HDMI Cables and HDMI Ethernet?

Oxide™

Oxide™

Oxide™

Soldato
Joined
26 Dec 2007
Posts
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Location
Broadstairs
My AV setup is over a decade old now but still going strong

TV = Panasonic Viera TH-42PZ80
Satellite = SkyHD (hdmi 1.4)
Amp = Denon AVR-1909 (hdmi 1.3a)
Console = PS4 (hdmi 1.4)
Speakers = Quad Lite 5.1

Everything still works great but in case the TV goes I've been researching what next to get/keeping up with current technologies (hopefully it doesn't as baby arrives soon)

The new TV I'm currently interested in (Panasonic OLED FZ802) supports HDMI 2.0, which leads me to some questions:

1 - Would I also need to upgrade the amp to one that supports hdmi 2.0?
2 - Would I need to upgrade my current hdmi cables to support the increased bandwidth necessary for hdmi 2.0? i.e. to Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable (48G Cable)
3 - If the SkyHD box had an ethernet cable plugged in, could the PS4 and TV get its network connectivity from its HDMI (hdmi over ethernet) via the amp? I ask because this could free up some ports on my router
 
1. You won't pass through 4K sources so you need to consider that. The problem often isn't the HDMI version it's the HDCP version and external devices are often finicky about mixed chain HDCP protocols and fail to handshake correctly.
2. Check if the HDMI cables have Hi-Speed written on them. If they do it's a good chance they will work.
3. Virtually nothing has ever used Ethernet over HDMI, it's virtually a dead tech.
 
1 - Would I also need to upgrade the amp to one that supports hdmi 2.0?

Only if you subscribe to Netflix Premium service and regularly stream UHD 4K films and programmes using the PS4 via the amp in to the TV.

A Sky+HD box doesn't do 4K. Even if you upgrade to Sky Q, the 4K content is still limited to premium sports channels and downloaded movies/box sets and, of course, subject to the extra subscriptions to access those services.

2 - Would I need to upgrade my current hdmi cables to support the increased bandwidth necessary for hdmi 2.0? i.e. to Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable (48G Cable)

Again, only if you're subscribing to Netflix premium on the PS4. If not, then there's nothing in your set-up plus a new TV that's going to be carrying any signal that an ordinary High Speed HDMI cable can't handle.


3 - If the SkyHD box had an ethernet cable plugged in, could the PS4 and TV get its network connectivity from its HDMI (hdmi over ethernet) via the amp? I ask because this could free up some ports on my router

Sadly, no. Ethernet over HDMI (HEC - HDMI Ethernet Channel) has been around for a good five years, but had almost no take-up in hardware manufacturers to support the feature. The bottom line is it's a dormant piece of technology. Forget about it.

If you're running out of Ethernet ports on your current switch, go buy a small 4-port/5-port gigabit Ethernet switch. Connect your AV devices to that, then connect that to the main gigabit network switch.
 
Thanks for the info guys - If I had to get the TV I'd be watching Netflix premium from the TV app so I take it a new amp/cables isn't needed in that scenario
 
When you're watching from the TV's built-in app, all you really need do is take care of the sound connection from the TV to the amp. You're doing that with an Optical cable (or should be ) right now, and you'll do exactly the same if/when you get the FZ802.

Optical can carry anything from basic digital mono, or more usually digital stereo (2-channel PCM), through to 5.1 digital surround in Dolby Digital or DTS formats. Your 1909 can accept and decode or process all of these. Quite what the TV outputs depends on the set, so have a look at the user manual. You should get 2-channel PCM, Dolby Digtal 5.1. It has become more common for sets to pass DTS 2.0 (DTS stereo) and some even do full DTS 5.1. Have a look through the user manual to see what's listed.

In summary, keep your optical cable. Buy no new HDMI cables unless one or more are broken or not long enough. If you do buy new cables for your current PS4 or Sky+HD box in to the amp, or the amp to the TV, then you need nothing more than a simple High Speed HDMI cable. You do not need any 4K UHD premium cables with your current sources or amp.
 
Thanks lucid - currently the TV is hooked up to the amp via HDMI but gets its sound via SkyHD (Dolby Digtal 5.1 iirc) also hooked up to the amp via HDMI.

My computer (GTX 970) is also hooked up to the TV via the amp using HDMI and it streams LPCM. The amp supports Dolby TrueHD & DTS-HD Master Audio
 
That makes sense for your Sky box and PS4 and PC; and yes, I know your amp does DD-THD and DTS-MA. However, when you start to play Netflix from the TV app you'll need a sound connection to the amp. That's why you'll need an Optical. Also, since optical maxes out at roughly 640kbps because the emitter and transmitter heads are bandwidth limited in domestic gear, then bitstream DD or DTS in 5.1 is about the limit for multichannel stuff.

At some point in the future you'll change the amp. When you do, it'll probably have HDMI ARC and support HDCP2.2 so you'll get goodies such as enhanced audio over ARC (DTS-MA, Dolby True HD, and Dolby Digital Plus). :)
 
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