[Dr Force]

Hi all

I installed ny HC room around 4 years ago and the Mark Grant cable I have is not compliant with high speed to access 3D.

I am on the verge of pulling the trigger on a TW9000 or similar and I have 9M run of cable to consider. Over this distance it needs to be amplified so was wondering if you helpful folks could point me to a reputable dealer/cable.

My other problem is that my current cables run through the wall and across the ceiling but even though I put them in conduit, they just don't want to budge.

I was thinking of cutting a small flap in the carpet near my amp and fishing it through to the end of my room??

Any suggestions would be helpful

[Joe Fernand]

I'd wait until you install the new hardware and see how it goes with your Mark Grant cable - there is every chance it will work!

If the cable does cause a problem a 3D compliant powered HDMI Extender on the far end of the cable will be far simpler than ripping the cable out - http://www.tmfsolutions.co.uk/Octava_HDE-UK.htm

Joe

[Dr Force]

Originally Posted by Joe Fernand

I'd wait until you install the new hardware and see how it goes with your Mark Grant cable - there is every chance it will work!

If the cable does cause a problem a 3D compliant powered HDMI Extender on the far end of the cable will be far simpler than ripping the cable out - Media Factory - Octava HDE-UK, HDMI cable extender

Joe

Hi Joe

Thank you for taking the time to quote.

I thought 1.4/high speed was the only way to get 3d!?

[illusion]

My understanding here is in general for straight display a HDMI cable is a HDMI cable. It's the quality of the cable that really matters so if you have a good quality cable it could be if it were tested against the newer "high speed" standard it could pass. (someone will probably pop up now and correct this)

I have a situation right now where because I'm waiting on a replacement projector I have a 15m high speed cable going from my basement to where my projector should be then I have it hanging down from my ceiling with a cheap ebay HDMI straight thru connector to a 1m HDMI cable which on one end doesn't have any plastic shielding just some black electrical tape that I've owned for maybe 8 years I think and cost 1.99 back then. Bluray 3D is just fine through all that no issues at all.

The only way you'll know for sure in your situation is to do what Joe suggests and try it.

[Dr Force]

It's a good quality Mark Grant cable so I do not doubt the quality.

I'll have to try it, simple as that, then take it from there

[Joe Fernand]

Ignore version number labels on cables - means nothing!

No 'passive' cable can pass the High Speed certification process at 15m - 8m is pretty much the max!

HDMI.org advise you to use High Speed for 3D - though it's not mandatory and a decent gauge Standard cable will carry 3D, even at the longer lengths being discussed here!

Joe

[noiseboy72]

High speed cables are pin for pin compatible with Standard cables, but uses different internal cable types to enable better transmission of certain signals. The main issues come in electrically noisey areas where the better common mode rejection of the High Speed cables helps.

There is a small chance the amplified cable may not pass 3D, but this will depend on how "smart" the booster electronics are. Simple boosters and signal reshapers are usually fine, while those that identify EDIDs and adapt to the frequency of the incoming signal could potentially become confused by 3D.

[andy1249]

High speed cables are pin for pin compatible with Standard cables, but uses different internal cable types to enable better transmission of certain signals. The main issues come in electrically noisey areas where the better common mode rejection of the High Speed cables helps.

I'm sorry but thats not true at all.
That would suggest that a differently manufactured cable would be needed to pass the high speed test , and that is not correct.

High speed and Standard speed markings are simply the results of a suite of tests done on a sample from any manufacturing line.
Cables are not designed to pass either standard or high speed tests. Should a sample fail, the manufacturer may tweak the process to get a pass , but the tests do not specify anything about the cable manufacturing process or the materials used , only the electrical tests it has to pass to get the grade.

The suite of tests for each grade cut off at very specific points on the bandwidth spectrum , thats all.

Suite 1 or the standard speed test is way way cheaper that the high speed test. So this suite is the one that gets done the most. If it passes , it in no way says that it wont pass the high speed test , in fact most will if the manufacturer would be willing to spend the money to have the tests done , but as this runs into millions in some cases , they simply wont do it.

No manufacturer will run both suites of tests on any single cable , its either one or the other because the cost for both is prohibitively expensive.

A high speed pass means the cable will be guaranteed to pass the higher bandwidth signals , thats all , it specifies bandwidth tests done on a sample from the line only , it does not specify in any way shape or form , what way the cable is made.

Summing up , most cables that pass the standard speed test will indeed pass the high speed test as well , only with long cables ( 8 meters + ) do you get issues with cables not passing higher speed content , and no cable that long will pass the high speed test in any case , you need to go active for that.

Most will certainly pass the 3D blu ray content out there at the moment , which is the second most extreme signal it will be asked to handle. The Highest bandwidth signal your likely to come across any time soon is 2D 1080p at 60fps.

Thats because 3D at 1080p x 24fps x 2 is less bandwidth than 2D 1080p at 60fps . Both of these signal types are at the very start of the high speed test suite , the vast majority of the high speed tests are for future formats that dont exist yet for the home market , suchs as 2K and 4K content.

It is highly unlikely that any cable that passes the standard speed test could not go that tiny bit extra to pass the first two formats of the high speed test.

[noiseboy72]

Andy, I totally bow to your knowledge on this subject and no doubt as the cost of cabling has fallen in real terms, many "standard" cables are actually made to "High Speed" specs. However, a cable designed as a long (5M+) High Speed cable will be constructed differently to a 1M £1 standard cable. The capacitance will be measurably lower, the size of the conductors will be thicker and the lay and wrap of the cable more closely controlled.

Cut open the insulation of a cheap cable compared to a more expensive type and the difference is plain to see. I am not suggesting anything more than this in terms of conductor type - EG different cable types in terms of unshielded verses shielded and that sort of thing.

[andy1249]

Andy, I totally bow to your knowledge on this subject and no doubt as the cost of cabling has fallen in real terms, many "standard" cables are actually made to "High Speed" specs. However, a cable designed as a long (5M+) High Speed cable will be constructed differently to a 1M £1 standard cable. The capacitance will be measurably lower, the size of the conductors will be thicker and the lay and wrap of the cable more closely controlled.

Cut open the insulation of a cheap cable compared to a more expensive type and the difference is plain to see. I am not suggesting anything more than this in terms of conductor type - EG different cable types in terms of unshielded verses shielded and that sort of thing.

However, a cable designed as a long (5M+) High Speed cable will be constructed differently to a 1M £1 standard cable.

No it wont , thats the whole point , in fact if you take apart most of the cables on the market today , and indeed if you have the time to track sources , you will find that many samples of High speed and Standard speed cables are exactly the same and come from the same few OEM Asian sources , just rebranded for selling is all.

My point to the post is that there is no such thing as a cable being made to high speed specs , High speed and Standard speeds categories are merely results of a test , it is a Quality guarantee testing method and nothing more.

There are no high speed or standard speed specs for cable construction.
That is not part of the HDMI testing spec.

Suggesting otherwise suggests that High speed and standard speed cables are physically different by design , and that is most definitely not the case.

They are simply electrical tests, whichever one you pay to have done determines which mark you officially get to carry , nothing more. It does not mean you have a better cable , it just means it has been tested to work with a given signal , thats all it means.

If a cable has no mark at all , it doesnt mean it wont work , most likely it will , if it has no mark all that means is the manufacturer either could not or would not pay the huge amount of money required for the test.
If it has a standard speed mark , it in no way limits its abilities with higher bandwidth signals , it just means its been tested to standard speed , likewise with high speed.

Put plainly and in one sentence , High speed does not mean you have a better made cable , just a cable thats done a different test.

There are of course , different gauges of wire used and different shielding etc. used by different manufacturers , but that has absolutely nothing to do with , and is not dictated by , the Standard or high speed Category testing system.