Ok thanks. Why is that some cables are advertised as HDMI 1.3a compatible? Even in What hifi the Chord Co 1.3 whathifi text says "This is a stunning cable with improved specifications -1.3a compatibility and guaranteed 1080p performance......"
Strange that whathifi explicitly mentions 1.3a compatability...
I see someone has taken the lid off the can of worms again
The feature set of HDMI 1.3 requires the use of higher speeds than earlier versions so cables that worked before 1.3 are not certain to work when 1.3 devices try and talk to each other.
However the shorter the cable the more likely it is that it will work, the longer the cable the more likely you need to get one tested to run at the higher speed.
Some cable makers are listing the cables tested at higher speeds as '1.3 Certified' some list them as 'High Speed' but the odds are if it is only a 1m interconnect then pretty much anything will work just fine if it has been assembled correctly.
When a cable is marked as 1.3 compatible it only means its been tested as so. for shorter lengths any decently constructed cable will be fine. You only have problems with longer cables (or utter ***** ones) where it might be nice (for what its worth) to have confirmation it'll work at that length
Cable and Cable Assembly companies can pay to have their Cable and Cable Assemblies tested by an HDMI Authorised Test Centre.
The Cable Companies can/will submit a Cable or Cable Assembly for a pre determined Test to achieve certification to a target spec - its not a cheap undertaking and the differing certification levels attract differing test fees.
When you purchase a cable that's Certified to v1.3 (Category 2) your purchasing something that will work with any currently available Source plus whatever we get in terms of a Next Generation player as and when Deep Colour etc becomes a reality.
Lots of folk find they have no problems at 1080p with cables not certified to v1.3 - though having a v1.3 certified cable wont hurt!