Strange HDMI issue - opinions?

BluSky

BluSky

BluSky

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15 Nov 2011
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Hi as the title says I have come across a strange HDMI related issue.

My dad recently purchased a new samsung Blu-Ray player. I cannot remember the model number right now but it supports 3D content so it must adhere to the HDMI 1.4 standard (if I am understanding things correctly?).

He has plugged it in, via HDMI, to his 1080p samsung television (3 or so years old now - purchased before 3D televisions existed so I assume it uses the 1.3 HDMI standard or below).

The first cable he used was an HDMI 1.3 cable (not sure of the exact revision). The output was fine at 480p / 720p / 1080i, but attempting to output at 1080p from the player resulted in a blank black screen on the television. No amount of settings changes could correct this.

He then swapped the cable for an HDMI 1.4 cable (which I leant him) and the output over 1080p worked perfectly.

My question then, is why?. To the best of my knowledge there should be no good reason why the 1.3 revision cable shouldn't work for 1080p 2D output. Both cables are 1.5m in length. The first cable is a bush cable purchased for £12. The second cable i purchased for £1.50 from ebay. So quality shouldnt be an issue?

Any opinions / theories would be appreciated. This is more to satisfy my own curiosity than anything else.
 
And both cables came out of Chinese factories where they try to get away with the minimum spec possible and hope that no-one notices.

1080p video should be possible on any "High Speed" HDMI cable made to meet the specs laid out in the original HDMI 1.0 version as far back as 2002. A High Speed cable made to meet the 1.3 spec should easily pass 1080p even with HD audio streams. But who can say if the cables made and shipped still continued too meet met the standard of those samples for testing and accreditation.
 
Fair enough. Would have thought if the £1.50 cheapo one worked so would the £12 one but price alone does not dictate quality I guess. So basically you are saying it is likely nothing more than a poorly manufactured cable?

Thanks for the reply anyway
 
Yep, that's about the size of it. The Bush cable sounds like a standard speed cable or a very poorly made high speed cable. Either way, it works at 1080i/720p but not at 1080p so all the connections work but it just can't pass the higher volume of data required for 1080p.
 
He bought it because it said on the packaging that it was high speed, 3D compatible , 1080p capable and everything else. Just goes to show you can't trust advertising I guess. But if it really doesn't support all that then I am tempted to report them to trading standards or something.

Could it be just a slightly faulty cable?
 
As long as your source and TV were set up right then it's the cable that isn't working to standard. HDMI is a bit like a tube. The wider the tube the larger the items that can fit through. This is what is meant by bandwidth. 1080p needs more bandwidth than 1080i. That's the problem. The cable is claimed to handle 1080p but doesn't. That's not a "kind of a bit faulty" scenario. It's simply a question of not meeting the specification.

Before you go calling in the cavelrydo try the lead on another set up if possible. I'd then take it up with the retailer first. That's who your contract is with.
 
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