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According to Meyer, HDMI have defined two new HDMI cabling standards - "Standard Speed" for certified performance to 720p/1080i, and "High Speed" for certified support to 1080p with deep colour, xvYCC colour & HD audio formats.
"The two, although they may look the same from the outside, are remarkably different in their level of sophistication. Proper disclosure by HDMI cable brands and suppliers is the only reliable way to tell the difference, and this will be policed by HDMI Licensing from October this year", says Meyer.
"The difference is one of bandwidth, where the top spec HDMI High Speed, at 10.2 Gbps, is required to carry around 17 times the certified bandwidth of CAT6, or around 40 times the certified bandwidth of CAT5E. Suffice to say that achieving this level of performance is no mean feat, and a high degree of technical ingenuity from cable manufacturers is required for genuine performance. Most cables up to and including 3m in length should be able to achieve High Speed spec, but over 3 m it is much harder. The longest certified in the world as at March 2008 is 10 m. Standard speed can stretch to around 25 m. Regardless of length, Standard speed cables are cheaper to produce, although the retail sell price should not be taken as a relative guide of performance," Meyer warned.
