High quality HDMI cables

azazl187 · 28 May 2019 at 22:02

Hi all.

I've recently bought an LG OLED C8 tv and it's great.

The only issue I seem to have is that when watching SKY TV I get 4 bands of barely detectable almost light bleed that run top to bottom on the screen. The issue is impossible to see unless the screen goes black and you are in a dark room.

I suspect the HDMI cable as if I play a vid on you tube though the tv you don't see the issue.

Does anyone have any advice on a decent HDMI cable that I can buy in an attempt to eliminate this very slight issue? I've tried looking myself but everyone claims that they have high quality HDMI cables that range from a couple of quid to 100 quid. Its a bit of a minefield to say the least.

dowie · 28 May 2019 at 22:13

It sounds like you've got a faulty HDMI cable.

Just grab one from amazon, they have an amazon basics range:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/AmazonBasics-High-Speed-HDMI-2-0-Cable/dp/B014I8SIJY/

or indeed this one, slightly better customer ratings:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01IP1Q4B4/

These things are supposed to adhere to a certain spec so ratings can only really reflect people having problems with faulty cables... so the thing to do is to look at the ratings, given you've got thousands of customer ratings available on the likes of Amazon then you can get reasonable idea of your chances from there.

RedvGreen · 28 May 2019 at 22:13

I'm going to be picking up a couple of these (google these): KabelDirekt 1m 4K Ultra High Speed HDMI cable for my LG C8.

BinnsY · 28 May 2019 at 22:24

Another recommendation for Amazon basics here, theres really no need to spend any extra as they simply do the job.

azazl187 · 28 May 2019 at 22:25

RedvGreen said:
I'm going to be picking up a couple of these (google these): KabelDirekt 1m 4K Ultra High Speed HDMI cable for my LG C8.

I need 3m and I can't seem to find these in that length

dowie said:
It sounds like you've got a faulty HDMI cable.

Just grab one from amazon, they have an amazon basics range:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/AmazonBasics-High-Speed-HDMI-2-0-Cable/dp/B014I8SIJY/

or indeed this one, slightly better customer ratings:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01IP1Q4B4/

These things are supposed to adhere to a certain spec so ratings can only really reflect people having problems with faulty cables... so the thing to do is to look at the ratings, given you've got thousands of customer ratings available on the likes of Amazon then you can get reasonable idea of your chances from there.

Ok cool. I'll look at the Amazon basics cables. Thanks

hyperseven · 28 May 2019 at 23:57

azazl187 said:
I need 3m and I can't seem to find these in that length

Ok cool. I'll look at the Amazon basics cables. Thanks

There is. I have bought one, it's in my order history. £8.99

KabelDirekt 3m HDMI Cable 4K / Cord compatible with (HDMI 2.0a/b, 2.0, 1.4a, 4K HDMI Cable, HDMI to HDMI, 4K@60HZ,1080p FullHD, UHD, Ultra HD, 3D, High Speed with Ethernet, ARC, PS4, XBOX, HDTV)

Dan_P · 31 May 2019 at 15:15

Another vote for Amazon basics especially as I also am an owner of the LG C8.

Psycho Sonny · 31 May 2019 at 15:48

I buy the slightly more expensive ones as they tend to last longer and deal with bends better.

SO instead of paying say £5 for a 3M I pay £7 for a branded one with better durability. i'm not saying go out and spend £100 on a cable just spend a few quid more for a better built one for durability reasons.

I've had cheap cables fail with bending.

rare · 31 May 2019 at 15:59

I’ve been through a lot of cables recently but will only buy those that are certified now. I’ve had numerous problems with what would otherwise be high quality cables when trying to use DV.

At least with a certified cable you know you will be OK and they aren’t that much more expensive in the scheme of things.

stoofa · 1 Jun 2019 at 11:03

I'm going to have to vote against Amazon Basics - only because I've definitely had a faulty cable from them. When I made the move to 4k last year, I also wanted to make sure all HDMI cables would support 4k/HDR. Purchased Amazon Basics and I was getting small "sparkles" on screen. Diagnosed as bandwidth issues.

I decided to look at "Premium Certified" cables - this is an independent certification that guarantees the cables are up for 4k etc.
Sure they were a little more expensive, I think I paid around £7 for the shorter cables, £8 for the longest I needed - Ugreen branded. These have been 100% reliable since purchase and all 4k issues I was experiencing went away.

You cannot argue with the number of people happy with the Basics - just thought I'd throw in the "Premium Certified" option. They really aren't silly money and they are guaranteed to provide the required bandwidth for everything 4k.

azazl187 · 1 Jun 2019 at 12:41

stoofa said:
I'm going to have to vote against Amazon Basics - only because I've definitely had a faulty cable from them. When I made the move to 4k last year, I also wanted to make sure all HDMI cables would support 4k/HDR. Purchased Amazon Basics and I was getting small "sparkles" on screen. Diagnosed as bandwidth issues.

I decided to look at "Premium Certified" cables - this is an independent certification that guarantees the cables are up for 4k etc.
Sure they were a little more expensive, I think I paid around £7 for the shorter cables, £8 for the longest I needed - Ugreen branded. These have been 100% reliable since purchase and all 4k issues I was experiencing went away.

You cannot argue with the number of people happy with the Basics - just thought I'd throw in the "Premium Certified" option. They really aren't silly money and they are guaranteed to provide the required bandwidth for everything 4k.

That's an interesting point. I also have a cable that creates sparkles on the scree from the sky box. How would one know if a cable was "Premium Certified" short of it being called that

rare · 1 Jun 2019 at 12:53

They will have a label on the packaging that you can scan.

For example, these are the ones I purchased and they resolved all my issues.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B071HZ1G86?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Psycho Sonny · 1 Jun 2019 at 13:30

rare said:
They will have a label on the packaging that you can scan.

For example, these are the ones I purchased and they resolved all my issues.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B071HZ1G86?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

what a rip off

https://www.amazon.co.uk/KabelDirek...=101&pf_rd_i=418466031&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

these are 5m compared to that small lead and 1/3 rd of th eprice

kabeldirekt or IBRA are the 2 i buy

Tattooed · 1 Jun 2019 at 17:33

Another vote here for Amazon basics cables. Nowt wrong with them.

rare · 1 Jun 2019 at 18:02

Psycho Sonny said:
what a rip off

https://www.amazon.co.uk/KabelDirek...=101&pf_rd_i=418466031&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

these are 5m compared to that small lead and 1/3 rd of th eprice

kabeldirekt or IBRA are the 2 i buy

The ones you posted are not certified. I was happy to pay additional for a cable that was proven. Given the cost of the cables in my whole system was minimal, I’m more than happy to pay for them.

They also resolved all the problems I was having, so in that respect they were a bargain. If they were £100 each that would be a rip off but they are still within what I consider to be reasonable money.

chaparral · 1 Jun 2019 at 18:06

Am using these Smartwares HDMI cables from B & Q for my 4k ATV, XBox one X , PC to TV

https://www.diy.com/departments/smartwares-l-1-5m-hdmi-lead-of-1/571866_BQ.prd?rrec=true

Mallers · 1 Jun 2019 at 18:32

This may have come up in another thread, but is there an upper limit for hdmi cable length, beyond which issues may come up?

Psycho Sonny · 1 Jun 2019 at 18:40

Mallers said:
This may have come up in another thread, but is there an upper limit for hdmi cable length, beyond which issues may come up?

5m

jpaul · 1 Jun 2019 at 19:34

Psycho Sonny said:
what a rip off

you could say its a tough call - if you want 5m futureproof at 18Gb/s, his are qualified at 5m, and kabeldirect just 3m, maybe k's 5m will work too, you can test it if you have the source.

neither say ofc either

lucid · 1 Jun 2019 at 22:06

Guys, I don't get this almost obsession with finding and buying the cheapest HDMI cables like it's some sort of holy quest or badge of honour. When I was a youngster, the word cheap was synonymous with crap. If you bought someone a cheap present, or they bought a cheap present for you, it was glum faces all round.

The deal with HDMI @ 1080p is that it doesn't push the bounds of what's possible with High Speed cable, so it kind of looks like any cable will do. That wasn't always the case, of course. In the early days the various manufacturers were making the step from standard speed 720/1080i cables to high speed and there were a lot of buyers that got their fingers burned.

We are at that point again with cabling for UHD. It's at the bleeding edge of what's possible, and while many inexpensive cables may well work, what's missing is the reassurance that a cable will work with any combination of source and sink device. It all comes down to the performance safety margin. It's all very well trotting out the now familiar and much abused phrase "it's digital, it either works or it doesn't", but that ignores what's happening in reality. The HDMI cable is simply one element in the signal chain. Where a source and subsequent sink devices have good safety margins, then the cable itself can be the weak link.... even to the point of just the right side of getting sparklies and you'd never know it. But where some other device is also a bit marginal, that same cable could be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

The Premium Certification is the buyer's reassurance that there's a healthy safety margin, so that even if some device is a bit marginal, then the cable won't be the weak link. What's more though, it shows that the manufacturer's product will be consistent because of continual testing.