# Hdmi cable issues



## asere (Dec 7, 2011)

I think the hdmi cable that goes from my tv to avr monitor is bad but only while playing a dvd. Every now and then the screen goes black but there is audio. The cable is a 1.4 version and the other two that go from the avr to the dvd and directv receiver are 1.3 versions. I changed the tv cable to a 1.3 and so far no problems. Could the different versions be the problem or just bad luck with the cable?


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## nova (Apr 30, 2006)

I find HDMI cables to be very frustrating. In 40 years I have never had any "bad" RCA, S-Video, USB or DVI cable. HDMI? I've had 4 bad ones in the last 4 years. What I really don't get is how they go bad. Never move them, plug 'em in and that's it. Then one day they just don't work.
A little rant is not much help but...
HDMI 1.4 cables are backward compatible so I would not think that would not be the case. Based on my experience I would chalk it up to a bad HDMI cable.


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## asere (Dec 7, 2011)

nova said:


> I find HDMI cables to be very frustrating. In 40 years I have never had any "bad" RCA, S-Video, USB or DVI cable. HDMI? I've had 4 bad ones in the last 4 years. What I really don't get is how they go bad. Never move them, plug 'em in and that's it. Then one day they just don't work.
> A little rant is not much help but...
> HDMI 1.4 cables are backward compatible so I would not think that would not be the case. Based on my experience I would chalk it up to a bad HDMI cable.


I hear brand does not matter either. Bad is bad!


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## RBTO (Jan 27, 2010)

HDMI is a fickle medium and getting that many bits/second from one place to another can be hair-pulling at times. Here's one of my own experiences.

I built a system which had a 6 foot cable from a satellite receiver to a wall plate where it went into an HDMI over CAT system (using two CAT6 cables to carry the signal), over about 75 feet of CAT, and then to a wall plate that converted back to HDMI, and finally, a 3 foot run to a projector. I had tested the system before I put the CAT in the ceiling, but sure enough, when I got it there, the link was very unstable and dropped out about once a minute.

Hoping the CAT system wasn't at fault (and it wasn't - read on), I replaced the 6 foot cable from the receiver to the first wall plate with a rather premium one. Fixed?? - not on your life. Now, I had a completely dead system - no throughput at all! I tried a 30 foot HDMI cable I had laying around and perfect picture - NO dropouts???? At this point, I was perplexed since only changing the first cable gave me perfect, marginal, or nada - and the _best_ HDMI cable was the one that _DIDN'T_ work.

I can't remember exactly what inspired me, but I placed a power inserter in the line at the receiver output. Voila, I had perfect pictures with all three cables. It seems that the capacitance (or some other parameter) of a given cable was affecting the HDMI power out of the satellite receiver (carried on pin 18). Apparently, the supply in the receiver was load sensitive, and was dropping the normally present 5V at times. With the power inserter, that voltage was solid and no more problems. I later discovered that the projector needed that power to enable the HDMI link (that might be because the power is often used to power a ROM in the destination device so it can send its EDID code back to the source - no power, no EDID, no handshake).

Anyway, since then, I've had enough HDMI problems here and there to officially call HDMI a stinker! And, Yes, cables can make a lot of difference, but it may not be what you expect. Cheap cables may work fine when more expensive ones don't. One thing with HDMI though is that it either works or not - no where in between as with analog which was mentioned previously.


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## asere (Dec 7, 2011)

nova said:


> I find HDMI cables to be very frustrating. In 40 years I have never had any "bad" RCA, S-Video, USB or DVI cable. HDMI? I've had 4 bad ones in the last 4 years. What I really don't get is how they go bad. Never move them, plug 'em in and that's it. Then one day they just don't work.
> A little rant is not much help but...
> HDMI 1.4 cables are backward compatible so I would not think that would not be the case. Based on my experience I would chalk it up to a bad HDMI cable.


I forgot to mention my bad cable is a 25 footer. I only need 15 ft but went for 25 because I got more for the money. I don't know if being too long is the issue.


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## hjones4841 (Jan 21, 2009)

You may be at the length limit for the HDMI handshake to work. Try adding an in-line HDMI amplifier or change to Monoprice's Redmere cables - they work very well over long distances.


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## asere (Dec 7, 2011)

I just reconnected my old hdmi cable and works fine now. The company is giving me a complete refund and letting me keep the new cable.


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