A Dialogue with HDMI Licensing about DisplayPort Cables

[admin]

All joking in our title aside, HDMI Licensing has made some pretty questionable decisions in the past. The first that comes to mind is the declaration that everyone should stop using version numbers in favor of simply listing the various features implemented in the latest HDMI version. That went over like a pile of bricks and most of us, and many manufacturers for that matter, completely disregarded the "order" and carried on with business as usual. The latest "snafu" had to do with HDMI Licensing declaring HDMI to Mini DisplayPort cables persona non grata and (more or less) telling HDMI Licensees not to sell them.

Discuss "A Dialogue with HDMI Licensing about DisplayPort Cables" here. Read the article.

 

[Midwesthonky]

I can appreciate both sides of the argument. If no testing standards exist, one cannot simply allow for such cables to be produced and have people assume they are compliant and will work on all devices. That having been said, these cables are not new and HDMI Licensing really dropped the ball in not developing a testing framework for them as soon as they started to look like a real cable market. It isn't rocket science.

The cables are not going to go away and most people are not going to want to use a dongle. Collect the licensing fee and allow the manufacturers to sell them clearly labeled as non-compliant. Second, get off your but and develop the testing standards to ensure compliance because the advancement of smaller devices with video capability is increasing. The cables will continue to be in demand.

Just my humble opinion.

 

[Coult_45]

A cable company needs to put the dongle on the other end.

We are looking at this the wrong way.
The display will most likely be more stationary than the device with the minidisplay port. If you do have to use a minidisplay port hdmi adapter it should be attached to the stationary device.
Make a cable with two male minidisplay port conectors, and ship it with an adapter that has a femail minidisplay port and a male hdmi conector.

I think I would prefer that option over the dongle sticking out of my phone or computer.

 

[highfigh]

I think the whole HDMI format is a bunch of crap, it exists for bad reasons and was accepted far too easily by the industry. It's not a fault-tolerant method, it has far too may issues and can't be sent over long distances without expensive accessories. Component video is reliable, a lot less expensive, easy to field-terminate and dead reliable. oh, did I say 'reliable' twice?

If Hollywood could bring themselves to make good movies, it might not be so bad.

 

[Audioholics]

Companies like RedMere are making HDMI a LOT more palatable, even over long distances. At this point, lag is the only remaining issue I see (plus the added cost of active cables which is still rather high).

 

[Bob Walters]

Clint et als,
This might sound simplistic but....if there are 19 pins/wires on one end & matching pins/wires at the other end with a different connector configuration....it should work......basic electrical system!!!!!!

 

[highfigh]

Clint et als,
This might sound simplistic but....if there are 19 pins/wires on one end & matching pins/wires at the other end with a different connector configuration....it should work......basic electrical system!!!!!!

You'd think, but with a 5V communication connection that has almost no tolerance for voltage drop (.3V) ir interruption, long distances are not exactly guaranteed unless some kind of repeater or active cable is used, which equals higher cost for the ones that actually work. If a receiver or pre-pro is used for all switching of audio & video AND someone wants to use the TV's tuner in the event of a satellite/cable/U-Verse failure, the sound needs to get back to the receiver so it can play through the speakers and this means another HDMI cable plugged into the ARC port or an optical cable is needed. If the distance to the receiver is long, it's expensive. If the TV is right over the rest of the system, it's no big deal. If HDMI/optical isn't used, there's a good chance that lip-synch issues will occur and there's no guarantee that the lip-synch correction will be correct.

 

[Bob Walters]

.....sorry...... distance & voltage never entered my head...good point though.

 

[Adam]

This article reminded me to order one of those cables for my new Air. I fought the temptation until last night to place the order, but then I broke down. It'll get here tomorrow.