How to check if my hdmi cable support 4K?

[lin9406]

Hello.I recently purchased a ps4 pro. I want to test if my hdmi cable can really support 4k with targeted refresh rate. My pc's graphic card are not able to output 4k, so is there a way to test if the cable can support 4k? What happen if the cable does not support 4k

[Razzee]

Even a HDMI 1.3 compliant cable does 4K/60Hz.

[UMxMarky94]

a cable is a cable is a cable

[zMeul]

generally a good quality cable is enough for UHD resolution - https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-High-Speed-HDMI-Cable-Standard/dp/B014I8SSD0 this is good enough

 

the problem arises when you want to do more and push the cable to it's limits, then the problems arise:

 

HDMI.org has a certification program to distinguish top of the line cables

[zMeul]

2 minutes ago, UMxMarky94 said:

a cable is a cable is a cable

 

3 minutes ago, Razzee said:

Even a HDMI 1.3 compliant cable does 4K/60Hz.

not that simple

HDR will push the limits of the cables and very good quality cables are required; see my post above

[Mira Yurizaki]

If you want it guaranteed to support 4K 60Hz, it must be HDMI 2.0 certified.

 

Otherwise any cable, as long as it's high quality, will do.

 

EDIT: The HDMI cable that comes with the PS4 Pro is 4K HDR capable, by the way.

[lin9406]

8 minutes ago, zMeul said:

generally a good quality cable is enough for UHD resolution - https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-High-Speed-HDMI-Cable-Standard/dp/B014I8SSD0 this is good enough

 

the problem arises when you want to do more and push the cable to it's limits, then the problems arise:

 

HDMI.org has a certification program to distinguish top of the line cables

 

Wow thanks, such a good reply. So basically if my cable does not support I will have problem like in the video?

This is the cable I ordered, some reviews said it does not support 4k https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Gold-Plated-Speed/dp/B00P2PQBCY/ref=sr_1_1?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1488993908&sr=1-1&keywords=cable+matter+hdmi

But it is on the way so I will give it a try

[The_Denks]

Its not so much the cable, as the connector and HDMI controller in the devices you are connecting

[lin9406]

1 minute ago, M.Yurizaki said:

If you want it guaranteed to support 4K 60Hz, it must be HDMI 2.0 certified.

 

Otherwise any cable, as long as it's high quality, will do.

 

EDIT: The HDMI cable that comes with the PS4 Pro is 4K HDR capable, by the way.

Yes I like that cable, too bad is too short for my setup

[Ryujin2003]

12 minutes ago, UMxMarky94 said:

a cable is a cable is a cable

So this one isn't better? https://www.amazon.com/WIREWORLD-Chroma-Audio-Video-Cable/dp/B00BUMU3HW/ref=pd_day0_23_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00BUMU3HW&pd_rd_r=MASPAYG0HVDRA5T2AA99&pd_rd_w=ioRPn&pd_rd_wg=V6n7V&psc=1&refRID=MASPAYG0HVDRA5T2AA99

 

14 minutes ago, Razzee said:

Even a HDMI 1.3 compliant cable does 4K/60Hz.

I thought HDMI 1.3 only did 4K at 30Hz, and 2.0 did 4k at 60 Hz?

[zMeul]

2 minutes ago, lin9406 said:

Wow thanks, such a good reply. So basically if my cable does not support I will have problem like in the video?

This is the cable I ordered, some reviews said it does not support 4k https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Gold-Plated-Speed/dp/B00P2PQBCY/ref=sr_1_1?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1488993908&sr=1-1&keywords=cable+matter+hdmi

But it is on the way so I will give it a try

for basics, it shout be OK

but for UHD HDR content at 60FPS ..... highly doubt it

[Mira Yurizaki]

1 minute ago, Ryujin2003 said:

I thought HDMI 1.3 only did 4K at 30Hz, and 2.0 did 4k at 60 Hz?

This is correct.

[lin9406]

17 minutes ago, zMeul said:

for basics, it shout be OK

but for UHD HDR content at 60FPS ..... highly doubt it

Hey man just one more question. By for the basic you mean 4k at 60hz? So the one I ordered will support 4k at 60hz?

[Glenwing]

1 hour ago, Razzee said:

Even a HDMI 1.3 compliant cable does 4K/60Hz.

 

1 hour ago, Ryujin2003 said:

I thought HDMI 1.3 only did 4K at 30Hz, and 2.0 did 4k at 60 Hz?

 

1 hour ago, M.Yurizaki said:

This is correct.

The confusion is that when HDMI 2.0 initially was released, the HDMI consortium said that High-Speed HDMI cables (the ones used for HDMI 1.3, certified for up to 10.2 Gbit/s) would be sufficient for HDMI 2.0, and continued saying this for 2 years after the specification launched, but have since retracted this statement in the face of evidence to the contrary and have since released the Premium High Speed (18.0 Gbit/s) certification level which actually tests that cables can handle this bandwidth.

 

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/note-about-hdmi-2.htm

 

Quote

In this way, the designers of the spec avoided needing to create a third tier of mandatory HDMI cable compliance. Any actual certified Category 2 "High Speed" HDMI cable should carry ANY bandwidth called for by any HDMI 2.0 compliant device. This is a bit of a cheat -- one cannot really validly extrapolate the high-frequency performance of a cable from its lower-frequency performance -- and as a consequence, after discovering that in fact some valid "high speed" cables (and, of course, the many counterfeit "high speed" cables which are out there in the market) will NOT handle 18.0 Gbps, HDMI Licensing created the optional "Premium HDMI Cable" certification.

 

Quote

HDMI Licensing acknowledges the issue of some "high speed" cable not quite being up to the task of actually handling the full 2.0 bandwidth, saying:
 

"Although many current High Speed HDMI Cables in the market will perform as originally expected (and support 18Gbps), some unanticipated technical characteristics of some compliant High Speed HDMI Cables that affect performance at higher speeds have been found. These cables are compliant with the Category 2 HDMI Cable requirements and perform successfully at 10.2Gbps, but may fail at 18 Gbps."

That being said, every single Cat 2 HDMI cable I have tried has worked for 4K 60 Hz. It's really only the cheaper "barely passed the 10.2 Gbit/s certification" cables that will fail.

[Mira Yurizaki]

Just now, Glenwing said:

The confusion is that when HDMI 2.0 initially was released, the HDMI consortium said that High-Speed HDMI cables (rated for 10.2 Gbit/s, or HDMI 1.3 bandwidth) would be sufficient for HDMI 2.0, and continued saying this for 2 years after the specification launched, but have since retracted this statement and released the Premium High Speed (18 Gbit/s) certification level.

I'm just going off the table of supported features in each HDMI version and assuming TV manufacturers won't deviate from it because any deviation would mean compatibility issues.

 

Also with some quick calculation, 60Hz UHD exceeds 10.2Gbps.

• 3840 * 2160 * 3 bytes per pixel = 24,883,200 bytes per frame
• 24,883,200 * 60 Hertz = 1,492,992,000 bytes per frame per second.
• 1,492,992,000 / 2^30 = ~1.39 Gigabytes per frame per second.
• ~1.39 Gigabytes * 8 = ~11.12 gigabits per frame per second.

I guess maybe with some downsampling to 18 bpp you could get UHD 60Hz in 10.2 Gbps.

[Glenwing]

26 minutes ago, M.Yurizaki said:

I'm just going off the table of supported features in each HDMI version and assuming TV manufacturers won't deviate from it because any deviation would mean compatibility issues.

 

Also with some quick calculation, 60Hz UHD exceeds 10.2Gbps.

• 3840 * 2160 * 3 bytes per pixel = 24,883,200 bytes per frame
• 24,883,200 * 60 Hertz = 1,492,992,000 bytes per frame per second.
• 1,492,992,000 / 2^30 = ~1.39 Gigabytes per frame per second.
• ~1.39 Gigabytes * 8 = ~11.12 gigabits per frame per second.

I guess maybe with some downsampling to 18 bpp you could get UHD 60Hz in 10.2 Gbps.

Yes, 10.2 Gbit/s is not enough for 4K 60 Hz, that is really beside the point. Cables are certified with a bandwidth requirement, not a bandwidth limit; so cables certified for "High-Speed" (which requires 10.2 Gbit/s) just means they have been tested up to 10.2 Gbit/s and not tested beyond there. It does not tell you how much bandwidth the cable can actually handle, it just tells you it can handle at least the amount required by the certification. Of course this doesn't mean all High-Speed cables will work for HDMI 2.0, but some will (and in fact, most will).

 

The reason you'll see some people (probably including me, if you search old posts) say that all 10.2 Gbit/s "High-Speed" certified cables will work for 18 Gbit/s bandwidth is because the HDMI consortium stated that certified High-Speed cables would be sufficient for 18.0 Gbit/s bandwidth, so lots people still say that, even though the HDMI consortium later retracted that statement.

 

Also worth noting that "High-Speed" was the highest available certification level for the first two years after HDMI 2.0 was released, which is why so many cables that can handle 18 Gbit/s perfectly well still only carry a "High-Speed" certification, which unfortunately helps reinforce the belief that all High-Speed HDMI cables will work for HDMI 2.0 full bandwidth. Like I said though, most actually will, just not all.

[RyGuy99]

The top pinned thread under displays will answer pretty much any question you could need about cables. Check. That before creating a new thread about it...