What's the deal with HDMI 2.1 cables?

[Ceme]

Following my recent purchase of an LG CX5, I ordered a cheap 'basics' HDMI 2.0 cable from a well known online retailer. I wasn't really expecting it to work yet it is working perfectly for 4k @120hz. The source is my gaming PC with an RTX3070 card and I'm playing games and streaming movies with no problems at all.

So why are we being conned into paying out 5x more for a certified cable. Am I missing something?

 

[Radox-0]

Some non certified cables can be hit and miss, so some are likely concerned and happy to pay for a certified premium one then play the lottery.

I paid £23 for a 5m one a few months back which is not certified, and yet it’s perfect with full sets of features activated. With all that said more recently got my hands on being able to try ones which were supposedly hdmi 2.1 / 48 Gbps one and yet cut in and out.

 

[chrcoluk]

Its for peace of mind, you can roll the dice on a cheap cable, and end up buying half a dozen to get a winner, then in the end you have paid out more.

 

[theone8181]

I suspect for short lengths it doesn't matter, I think 5m is the 'magic' length for cables to be hit and miss from people's responses I've seen.

 

[gailjon]

If you get the 'basics' range of cable from the big online retailer then they are specifically built to be compatible, unlike a similar priced cable from other brands. The same is true of the lightning cables, etc. The 'basics' range work and the others are hit and miss.

They are also far more reliable when it comes to the specs for the cables. Finding out bandwidth, etc is much easier. (IMHO of course)

 

[chrcoluk]

It was only last week when I had to swap a hdmi cable out, the original cable was managing fine with a 1440p hdmi signal, but then on a 4k signal I had weird green lines across the screen. I expect that was a 1.x cable unable to handle 2.0, I think it was probably the hdmi cable that came with my benq gw2765 monitor, probably about 3-4 years old.

 

[Ceme]

Ok. The length of this one was 1.8m, I didn't realise it was more sensitive with 5m +. It just reminds me of the old days when HDMI had just come out and retailers were trying to convince us we needed to spend silly money on cables.

 

[Hyburnate]

Ok. The length of this one was 1.8m, I didn't realise it was more sensitive with 5m +. It just reminds me of the old days when HDMI had just come out and retailers were trying to convince us we needed to spend silly money on cables.

HDMI is only really rated for 5-7M.

Whenever I'm asked to consult on an AV System I now always specify Lindy cables as they can do a solid 10+ metres with no issues!

 

[chaparral]

So why are we being conned into paying out 5x more for a certified cable. Am I missing something?

This has happened every time they have released a new HDMI version