AVS › AVS Forum › Display Devices › Flat Panel General & New FP Tech › What bit depth (color depth) should I expect on 2012 TV with new HDMI cables?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

What bit depth (color depth) should I expect on 2012 TV with new HDMI cables?

post #1 of 3
2/5/13 at 5:45pm
Thread Starter 
I have a question about what kind of bit depth (color depth) I should expect from my TV's picture with new HDMI cables that I just bought. I was hoping that some of you tech-savvy guys might have an answer.
I have a 2012 LED TV made by Samsung. I bought 2 new NXG HDMI cables the other day from Radio Shck and they were inexpensive. I use one HDMI cable to connect the TV to the HD cable TV converter box and one cable to connect the TV to the Blu-ray player. Those NXG HDMI cables say that they can even be used for 4K TV, so I guess they are HDMI 1.3 type, or even 1.4. They say that they can support "Deep Color," that is color depth that is even 48-bit.

My question is: what kind of bit depth should I expect in the picture on my 2012 Samsung TV using those new HDMI cables when watching HD cable TV or BD discs, etc.? Could it be 32-bit or something like that, or maybe what comes out on the TV is 10-bit, or something like that? Actually, I would say that the picture I get from the cables is nice and vibrant.

Also, by the way, what bit depth (color depth) picture would you say one gets when watching a new LED TV like mine when using a simple RF coaxial cable connected to an outdoor TV antenna, watching over-the-air TV?

Edit: my thread posting was posted twice (instead of once) by mistake, but I stand by what I said!... smile.gif
Edited by basil lambri - 2/5/13 at 6:02pm
Reply
Reply

AVS Top Picks

post #2 of 3
2/6/13 at 12:01am
There is no such thing as an HDMI 1.3 cable or an HDMI 1.4 cable.

There is no such thing as an HDMI cable with a specific "bit depth".

Sources have a "bit depth" and displays can support it or not. Most sources don't have "deep color".

All of your HDMI cables are almost certainly fine.

Using a simple RF cable connected to an outdoor antenna is fully digital and is also fine.

None of these things are costing you any "bit depth" that might otherwise be available.

Please ignore the marketing nonsense on the packaging of your HDMI cables.

Please.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 3
2/6/13 at 8:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by basil lambri 
What kind of bit depth should i expect...? Could it be 32-bit or something like that?
10-bit is the standard for professional video. Broadcast contribution, encoders and decoders are still limited to 8-bit.



As of the HDMI 1.4 specification, these are the following cables types defined for HDMI in general:

. standard* HDMI cable - up to 1080i and 720p
. standard* HDMI cable with ethernet
. automotive HDMI cable
. high speed** HDMI cable - 1080p, 4K, 3D and deep color
. high speed** HDMI cable with ehternet


* Standard (or ''category 1'') HDMI cables have been tested to perform at speeds of 75Mhz or up to 2.25Gbps, which is the equivalant of a 720p/1080i signal.

** High speed (or ''category 2'') HDMI cables have been tested to perform at speeds of 340Mhz or up to 10.2Gbps, which is the highest bandwidth currently available over an HDMI cable and can successfully handle 1080p signals including those at increased color depths and/or increased refresh rates from the source. High speed cables are also able to accommodate higher resolution displays, such as WQXGA cinema monitors (resolution of 2560 x 1600).


HDMI versions (all HDMI versions are replaced by standard, automotive and high speed HDMI ) 1.3, 1.3a, 1.3b, 1.3b1, 1.3c, 1.4, 1.4a, 1.4b support deep color* and xvYCC**.

* Deep color increases the available bit depth for each color component.
** xvYCC (also x.v.Color) expands the overall color gamut.

homeTHEATER: xvYCC and Deep Color
http://www.hometheater.com/gearworks/207gear/
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home

AVS Top Picks

AVS › AVS Forum › Display Devices › Flat Panel General & New FP Tech › What bit depth (color depth) should I expect on 2012 TV with new HDMI cables?