Hdmi Cable - A Compact Signal

Some might be wondering, what exactly does HDMI stand for? The answer is: High-Definition Multimedia Interface. When using an HDMI cable, the uncompressed audio/video digital data is transmitted to a more compact usable signal. It is a digital version of the RGB analogue signal. This is when white light is produced by being mixed with the colours red, green and blue, hence the term RGB. This cable connects various audio/video digital sources such as: HD DVD players, Blu-ray Disc players, personal computers, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles, and AVCHD camcorders to compatible digital televisions and computer monitors.

An HDMI cable is a bit complicated. The data is carried on four shielded twisted pairs that carry the sync pulses, colour and clock signal. The transmission is much like a CAT5 cable, but with added shielding. Sync pulses are the signals that tell the display where the frame begins. The colour is just that, red, blue and green (RGB) signals that come together in a neat unified colour picture. The clock signal is information that is carried through transmitted energy. With this complication comes great diversity in the video signal that is produced.

The video signal that can be produced by HDMI cables is unimaginably huge, beginning with 480i and reaching all the way to 2160p. This means that this cable can produce a small scale of picture information (480 lines) to a large scale that produces 2160 pixels on an 84-in LCD television. When deciding the length of cable to purchase, there is no maximum length. However, the construction and quality of the cable determines the usable length. There are two categories of cables that are available on market for purchase. These are defined as category 1, standard cable, and category 2, high speed cable. A cable can reach up to 49 feet in length and still produce a usable signal.

The cable as a whole is actually a very complicated piece of art. When looking for an HDMI cable, one must keep in mind that the shape and size of the pair wires affect the transmission of the picture. Also, the thickness of the insulation within the wires can produced a different effect with different cables. There are so many cables available, but carefully determining the features and benefits of each will help make an educated decision. Cables are so different now than they were only two years ago. Therefore, understanding the meaning of Full HD and whether professional or high quality is the best option or if the cable is gold plated are good things to contemplate before purchasing a cable. You should also purchase the shortest cable you can get away with as a long HDMI cable can cause signal loss.