There's your 1st clue. Mon$ter is overpriced and marketing BS.
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HDMI 2.1 Cables: Nothing But Problems
I'm always trying to get newer, "better" stuff and this especially includes cables. I recently spent a lot of money on very expensive HDMI 2.1 cables manufactured by Monster Cable and I've had nothing but issues with them.
These cables were purchased for my AppleTVs and of the four cables I purchased, two of them gave me issues. One would not allow Dolby Vision and the other wouldn't even transmit 4k. Both of these cables would also cause periodic screen flickering. Now had I not known that these AppleTVs were working fine with my older cables, I might have suspected a bad AppleTV or, even worse, a bad TV, but it was simply these very expensive but crappy cables.
I ended up taking these back to Best Buy and buying some highly rated but unknown brand cables off of Amazon and, of those four, one was bad.
I was at my wits end and finally settled on Belkin that were supposedly tested and they all finally worked. These were expensive too, but they worked.
I'm kind of old school and bad cables were kind of unheard of when it was simple RCA, Component or VGA cables. I guess that is no longer the case. I had issues with one of my computer monitors and ended up throwing it out but in hindsight I probably should have checked the DVI cable first.
These cables were purchased for my AppleTVs and of the four cables I purchased, two of them gave me issues. One would not allow Dolby Vision and the other wouldn't even transmit 4k. Both of these cables would also cause periodic screen flickering. Now had I not known that these AppleTVs were working fine with my older cables, I might have suspected a bad AppleTV or, even worse, a bad TV, but it was simply these very expensive but crappy cables.
I ended up taking these back to Best Buy and buying some highly rated but unknown brand cables off of Amazon and, of those four, one was bad.
I was at my wits end and finally settled on Belkin that were supposedly tested and they all finally worked. These were expensive too, but they worked.
I'm kind of old school and bad cables were kind of unheard of when it was simple RCA, Component or VGA cables. I guess that is no longer the case. I had issues with one of my computer monitors and ended up throwing it out but in hindsight I probably should have checked the DVI cable first.
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Yeah, you should always check your cables before throwing something out. They keep asking more and more of the cable and I swear some manufacturers just labeled their old cables as being HDMI 2.1 or 4K or 8K or 10K or whatever nonsense when they were the same old cables. I have a monster HDMI 2.1 cable that does work and my two cable matters HDMI 2.1 active fiber cables work fine at the moment and I'm testing these at 4K 120Hz 10-bit color 444 Chroma.
With HDMI 2.0 you're asking a max of 18 Gbps and now with HDMI 2.1 you can go all the way up to 48Gbps. Most manufacturers haven't done anything yet, they've just limited their HDMI 2.1 marketing to shorter cables. But you can do simpler lower bandwidth versions of 4K with HDMI 2.0 and I'm really surprised any cable would have an issue with Dolby Vision or HDR as you're only asking a few more GBPS out of it but I guess if it's a really on the edge of working that could happen. I was doing 4K 30 Hz I think or 60 Hz and HDR with my old 25-ft HDMI 2.0 monoprice cables.
Another fun thing that stinks about HDMI troubleshooting is you can have the same hardware in the same cables and power stuff up in a different order and get an HDMI handshake issue of some kind without changing the hardware. A few times my PC with the RTX 3080 to the LG C9 would act up and if you powered everything off and disconnected the other monitors from the PC and then powered everything back up it would behave again.
With HDMI 2.0 you're asking a max of 18 Gbps and now with HDMI 2.1 you can go all the way up to 48Gbps. Most manufacturers haven't done anything yet, they've just limited their HDMI 2.1 marketing to shorter cables. But you can do simpler lower bandwidth versions of 4K with HDMI 2.0 and I'm really surprised any cable would have an issue with Dolby Vision or HDR as you're only asking a few more GBPS out of it but I guess if it's a really on the edge of working that could happen. I was doing 4K 30 Hz I think or 60 Hz and HDR with my old 25-ft HDMI 2.0 monoprice cables.
Another fun thing that stinks about HDMI troubleshooting is you can have the same hardware in the same cables and power stuff up in a different order and get an HDMI handshake issue of some kind without changing the hardware. A few times my PC with the RTX 3080 to the LG C9 would act up and if you powered everything off and disconnected the other monitors from the PC and then powered everything back up it would behave again.
@Bambler How long is your cable run and do you need HDMI 2.1? Are you a gamer? There are quite a few options for cables depending on cable length and what you want to push. If you can get by with a passive cable, that would be your better option. If not, then you'll need to go the active route and decide on whether you need active copper-only or the more expensive hybrid fiber.
Personally, I'd never purchase a cable from BB, especially if it was an "M" cable or an "AQ" cable. Both can work well but are very overpriced and the profit margins for BB on those cables is one reason.
Belkin and MediaBridge both make very good cables, and I've used both in the past without any issues at all. I have two HTS's with AppleTV's (Gen 1 and Gen 2). Given my cable length I can use passive cables, so one system uses Ruipro certified UHS HDMI cables and the other one use Zeskit certified UHS HDMI cables with zero issues on either system. I've also loaned both cables to friends who have devices with HDMI 2.1 and they reported zero issues as well, so they purchased their own cables (Ruipro in this case) based on their testing.
Personally, I'd never purchase a cable from BB, especially if it was an "M" cable or an "AQ" cable. Both can work well but are very overpriced and the profit margins for BB on those cables is one reason.
Belkin and MediaBridge both make very good cables, and I've used both in the past without any issues at all. I have two HTS's with AppleTV's (Gen 1 and Gen 2). Given my cable length I can use passive cables, so one system uses Ruipro certified UHS HDMI cables and the other one use Zeskit certified UHS HDMI cables with zero issues on either system. I've also loaned both cables to friends who have devices with HDMI 2.1 and they reported zero issues as well, so they purchased their own cables (Ruipro in this case) based on their testing.
I always recommend purchasing certified HDMI cables. There is no correlation between price and certification. Certified cables have a hologram and QR code that you can scan and see and confirm the cable passed tests.
I have personally used Monoprice certified HDMI cables for runs up to 25 feet and used their fiber optic cables for longer runs.
You can do a deeper dive into HDMI cables here. Is there a difference between cheap and expensive HDMI Cables? - Poor Audiophile
I have personally used Monoprice certified HDMI cables for runs up to 25 feet and used their fiber optic cables for longer runs.
You can do a deeper dive into HDMI cables here. Is there a difference between cheap and expensive HDMI Cables? - Poor Audiophile
Years ago I used to say that cables from mfrs like "M", "AQ", etc were grossly overpriced for what you got and one could find a cable that performed just as well for considerably less. That thought needs to be tempered a bit now because of the higher video demands, HDMI 2.1, etc. Cables, like hybrid fiber cables, which are the darlings of the HDMI world right now are not cheap. But given the technology that goes behind them, R&D costs, certification costs (if they are certified), marketing of the cables, customer support (if they are responsive) etc all adds up. I'm not saying that the profit margin is slim, because I'm sure it's not, but the cost nowadays is not surprising.I always recommend purchasing certified HDMI cables. There is no correlation between price and certification. Certified cables have a hologram and QR code that you can scan and see and confirm the cable passed tests.
I have personally used Monoprice certified HDMI cables for runs up to 25 feet and used their fiber optic cables for longer runs.
You can do a deeper dive into HDMI cables here. Is there a difference between cheap and expensive HDMI Cables? - Poor Audiophile
ATC certification is not cheap, especially if the mfr actually tests and certifies the various lengths they offer. And, if the mfr also tests a selection of available consumer devices for compatibility with the cables (panels, game consoles, etc), that adds an additional cost.
I too recommend using certified cables (QR label for authenticity) whenever possible, but that doesn't mean that non-certified cables won't work because some do work quite well, and for a long time. Certification is mostly for consumer confidence that the cable was tested by a standardized program designed by HDMI.org and certified by HDMI LA. But, compatibility issues due arise from time to time even with certified cables but the occurrence is a lot less.
If one understands the various certifications and how they relate to cable length, cable type, HDMI specifications, and market-speak hype, then they should be fine. Another factor in a successful cable run and performance is cable
installation. How the cable is installed, especially if easy and safe access to your cabling for future upgrades (which there will be), repairs, etc is careful planned for, keeping up with the technology should be easier. Connection technology will always lag behind video technology.
Cable matters ultra high speed certified on Amazon fiber hdmi 2.1 4k 120Hz or 8k 60Hz. “Designed with Xbox”. Works great for me on my hdmi 2.0b avr and projector. The problem could be what is hooked to. 10m directional with eARC
Apple TVs have compatibility issues with 8k cables. If you switch to a 4k cable you should be just fine. I had the same issue, when I first purchased my Apple 4k TV box. I had a spare 8k (expensive) cable lying around, so I used it for the Apple 4k TV box. I had no end of issues, with the box completely shutting off within 15-20 minutes. I even contacted Apple support, nice people, but no help at all. After weeks of absolute frustration, and about to return the box, I decided to swap the 8k cable for a 4k cable. This was my last resort. This instantly solved the issue, and I haven't had a problem since then. I reported this to Apple and they said that they would make mention of it to their developers. Good luck.
No, they don't. It depends on what you are trying to push. I have an ATV4k Gen1 and Gen2 and have no issues with passive, certified UHS HDMI cables for any of the HDMI 2.0b option sets. I don't use or need ARC/CEC and control everything on my two HTS's with Harmony remotes. I never had issues either with certified Premium High Speed HDMI cables.Apple TVs have compatibility issues with 8k cables. If you switch to a 4k cable you should be just fine. I had the same issue, when I first purchased my Apple 4k TV box. I had a spare 8k (expensive) cable lying around, so I used it for the Apple 4k TV box. I had no end of issues, with the box completely shutting off within 15-20 minutes. I even contacted Apple support, nice people, but no help at all. After weeks of absolute frustration, and about to return the box, I decided to swap the 8k cable for a 4k cable. This was my last resort. This instantly solved the issue, and I haven't had a problem since then. I reported this to Apple and they said that they would make mention of it to their developers. Good luck.
For HDMI 2.0b option sets it should work fine with no issues. eARC at 30' shouldn't be a problem but it can be for some connected devices. I'm not sure what you mean about the "10m directional with eARC". All active cables are directional whether they support eARC or not.Cable matters ultra high speed certified on Amazon fiber hdmi 2.1 4k 120Hz or 8k 60Hz. “Designed with Xbox”. Works great for me on my hdmi 2.0b avr and projector. The problem could be what is hooked to. 10m directional with eARC
I’m suggesting that cable. I have it and works great and supports eARC. When I bought it I was confused about whether the longer distances that were one direction could do eARC bc obviously that is the other other way. After tea search they are only talking about video being one direction. I bought the hdmi 2.1 bc it is ran through the ceiling and I wanted to future proof it. I spent too many days up there in the crawl space fishing wires.For HDMI 2.0b option sets it should work fine with no issues. eARC at 30' shouldn't be a problem but it can be for some connected devices. I'm not sure what you mean about the "10m directional with eARC". All active cables are directional whether they support eARC or not.
If you have a cable that works as expected then stick with it. As far as future proofing goes, the use of a conduit, especially in the walls is really the only way to future proof because that makes fishing cables safer and easier. As video standards increase you will be upgrading your cabling so if you have a plan for doing that easily (conduit) you are about as future proofed as you can be. Besides, active cables have electronics in the connector ends and as such, can fail or have issues over time as do all electronic devices. It's not that common but it can happen. That's another reason for easy access it tight cable installations.I’m suggesting that cable. I have it and works great and supports eARC. When I bought it I was confused about whether the longer distances that were one direction could do eARC bc obviously that is the other other way. After tea search they are only talking about video being one direction. I bought the hdmi 2.1 bc it is ran through the ceiling and I wanted to future proof it. I spent too many days up there in the crawl space fishing wires.
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