I Spent a THOUSAND Dollars on HDMI Cables.. for Science
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- Опубліковано 4 чер 2024
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We told you we’d do it, and here it is! Testing a whackload of HDMI 2.1 and 2.0 cables to find out if you’ve been wasting your money on cables for no good reason.
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CHAPTERS
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0:00 Intro
1:27 HDMI Basics
2:22 Shady back alley deals
3:06 HDMI Specs
4:58 Methods
5:58 Initial results
9:15 Class is in session
11:11 Other failures
12:12 Macro view - Наука та технологія
A follow up: Belkin reached out to explain the results we saw with their cable: "Our coax design is that pins 2 5 8 11 and 17 are connected to a common ground shield to create a shield loop - so it would fail a continuity test - but it doesn’t mean that the cable fails. The reason Belkin chose this design is because it creates a shield loop to protect it from interference."
Makes sense for them to clear that up. I actually did not understand the importance of the continuity test
Good follow up
I have that exact same HDMI cable that I bought with my Apple TV 4K.
I do regret that I paid $30 for it after seeing this video though… because there would’ve been good enough options for less money.
i bought a 2k ultrawide monitor that i can't run above 85Hz because the cables i bought all failed to handle it(display port and HDMI), and product descriptions are so bad i don't even bother anymore, specially when a cheap DP cable is "only" 15$ it adds up very quickly
What's active and optical active?
i spent around $330 USD on my 65 foot active optical HDMI 2.1 cable, to reach the projector i have. does not work
so sad
Hi Seth, it's interesting to find you here!
insert obligatory "oh hello there popular youtuber, I did not expect you"
[This is not spiting anyone who says this]
Davie, is that you?
Pain
The Included cables with 'Anything' are of key importance. We all get them. Add a segment to any product review about the Included cables.
* when relevant :)
For instance, if you buy a 4K 120Hz tv, can the included cable actually deliver that signal to the tv (or is there a written notice somewhere that you need a better cable to take advantage of the top features)
Yeah no.. Id rather not use a 10 inch hdmi cable
If a cable supplied with a product does the job for that product, how does it matter in anyway?
@@saifaddeenal-manaseer6325 the point is being if it CAN do the job. I've had plenty of HDMI cables that look like they work then fail after a bit for no apparent reason.
Yes please! (For example the PS5 2.1 HDMI cable)
Some purchase recommendations at the end would have been nice!
Sweet! Can we do the same thing now.... with DisplayPort? 😅
Woah ive heard this from one of my gay friend.
@@fryl6082 damn
Upvote this to the high heavens, I also want to know.
You monster
And then VGA and DVI Cables for the lols
This is the kind of content that basically only LLT can do and is amazing to see your team doing
Yeah, because LMG is one of the few companies with a budget like this where they can blow $100k in test equipment lol.
@@shadow7037932 well I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily “blowing 100k” considering they get at least some return on their invest in the form of making additional videos that they wouldn’t of been able to make before.
@@Lieutenxnt_Dxn And also, considering they're a 50+ people company who go through tons of electronics and cables the actual use of the tester as a tester does save some money in hours spent on finding errors caused by faulty cables
Finally, some good fucking comment
@@Lieutenxnt_Dxn omg stop being so pedantic ffs
These kinda scientific videos on consumer tech are far and few beyond, and should just get more regular with your new lab. So I am really excited you guys are doing this
I'd love it if you could test the pack-in HDMI cables included with the current crop of game systems. Should we be chucking them on Christmas morning, or are they sufficient to get the most from the future of gaming?
For computers, HDMI has been my second choice. I prefer to use a DisplayPort cable. In the past, the specs for DP cables have generally exceeded those of HDMI. So I'd like to see a similar check or DP cables.
Seconded!
Thirded!
Expected usage could come into play. The average HDMI cable is used for 1080p 60 Hz content or less while both the expected resolution and refresh rate are higher for DisplayPort. Also, failures in HDMI cables probably go unnoticed and are more commonly attributed with provider issues, e.g. if the picture cuts out for a second, people are more likely to blame Comcast than the HDMI cable.
!! yes!
This please
I’m actually curious to see if Display Port cables follow similar trends to the HDMI cables. If you have the capability, it might be worth tossing a few in the next batch for science!
I was thinking the same thing. Would be interesting to see
They do have the capability. They can test a ton of different types of cables, and DP is one of them.
Man I'd be willing to donate to get a display port video.
Same. Need DP ratings. Can we just send cables to LTT to get them added to the database?
Yes please this, I have tried 2-3 Display Port Cables in the last 3-4 years, they just stop working.
People in the world of tech would rarely go through this kind of hellish process. Kudos to the team who did this painstaking work. Their work has provided knowledge to around ~2.5M people!!
these cable makers are hoping nobody does any testing. not sure how they get around the bad reviews.
PROF Riley more please!!! guy has a knack for the explaining in a fun way. Not just the script, the voice inflections and body language. love it!
I'd love to see the HDMI cables that come with consoles, especially PS5 and XSX, tested. As far as cheap brands go, I mostly buy from Cable Matters these days as I have had pretty good luck with them working as advertised and not immediately breaking, but I'd love to see more objective data. I think another good follow up to this video would be durability testing. I don't really know exactly how you'd go about it, but figuring out not just how the cables perform out of the box but how they perform in a few weeks/months would also be good to know.
My XSX cable loses connection to my lg oled.
Wont be the best but will work. But when you have a proper HDMI 2.1 TV that costs more then 1k buying a proper cable for 15-20 bucks shouldnt be a huge issue.
Absolutely. Love to see if those bundled cables work as intended.
The cable that comes with TV/monitor/console/whatever device is usually good to go they'd surely have QC'd it to make sure it works to limit returns and shit.
@@batt3ryac1d I'm thinking that's the optimistic word in question: "surely". 🤨
Please do this for USB-C cables too!
There was a Google engineer years ago that used to test them and post which ones actually were in spec but as far as I know he hasn't been doing it for quite a while now.
Replying to this for extra exposure and hopefully more likes! My vote is also for USB Type C cables, especially 10Gbps data transfer. Certain USBC Cables work great for transferring data while others that say 10Gbps work worse than my standard USB 3.0 5Gbps Type A cables. I use NVMe Gen3 and Gen4 external SSDs as well as my 2021 Cell Phone transferring GBs of data for video and picture backup, as well as various other high speed devices.
Also a video to show which "SUPER CHARGING" AC Bricks matters too because the last thing anyone wants is any of the best cable destroyed from the faulty AC Brick.
Please also test for thunder bolt 3 and 4 USB c
Even better, not just cables, do the USB 3.1/3.2 hubs! They're all pretty terrible in my experience.
Yeah USB-C is a nasty, dirty can of worms with the amount of companies capitalizing on poorly informed consumers.
It would be great to see tests like this for other types of cables and an explainer on what the standards mean and how failures impact day to day usage would also be great!
I would LOVE to see more content like this! It absolutely helps me make an informed decision! Like, which HDMI AOC fiber cable should I buy?
I've been waiting for so long for this, I can't wait for the usb-c one
And display port cables
@@arkratos3727 don't forget cat.6 cables
👍
@@neuralismgamingtv4511 I agree, nothing has dethroned Mini USB in strength for me yet
@@neuralismgamingtv4511 flimsy in what respect?
For example, the housing for the type c male end always fails before the connector actually shows any wear or tear for me. Meanwhile wicro USB always developed a connection bias on my cell phone or other chargers within a half to annual rate meaning I'd have to purposely angle it off a desk or charge my phone upside down to get it to work normally.
Hi, ex-professional network cable installer/designer here. Relevance: we tested all runs, existing and new, with a calibrated cable certifier before any project could be called completed. (Trust me, that is a *lot* of cable testing!) A few comments:
1) That used-in-office ROG cable that "failed" may have actually been good when it shipped. You mentioned that it only failed continuity, and the video showed the continuity only failed on the shell -- the shell is by far the most common point of failure for a cable after repeated use, as it commonly takes the brunt of the beating from even typical bending of the cable where the housing ends. A few severe angles there under stress from some accidental yanks can do a number on them over time. (That said, get rid of it anyway: the shell ties to chassis ground, and a floating ground of any type can be hell on signal integrity. It served its time honorably; it's time to retire it. But props on ROG for sourcing a good quality cable.)
2) Seeing the same pairs fail across a number of different cables is actually remarkably common. Particularly with high signaling speeds, crosstalk across wire pairs can be a serious limitation on the performance of the overall cable, and the internal layout of the pairs relative to each other within the cable are very commonly the same not just across different cables or batches, but even across multiple manufacturers. There is more detail wrt why that is, but I doubt anyone's *that* interested. :) (This is, incidentally, true even when one takes into account different OEMs -- a consideration that I wish the video had at least mentioned, considering neither Amazon nor Monoprice manufacture their own cables. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if Belkin doesn't for the majority of their cables either...)
3) For HDMI 2.1 in particular, you're right that long cables are much less likely to pass, but for that info to be useful to "the average consumer", you should probably note what that *actually* means. A lot of the HDMI 2.1 spec doesn't require bandwidth greater than the 1.4/2.0-era Cat 2 spec. Specifically, if you're running up to 4K 60Hz without HDR or 4K 30Hz with HDR (or 1080p with pretty much any fancy feature you want), an HDMI 2.0 ("Premium") rated Cat 2 cable is well within spec for those HDMI 2.1 applications -- which also means it's much easier to find longer runs that are spec-compliant, assuming no interference issues with the run of course.
If you do need Cat 3 spec'd cables, just don't even plan on long runs without active components or the like, honestly. AFAIK there hasn't even been a single HDMI cable by any manufacturer certified to run past 15-16ft, and I'm pretty doubtful that we'll ever see a certified passive 25ft Cat 3 any time in the near future if at all (bad spec design on HDMI's part -- another long story the details of which I'm not throwing in here; this is long enough already). And if you're doing any long runs *at all*, you will want to stick with the officially certified Premium or Ultra High Speed products, with the HDMI.org sticker on them. (And verify their cert, of course!)
thanks for the info!
great addition!
Old 2.0 cable seemed enough for picture. Never had any issues. But arc was a horror. But with a new 2.1 cable those constant disconnects are solved. Probably not because it's Oehlbach but just because of spec and probably holding the spec better than the old one
This comment should be pinned!!
bad spec design on HDMI part or not enough future proofing?
I'd love to see you take a deep dive on adapters. Take a cable you know works very well and try connecting it to different adapters to see how they perform.
Enjoyed this a lot; the obscure content is why I love this channel GJ on testing Colin.
I'd love to see a roundup like this video done on DisplayPort cables since they seem to be a lot more troublesome if you don't ensure they're Vesa Certified
Totally agree, had a great time when the two DP cables I’ve bought were shorting the motherboard, and the random PCIe errors were appearing all over the place
@@Vlad98844 Yikes...
You missed shib. Let's go to mars with Star Atlas. Remember to take POLIS on the trip, maybe 69420 tokens..
Agreed. Displayport has given me a lot of problems
+1
Now that HDMI has caught up with DisplayPort I wonder which of the two is most reliable in general when you have a choice of which to use for your monitor
Good question and video idea. I've always found DP to be a lot more consistent
I've had tons of random HDMI cables completely fail out of nowhere (not even long ones) over a short period of time... (3 years or so). I've never had a single DP cable fail on me... (I work as an IT for a company so my data sample isn't all that small). I really don't understand how we can make reliable 5nm chips but not reliable 2 meters cables.... I refuse to believe it's hard and start to think it's the same story as with light bulbs... they make them so they fail on purpose and you have to buy a new one.
Incorrectly stated. All these cables are backward compatible (part of the problem), but remember, every port comes with a generation code that must match the cable to get the full benefit of the product its connected to.
If display port is superior, why dont we just use DP to HDMI converter?
displayport hands down, its the much better connector standard and carrys more signals at the same time
not to mention that the ports are alot more robust
Smart on the multiple cable purchases for fair testing. I have done large scale deployments with just ethernet cabling. The worst install was a 10% failure rate (from a known good Manufacturer). Their China-based supplier decided to change their ways and incorporated small groups of those 'new spec' cables in our 10k+ quantity order. Sadly these cables were for wireless APs so required ladder work to resolve.
What a great video. LTT quality just gets better and better. It's like a high-budget production TV show. Awesome
So Linus is the guy who has all my HDMI cables when I need them !
Yep. And the Graphics cards too 😅
@@jemma2607 And when he gets one he drops its 🤣
I was wondering where I put those damn things🤔
🙂😂
Some of those days we'll find out he plays guitar too. And has all the lost picks .
I don't even need new HDMI cables but I feel like buying new HDMI cables...
You should check Simon's HDMI cables lmao
Everytime I watch a video on anything on this channel...
@@iPoopPancakes for real... tell me about it lol.
I've been having weird TV issues with video and I wonder if it is bad cables. Sounds like it is really common.
Don't tie people up with your new HDMI cables. :) That would be quite a mean thing to do. Lol...
This was very educational and I never knew the inportance of cable integrity. Thanks LTT!
Question: Did you test any cables that failed that were labeled right out of the box as ULTRA PREMIUM Certified? If so, which ones to avoid?
I would like seeing more tests of 'included monitor' cables. Not just from RoG, but also Gigabyte, MSI, and BenQ (esp BenQ since they advertise including high-quality cables here in Europe).
Usually its the cheapest shit they can allow that the display works and use all its features.
Also try LG, my included cable from LG didn't work at 240hz.
@@diebygaming8015 waytaminute you bought a 240hz capable monitor and the INCLUDED cable couldn't support it?!
@@diebygaming8015 Seconding, I replaced the included LG wasn't getting 165 hz 1440p.
The HDMI 2.1 cable included with the Samsung Odyssey G7 is the most hilariously cheap pos for a $600 monitor. It's like 3 feet long and the entire housing ripped apart exposing wires when I moved the monitor and tugged it a little.
I wish you has included Cable Matters in the testing. They talk about how their HDMI 2.1 cables meet the specs and can hit the 48 Gbps requirements. It would be nice to know if that is true since I replaced everything in my setup with their cables last year.
I second this, would like to know about their cables as well.
Lol, they test 53 from 17 companies but of course the ones the two of you bought aren't included xD
Frankly if the cable you're using works in your setup then you already have your answer.
Would also be interested in Cable Matters testing. I've used them for ethernet for years, but wondering if they're as good in other applications.
@@AmandaComeauCreates Cable Matters cables have official HDMI certification. i run these on my setups, as well. $9 for a 6 ft cable
... "One failure is a fluke, two is a coincidence, three is a pattern." LOVE IT -- this is wisdom that transcends HDMI cables and tech
Data point of two does not a trend create.
Linus you are a national treasure. Nobody does testing anymore, except you and Farm Project.
Ahem, GN...
@@wurmageddon GN is comparably a small operation when next to LTT and FP. So people who aren't deep into the techsphere like you or I may not know they exist, yet.
Please tell me the $1000 cable made comeback. (Gonna watch the video now.)
It would have... if we still had it! -CW
Ah, that’s where it went, also plz pin this comment
@@LinusTechTips wdym where it is
I thought the same.The JPS Labs cables that dms brought to demo this 1266 headphones cost more than the electronics. That power cord costs 2X the headphones.
@@LinusTechTips aight now that 1000$ cable is in your shopping cart for the next cable testing video. We demand it's test!
Linus: buys a cable tester
The entire cable industry: I'm in danger! * chuckles *
At least its not like GN buying a fan tester.
You're not wrong. How is it not potentially illegally misleading to sell a cable to a spec where roughly 50% of the product fails to meet the spec...
@@viliamklein Contractually illegal, perhaps. Criminally illegal, hilarious. No.
@@fitybux4664 that's what I meant. Could they potentially be successfully sued for failing to deliver.
@@viliamklein Should be possible if they don't deliver what is written on the small "what is this product papers" like speed, colour etc. or marketing promises which the product does not deliver. In Europe we have something like "authorities for consumer protection" (idk if this is the right translation I'm sorry) you report a product that is not doing the work it should and they will put that to a special court in the country or if its a bigger company to some EU courts. Hope you can unterstand that it's not very easy to explain this in a foreign language. oh ps. in Europe its possible from a legal point, not sure how it is in the US or Canada
Wonderful. I like these types of videos , which I can learn from so I can be a better informed consumer and some on that likes to know as much as possible of the tech I use.
With HDMI 2.1, 4K 120hz, 12 bit HDR, e-ARC, Atmos, etc.
Cable quality is more essential than its ever been. I’ve had major issues with HDMI 2.1 cables on my 3090 and LG OLED
Which cable do you recommend?
Dude! This is some of your best content! PLEASE keep doing this investigative work as much as feasible! Loved the scientific break-down of signal quality, jitter, etc. Makes the whole science of signals across the wire so approachable and understandable. I feel like an informed consumer again and your production quality is top-notch as usual!
Thanks Linus and team!
I feel like any and every IT section at a company should have one of these cable testers. Literal thousands of hours of troubleshooting fixed right there. Thanks for another great video with this thing! Looking forward to seeing it appear in the future!
Or just being able to rent one out. Spend a week testing all the cables, and being set for the next year. The grief it could spare in IT corners would be incredible.
@@Azivegu I'm smelling a business model rising
@@Azivegu Yup. I know someone working in IT and they fixed alot just with a completely different cable.
I agree it would be really nice to have a machine to just test the cables, but I highly doubt most IT companies would need HDMI 2.1, so buying one would be a really big expense (they are far from cheap) when really the only three options are a fault with a cable, a fault with the monitor or a fault with the device outputting a signal. It doesn't take long at all to troubleshoot any of these really, so would be a waste of money, as indicated by the fact that IT departments don't tend to have these.
However it becomes tricky is for the consumer who wants specific bandwidth for home theatre and or games so I totally agree with you about this being a useful video. You would expect a big manufacturer like Belkin to do better!
@@Ryaninja it can test more than HDMI cables...
This is really fascinating and I would love to see more cables tested.
I really like the cinematics of this video. We can see that it was put a lot of work in it. I really like the b rolls. And all the characters in it
Riley’s over dramatic acting is probably one of the best investments LTT has ever made. GG Riley
Professor Riley is truly a blessing.
I was feeling a Bill Nye vibe there
@@Frostfly Missing out on the funniest LTT member sadly
9:40 proves this.
@@Frostfly Didnt get invited to many parties huh? Everyone knows drunk people are obnoxious when you are sober. Thats exactly why you get drunk too, so you can stop being a stick in the mud.
I was really hoping to see monster cables in this roundup. In my world they are the original overprices cable provider. They make incredible claims about their superior shielding and performance. While only costing roughly 4 times more than what other cables charge. It would be nice to see if they even meet the requirements.
My only issue is around the year 2000 the company changed direction. But originally the founder was a huge audiophile.
Also the gold plated connecters for analog audio when used with devices with gold plated inputs, reduced noise/better audio.
Most computers and TVs don't have gold plated inputs, so yeah, Linus is correct not as important as long as not full of corrosion.
Snippet from Wikipedia, I wasn't sure if Beats/Apple bought them, turned out was just a partnership.
Monster changed their business model to licensing their name starting in 2018. After years of sales declines, Kevin Lee (son of Noel Lee) took the helm. As of 2021, their work force was down to less than 10 people from a height during the Beats days with over 850 globally.
Monster is bs, no point to test them
I guarantee they meet the requirements. I also guarantee that a cable that costs $3.75 can do the same thing as their $120 offering.
@@TumanWK What he meant by the gold plated input is that the gold plated end on that HDMI cable doesn't carry signal. Gold plating on an HDMI cable end is purely aesthetic, electricity does not go through it.
@@josephtaylor3189 I had a problema with Wii U signal and ended up buying a Monster HDMI (Gold Plated) to see if it would solve. Turned out to be my TV the problem. Somehow it was incompatible with the Wii U and gave me flickering (which did not happen with Xbox 360 and Ps3).
The eye diagram discussion could have covered amplitude noise as well as just phase (jitter). But very good to see an explanation on it in your channel! Keep the good work
This is kinda video that has real world help for viewers means alot to people like me. These company's are marketing old cables as 2.1 seems like and not puting in bigger wires in longer run cables
I bet so many dodgey companies that make hdmi cables are pissed as hell at you right now. Thanks for the information Linus, another video to add to my education playlist *grievous cough*
Not really, the people who might watch this probably already know all of it - and for every one of us who won't allow ourselves to be ripped off for cabling, there are 10,000 others buying $30 3ft long cables at Walmart/BestBuy. :( It's been an issue for years.
@@Artimidorus 1.7 million views, I highly doubt anywhere close to everyone who watched this knew any of it. Many people would have been educated by this.
They ought to be, most of the "failures" are actually fine. LTT clearly doesn't understand their tester, the HDMI standard or how signal shielding should be done. The continuity failures are over shielding not being grounded at both ends as per HDMI standard. The thing is, the standard is wrong about this being the better approach to shielding.
i just wish there would be a option to test hdmi cables like this for everyone :( cause as their tests shown - it fu**ing doesnt matter how premium u buy - it still can fail.
Type-C has similar problems
*looks down at my 8 year old HDMI cable*
Have you been betraying me all this time?
You can only hope it hasn't been. I've just been using the one bundled with my monitor.
if it already works for 8 years then it probably won't matter lol, only upgrade if you upgrade your monitor
Mine started to loss audio until I repluggin it
@@7zipx73 Nice grammar. You should fix it.
I have a 10+ year old 10 footer, just now giving me fits. I suspected it, but this video confirms it.
so which cables did pass? That spreadsheet is it available somewhere? Where is the good old screenshot of what cables failed and which passed?
Cool that you went into effort of looking into an eye diagram, pretty solid review!
I would love to see this for Displayport cables, people always say "DP cable quality actually matters unlike hdmi"
yeahhh no, the signal is still digital, either you have an output signal or you don't. I actually had to swap out one for 120Hz over 60Hz because I simply got no output signal. If you don't have intermittent display losses, you are gtg....
@@noba4696 damn i love being grey to grey as well
@@noba4696 while I agree, I have also had far more Displayport failures than HDMI
@@noba4696 The point is DP is pushing significantly more bandwidth than HDMI because not only are we talking 4K or 8K or more, we are talking > 60Hz to 144 Hz and beyond. And we are talking HDR meaning even higher bit rates required. The combination means DP cables are a world apart from HDMI standards. The DP 2.0 standards set max data rates 2x above HDMI 2.1.
And the cable quality bit is important because you can end up with intermittent display losses like you said to the point it's infuriating.
Yeah I had to buy 2 cables. The cheap chinese one from Hama did not work properly, it didn't support high refresh rates. The Club 3D one worked perfectly.
Employee: “I can’t come into work on time “
Employer: “ why not?”
Employee: “ I’ve got the jitters”
I thought Linus Canadian? Why did he use old british imperial? Not metric?
@Bunk AssPitch llol reported that person for Spam ;) XD
@@fynkozari9271 British Canadian rule = 1763-1867 they probably have it ingrained in society to use imperial for the oldies ;)
Only cool kids use metric's ;)
@@fynkozari9271 Except for kilometers for road distance and degree Celsius for outside temperature. (we still measure oven and pool temperature in Fahrenheit), we actually use US Customary units for most things. We are taught metric only in school, but basically once you reach adulthood you start using imperial units because everybody else is doing it.
Great tests(!!)
I’d really like to see how various skinny and flat cables perform. Lots more likely to have problems, I’d think…
Yes! Please, go for audiophile cables!
I would suggest AudioQuest (basic Blueberry vs top Dragon lines), Inakustik and Van Den Hul
Everyone is suggesting high-end brands for analog cable tests and this probably goes without saying, but please continue to include Amazon Basics and Monoprice in your lineup.
I have a ton of Monoprice cables, and they're great! Note they're very short and were for 18Gbps, guess that matters
@@noeldillabough
Unfortunately, I use moderately long cables since the full tower case is on the floor and I use vertical dual monitor setup.
On my next build I would sequester the PC into a different room (thermal isolation plan via watercooling), so that meant I need long cables to reach the next room.
@@Aereto Yeah you'll have to use active cables then, wish I knew more
I’d really like to see USB-C, Thunderbolt 3/4, DisplayPort and especially Ethernet cables being tested. Oh and of course all the snake oil cables that try to 1up them.
What I’m really interested in are cables from Anker, KabelDirekt* and Oehlbach* (* might be EU-only?).
Also HAMA... also EU only but they are quite common, and what most of my family and friend have in their house...
Comment read on my KabelDirekt 3M DP cable.
Having recently experienced issues with display port cables it would be really cool to see these tests for DP.
Thank you for this high quality content! Amazing how many times you make a video and my first thought is: "FINALLY!! Someone is doing this!!!"
I was seriously expecting Linus to test that THOUSAND dollar HDMI cable that he bought several years ago. He literally said that he wanted to use an oscilloscope to see the tiny gain in conductivity of something like that. THE CABLE CAME IN A CARRYING CASE WITH AN AUTHENTICITY CERTIFICATE!!!
I once saw a €100 (about $110, although it was maybe 15 years ago) 2m Gold-plated SCART cable, guaranteeing video qualities that normal PAL TV signals don't even have.
So? He's rich (over $10M). What's the surprise?!
@@IIVQ I convinced my mum to get one of them lol
Yes! I want to see that too!
@@Fernando-wz6no he made it all happen from his hard work. he has every right to be proud of that and he makes sure everyone knows he has an amazing team behind him that is always making things happen.
I want to see Denis buy some cables that he thinks are "cool" maybe he will find ones with feet warmers. I like these types of snake oil busters as manufacturers may step up their game before they get called out by big tech viewers now. Also I love more professor riley!
Thank you once again for these useful info that you can't find nowhere else, and everybody wants to know when shopping. ♥
Thank you for this video, really cleared up some stuff for me. Now I just have to make sure that I buy the right brand of 30ft HDMI cable.
We're sorry, but you guys liked our new WAN hoodies so much that we sold out since filming! Sign up for restock notifications so you don't miss our next drop (expected late 2021/early 2022) www.lttstore.com/collections/clothing/products/wan?variant=39516863168615
LTT HDMI cables when?
I'll take your ewaste cables off your hands for free!
Test the Xbox and PS5 included hdmi cable
Lmao
Can you guys please benchmark Thunderbolt & USB4 cables next?
You can build a scary HDMI monster now
@Laura Brown L comment , Ratio
3rd reply ig. Cool
@@boogie3552 W
the real scary monster is DVI
beside the latest stuff that happens to your company, content is good and info for generally informative. thumbs up
Regarding the massive Monoprice failures, I have a question. Monoprice's web site advertises some cables as "certified", while others don't use this term in their description.
Was there any correlation between certification and whether the cable passed the test? Or did their "certified" 48G cables fail just as much as the ones that don't mention certification?
Riley: "All late assignments get ZERO"
Me: Professor PLEASE!
DIVIDE BY ZERO ERROR! WIN!
I'm just praying my professors don't watch LTT and get any ideas from this Riley bit as I currently have:
1 - 28 questions of Fluid Mechanics (it usually takes me around 30min-1h per question) due tomorrow and 2 "key problems" (basically a small project that often takes us over 12 hours of work to get somewhere) late. Part of my grade;
2 - 2 late Marine Structural Design assignments + another one due tomorrow (usually 1-3h of work). Part of my grade;
3 - One very long assignment for a Ship Design class due Wednesday (not difficult, but very long, the previous assignments took over 5 hours each, with one taking a little over 7 hours). Part of my grade;
4 - A crap ton of Thermodynamics questions suggested for Wednesday. Not part of my grade, so it has the lowest priority in my list.
And I have 4 hours of classes tomorrow, and I can't miss any of them because both the classes have under 10 students, so the professors really notice when you're skipping it.
At least we're still doing only online classes, because the assignment load would be the same in in-person classes, but I would have even less time and I wouldn't even be able to work on them during the class, as I often do. And there's people asking me why I'm sad in-person classes are due to come back next semester...
Based Prof
You missed shib. Let's go to mars with Star Atlas. Remember to take POLIS on the trip, maybe 69420 tokens..
@@graciouscompetentdwarfrabbit Maybe close YT and start working on it?
One thing I really appreciate about LTT videos is that despite being made to be as wide-reaching as possible to get as many people watching, the videos themselves still dive quite deeply into a lot of the granular stuff and are well-researched for how quickly they have to be produced!
It helps to have a massive team.
Too bad they completely misunderstood the continuity reports. There aren't any wires missing. All the grounds are just shorted toghether which is fine IMO
Awesome video. Thanks. It helps a lot. I'd love to see an audiophile version. But I'd also love to know how to test my own cables.
These fail rates are WAY higher than I thought they would be. This explains so much. Nicely done.
I love when my favorite TechTubers get new toys to play with that can aid in holding manufacturers accountable for the performance of their products. Linus seems to be about as enamored with his cable tester as Steve at Gamer's Nexus is with his industrial fan tester. Good stuff.
And the PSU tester
With how these Virus and Stock playing, many things collapsing, many things in shortage.
Its probably the BEST TIME.
Heck maybe revolutionize market
Linus, what about testing jitter-prone cables with a ferrite core choke? You can buy snap-on chokes. It would be interesting to see if you can take a crap cable and get better performance out of it.
i doubt it would do much with a low power digital only signal. Anything with power running along an analog signal is far more effected by the ferrite bead.
Why should a ferrite core do anything to improve jitter?
This! Testing which fixes and 'hacks' actually work
@@jusaca01 not gonna lie- I'm not an electrical engineer. I just grew up in the 90's where every cable, including USB, had a ferrite choke.
@@rvds0804 It works wonders if you have high RFI , otherwise it's just cable jewelry. The core needs to be tuned to the frequency of the RFI the cable is picking up, though.
Hey thanks for this, it's very appreciated!! Am very curious to see similar testing done on display port cables ;)
I barely even care about cables but as a lifelong reader of Consumer Reports, you give me efforts to rate the actual quality of things without overt bias and I am there every time. Hell yeah
Wow, and here I was so sure Monoprice would come out better. Wellp
Yeah really. Monoprice has been the default answer to "what brand cable should I buy?" for years. I wonder if they have always been this bad, or they've just grown complacent and have been coasting off of their reputation.
yoo
@@aryatadonkey6944 yoo
Not an American here, why did Americans always recommend monoprice?
@@T800123 yup. Everytime someone asked for HDMI cables on any forum, citing brands as Monster and Audioquest most of the replies was always forget those and get Monoprice.
Lots of testing was done way back in the 2010-15 citing exactly that it wasn't an advantage of getting any above Monoprice.
It really shows that or LTT had a bad luck with or as you said, they kept riding on their success and brand and just started cutting costs.
I'd love a video specifically on the whole mess that is USB-C / USB generations / Thunderbolt - both in terms of explaining the differences properly, but also testing various cables.
And of course testing some crazy snakeoil audiophile cables sounds like a lot of fun. I'm thinking audioquest and then something like Hart audio which seems to be the go-to for fairly prices custom made cables.
Loved the vid! Thanks guys!
It would be great to see a similar video for USB-C cables, different ratings for charging speeds, data transfer etc
I would love to see more on "included" cables. Knowing whether or not I should buy a separate cable with a monitor could be the deciding factor on a monitor when they're already super competitive with each other on pricing. Especially going into black friday
Yes. No charge.
I'm curious about DisplayPort cables. Recently, I've had my two of my 3 monitors just blank out on me, or won't turn on. I suspect this may be an issue of these monitors being freesync and my GPU being nVidia. But I'd also like to rule out cheap/barely functioning DisplayPort cables.
turn freesync off then
Someone might correct me but I am sure free synch works with Nvidia gpu's while Gsynch wont work with AMD.
I am running dual 4k monitors through a KVM rated for that and boy do DP cables matter. I went through several of them before finding a set that worked. I'm not feeling great about monoprice being so bad since I think they were who I ended up going with...
I have a Freesync monitor and a GT 1030, freesync doesn't work, but the monitor itself is fine. It does use HDMI, though, but I doubt it's a monitor/GPU problem.
I run a XB241YU monitor over display cable with sli 1080tis and had the same issue with the monitor randomly blanking or not waking from sleep with the PC, bought a fairly thick 1.4 rated cable and the issue went away, so for $15 a cable I’d say try those first.
Thank you for the great video! Have you tested any coiled hdmi cables? Those can be very useful for camera rigging and/or portable monitor applications. But...are they any good?
Oh man these are the details I needed!
8:42 During engineering work, I prefer something that consistently fails... makes it much easier to diagnose and address.... though, preferably not in production 0_0
When Linus said that I was like "wait, isn't that a good thing?" Then I read you commentary and remebered I'm also an engineer hahaha
I really wanna know if the “HDMI 2.1” cables they include with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles are within spec.
I'm sure they are, Microsoft is known to make really high quality cables and Sony is very reputable
They are.
The one that came with my XSX shows complete compatibility with my LG C1 on the XSX display compatibility screen.
@@SDkillaa But as linus pointed out the ROG cable was bad and they are a reputable company too.
@@aussiebattler96 This is what they're saying about ROG cable on their spreadsheet: "Nearly passed signal on 2.1, but failed outright due to shell continuity fail. This IS a used cable though so take that with a grain of salt. It will run a signal fine."
@@aussiebattler96 True but I've never heard of ASUS being known for good cables in particular, but I've always heard that about Microsoft, can't speak for Sony tho
Such a quality Video thank you for this. Does a similiar Video about usb c cables exist?
I absolutely love real testing (with proper numbers and/or fail/pass vs. a standard). I'm totally in sync with you on the digital transmission when it comes to data. But in some audio applications you are in fact missing a point on the jitter: Sony/Philips are the culprits. Probably not with evil intentions - but still. The S/PDIF interface (audio over coaxial cable) and the equivalent TOSLINK (audio over optical fiber) embeds the clock into the signal. The clock (for sampling in the centre of "the eye") are then extracted by the receiver with a PLL (phase locked loop) either analogue or digital. Not a big deal in data applications, the signal will get through without errors through almost anything. The problem in audio application is that the actual DACs typically use the extracted clock directly for generating the analog audio. Unfortunately, the jitter on this clock it's actually quite audible on decent systems. Typically, the stereo perspective is affected the most. In a perfect world, the PLLs should remove all jitter. Unfortunately, they typically both introduce their own jitter and have a jitter transfer from the incoming signal. The good solution would be to have the (good) clock near the DAC chip and then transfer it to the data source (typically a CD transport or a streaming device). Alternatively, simply integrate the two (as in most CD-players etc). That way your point with the data simply being transferred error free would hold up. And I would expect that jitter on the clock would by totally non-detectable on the picture in an HDMI application. I would actually presume the audio would also be indifferent since the clock transferred is probably much, much higher than the audio bit clock. But since I've (also) been at a point where I stubbornly denied any audible differences between TOSLINK cables, I'm not a fan of conclusions based on presumptions... ;-)
With USB-C/Thunderbolt being the new thing, I would love to see how good all these USB-C/Thunderbolt cables really are. As I have gotten a few that have not done as they've claimed.
As an audiophile, sound designer and Dj i would love to see how audio cables compete as i only use my ears and don't hear any difference at all or it starts popping and crackling immediately and know not to use that one. I mainly use Devine cables, they are inexpensive compared to most other brands and the build quality is fairly decent. Would like to see a stand off between Cordial and Roland per example or, Pro-cab, Stagg, Audioquest, Devine, Klotz, Neutrik just to name a few! Keep up the good work :D
As guitar player audio enginer, singer, songwriter, audiophile, and playboy, i would love to see extensive extreme and exagerated testing on audiocables and tequila drinks in this channel
Would’ve liked if you talked more about the category 3 HDMIs 48GBPS with Ethernet. Like if they’re actually better than regular 2.1 HDMI, like the one that comes with the PS5 or Xbox. Also wanted to know about the brand GE (General Electric). Very popular out here.
Please do more of these types of videos!!!
Linus you guys SHOULD start selling cables on your store and also have them cable tested to meet spec I would gladly buy if it is a good cable
While tooling up for a cable would be expensive. I'd be ok with 3rd party selling a "Linus Approved" cable. That Linus has to secret shop and approach the company to offer to sell, not the company sending cherry picked samples to bait in an offer.
They touched on this idea in the first video, finding a supplier that will consistently provide good quality cables seems to be an issue. Just like everything else they are branding they wont sell it till they can guarantee its the best out there.
@@XboxUnitD77 Linus has already mentioned this Company a few times, and in this Video as "King" with a Guarantee 2.1 certified cable. I shop there all the time, great quality products for great prices and great services.
@@thanakom2946 What? Why phrase things in such a cryptic way?
Assuming they can keep the cost below $1 per foot
Huge kudos for making this, buying cables has always just been a case of *shrug*, they seem reputable and having no idea what things to look out for. Thank you for using your buying power to shine a light on things to look out for here.
And displayport please
I used an audio quest Forrest for a 25 foot run. I had so many issues with mono price and others. Got it for a decent discount. I bet many of the ones you bought are from same factory. Also there are a lot of differences with long runs and different for need (projector vs panel).
I need more cable tester videos. I've watched this and the display port video a few times a piece. Can they test USB cables?
Professor Riley is lit 🔥
Agreed!
his mustache makes me wet
No, he's EE. Professor Colin teaches lit.
The way he talks reminds me of Bill Nye
@@PabzRoz wow easy there
This is my favorite kind of content from you, Linus. Deep dive on a product I use, pragmatic and data driven comparisons, helped me save money and skip bullshit, entertaining but not cringe. More beast mode pragmatic deep dives, please! THIS is your best product.
Completely agree!
I actually like the cringe lol
Was about to comment this until I saw yours
@@micaiahfonken I hear you. The thing about the cringe, tho... is that it is cringe.
Exactly the same loss happens on i2c or spi bus protocols. Solid core wire seems to work much better carrying signal over longer distances
Ok. This was good. A long way from "a hangar is just as good as monster cables." Great job Mr. Tech Tips. I'm impressed, and that's a true feat!
I feel like it's a given that you should test the Audioquest HDMI Cables, however id be interested to see the cables that come with more everyday electronics like the Series X/S/One, PS5/PS4, and maybe even Cables that come with Monitors, especially the more expensive ones that support HDMI 2.1. I feel like it would make a great follow up video to this!
Considering they have a tester now, going forward they should test every HDMI cable that comes with whatever product they're reviewing. Wouldn't take up much review time unless they had to explain how/why it failed.
Ooh, I really like the idea of testing included cables. Seems like a good follow up.
Plus one for audioquest and my series x cables
I would be extremely interested in seeing how different audio cable brands stack up to each other, especially the "audiophile-grade" ones. Hosa is pretty much ubiquitous when it comes to inexpensive audio cables, and I don't believe I've ever had any issues with their stuff. Curious what kind of benefit something like Monster of AudioQuest could possibly be offering.
This!
@@scorpioassmodeusgtx1811 I'd say that depends on whether the cable carries a digital or analogue signal. Analog signals are much more susceptible to any type of interference or jitter.
The answer is no. Anything you listen to, unless you have a real problem, is in a digital signal, so if you can hear it, you can hear all of it
I would like to see this answered. I'm looking for a new HDMI.
+1
This was awesome, thanks for the deep dive and please dive deaper!
So from a pure conductor perspective most HDMI cable manufactures are buying bulk cables from a very limited number of suppliers. The suppliers will either sell large spools of jacketed or unjacketed cables (the jacket being the outer insulator surface). Unjacketed cables are usually sold to places that want to use specialized coatings or colorings. The cables really tend to be of only a few different grades overall, so in most cases your really looking at 3 cable grades from the top 2 manufacturers being 90% of all off the shelf cables.
The risk increases a bit with the unjacketed cables. This means the wiring company sold the spool, but depending on how the custom cable maker handled and finished it could have caused damage to the shielding or stress on the individual pairs of conductors. So unless it a good quality brand, its best to buy the stock black, standard PVC jacket.
The overall biggest factor in most cables is the termination. The two end connectors make a massive difference in the quality of most cables. And your not talking gold plating or exotic copper alloys. Its mainly how well the machines are made, inspected, and maintained. Setting pins properly into connectors is not easy and is the number one cause of issues in cables, when the cable or pin is just barely in place it causes poor signal performance. The next major factor in terminations is how those pairs were cut and shields removed. At higher transmission rates just accidentally removing one twist or stripping back the foil shields 2-5mm too much can cause the cable to go from perfect to failure.
And the last factor is the really unknown quantity of how willing the company owning the brand put on the cable was willing to check for rejects. As much as they are not supposed to pass cables that fail there is always pressure on the factories to have a bigger percentage of more "good" cables. They tend to cheat and not check them all, knowing that noone will find out they are skewing their numbers.
It was mentioned elsewhere that the only substantive (physical) difference between a cable that is HDMI 2.0 and 2.1 rated has to do with the degree of impurities in the conductors. The idea there being that the freer of impurities the conductor is the faster the signal the cable can carry reliably. As the two main types of wire used are Copper Coated Aluminum (CCA) and OFC (Oxygen Free Copper). The main difference there being that aluminum is only about 60% as conductive as copper. Additionally, there are at least three different types/level of OFC copper as well, each with a varying degree of impurity: (OFE) 99.99% pure copper with .0005% oxygen content, (OF) 99.95% pure copper with .001% oxygen content, and (ETP) 99.9% pure copper with .02% oxygen content. It would be so helpful if cable manufacturers were required to disclose this level of detail on the packaging. That way, consumers would always know just exactly what it is they are getting - and just as importantly, what they are paying for.