't do color by feel, obviously), is a reasonably nice benefit.
Because people could actually understand it, and then buy just what they need.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
The five grades listed make sense. Standard Speed and High Speed with and without Ethernet (total of 4 combos of those two) and the Automotive cable.
However the other stuff is poorly executed, like the "4K" rule. And do they have any rules on putting arbitrary meaningless bandwidth numbers on their cables like the example in the article and Monster? Any number that exceeds the bandwidth actually used by HDMI is meaningless, but manufacturers still stick crazy numbers on their cables anyway.
Manufacturers should be permitted:
To state which version of the HDMI spec they are compliant to, or very clearly defined capabilities (such as High Speed-No Ethernet)
To give specific physical properties of their cable's construction such as wire gauge and connector plating materials
They should NOT be permitted:
To advertise any electrical performance numbers that exceed the requirements of the defined HDMI specification, as these numbers are irrelevant to all users.
retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
I can live with confusing names if they get around to supporting closed captioning data like they are supposed to. They misinterpreted the legal requirements for closed captioning as it being something which is handled by set-top boxes rather than TVs and elected to not transmit the data. HDMI's own FAQ makes this position clear. However, the law is quite clear that the TVs are required to render captions. Unfortunately, people use devices other than set-top boxes to push content to the TV. If you need captioning, you can't use HDMI with Blu-ray disc players or other devices.
You joke, but check this from TFA:
The specifics are outlined in a 38 page document on the HDMI website. At the most basic level cables are split into 'Standard' and 'High Speed' versions. Standard cables are tested to support video up to 720p/1080i. High Speed cables on the other hand are tested to 1080p resolution. Within these categories come the inevitable subcategories. Standard is split three ways into Standard HDMI Cable, Standard HDMI Cable with Ethernet and Standard Automotive HDMI cable. High Speed Cables come in two versions - High Speed HDMI Cable and High Speed HDMI Cable with Ethernet.
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..?
which is totally what she said
Perhaps some day you will be able to apply that same intellect that allows you to detect snake oil in audio gear to the snake oil in sexual bigotry.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
In a few years presumably some even higher bandwidth specification will come along - no problem if they used version-numbers, but once you have labelled the first generation "standard" and the current generation "High Speed" what're you going to be left with to use next and not end up looking stupid?
"new higher speed", "max speed", "ultimate speed", "super more ultimate than ultimate speed", "I Can't believe its not high speed... speed"?
Ludicrous Speed
It's a good idea to learn from the mistakes of others who like adding confusing naming.
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.
Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
Besides, the packaging probably will still say HDMI 1.4 somewhere..?
From the article:
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.
Which sounds to me like the HDMI license terms won't allow it to appear on the packaging.
William of Ockham had no beard. The most likely explanation is that it was chewed off by squirrels every morning.