Finding the Right Cable
There are five HDMI cable types plus a special cable certification designation to
choose from, each designed to meet a particular performance standard. Here is an
overview of the HDMI cable types, their capabilities, and how to tell them apart.
To help consumer and clarify cable types further, all HDMI cable products will now
be required to be labeled by cable type. Look for these labels when choosing the
HDMI cable that is best for your needs.
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Standard HDMI Cable
The Standard HDMI cable is designed to handle most home applications, and is tested
to reliably transmit 1080i or 720p video – the HD resolutions that are commonly
associated with cable and satellite television, digital broadcast HD, and upscaling
DVD players.
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Standard HDMI Cable with Ethernet
This cable type offers the same baseline performance as the Standard HDMI Cable
shown above (720p or 1080i video resolution), plus an additional, dedicated data
channel, known as the HDMI Ethernet Channel, for device networking. HDMI Ethernet
Channel functionality is only available if both linked devices are HDMI Ethernet
Channel-enabled.
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Standard Automotive HDMI
Cable
Supports up to 720p/1080i (does not support HDMI Ethernet Channel). Since an automotive
system may be wired with one or more internal relays that can affect signal strength,
the Standard Automotive HDMI Cable needs to send a stronger signal than other cables
types, so it is tested to higher performance standards.
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High Speed HDMI Cable
The High Speed HDMI cable is designed and tested to handle video resolutions of
1080p and beyond, including advanced display technologies such as 4K, 3D, and Deep
Color. If you are using any of these technologies, or if you are connecting your
1080p display to a 1080p content source, such as a Blu-ray Disc player, this is
the recommended cable.
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High Speed HDMI Cable with Ethernet
This cable type offers the same baseline performance as the High Speed HDMI Cable
shown above (1080p video resolution and beyond), plus an additional, dedicated data
channel, known as the HDMI Ethernet Channel, for device networking. HDMI Ethernet
Channel functionality is only available if both linked devices are HDMI Ethernet
Channel-enabled.
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Premium High Speed HDMI Cable and Premium High Speed HDMI Cable with Ethernet
are special certification designations for High Speed HDMI Cables that have been designed and certified for ultra-reliable performance for 4K and advanced features such as higher frame rates, HDR, expanded color spaces including BT.2020 colorimetry, 4:4:4 chroma sampling, and they are identified by the Premium HDMI Cable Certification Label.
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