Jump to content

Optical HDMI 2.1 Cables

Stahlmann
By Stahlmann
in Displays
 Share
Go to solution Solved by Stahlmann,

For anyone who stumbles across this post searching for a working cable, THIS is the first one i found that works flawlessly.

Posted

Is there any technical limitation as to why optical cables cannot be used for the full 48Gbits HDMI 2.1 bandwidth? I've used several 10m+ optical cables that are marketed for HDMI 2.1 4K 120Hz 12bit 4:4:4 (or 8K 60Hz) support and never got one of them to actually work at anything higher than 4K 60Hz 10bit 4:2:2 (which is basically HDMI 2.0 bandwidth afaik).

 

To verify it's not an issue with my GPU or TV, i tried a 3m standard copper cable and it worked with the full bandwidth, resolution, etc. But i need the long cable because i have to route it from my desk to my TV across the whole room because i don't want to build a seperate PC or buy a console for my TV gaming.

 

Basically any longer optical cable i tried failed at delivering on it's HDMI 2.1 promises. Is that a technical limitation or why don't they work for me?

 

Normally it's not the biggest issue since 4K doesn't go above 60FPS in most games anyway and the chroma subsampling is not really noticeable, but i didn't pay 1300€ for a C9 OLED and 700€ for a 3080 to make a compomise because of cables....

If someone did not use reason to reach their conclusion in the first place, you cannot use reason to convince them otherwise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

What actual cables did you get? Would expect just plain lying on the specs if you got them cheap.

 

 

F@H
Desktop: i9-13900K, ASUS Z790-E, 64GB DDR5-6000 CL36, RTX3080, 2TB MP600 Pro XT, 2TB SX8200Pro, 2x16TB Ironwolf RAID0, Corsair HX1200, Antec Vortex 360 AIO, Thermaltake Versa H25 TG, Samsung 4K curved 49" TV, 23" secondary, Mountain Everest Max

Mobile SFF rig: i9-9900K, Noctua NH-L9i, Asrock Z390 Phantom ITX-AC, 32GB, GTX1070, 2x1TB SX8200Pro RAID0, 2x5TB 2.5" HDD RAID0, Athena 500W Flex (Noctua fan), Custom 4.7l 3D printed case

 

Asus Zenbook UM325UA, Ryzen 7 5700u, 16GB, 1TB, OLED

 

GPD Win 2

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author
33 minutes ago, Kilrah said:

What actual cables did you get? Would expect just plain lying on the specs if you got them cheap.

These are the two that i tried that didn't work: (10m)

https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B07MR4PRKD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B07SS9G3BX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

So basically not "cheap" cables as they were about 100€ each. Just noticed both cable explicitly say on their page "not compatible with 3080/3090 GPUs." I think it just says it there to cover up that it's not acutally HDMI 2.1 compatible. I can't think for a reason it should be compatible with everything but 30-series GPUs.

 

This one worked: (3m, bought just for veryfication)

https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B07ZRVBMY9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I've also ordered this one to test it out: (10m)

https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B07RLZ3T36/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I'm glad i can just return the stuff when ordering on amazon. So i'm gonna try this one out aswell for an eye-watering 170€.

If someone did not use reason to reach their conclusion in the first place, you cannot use reason to convince them otherwise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
4 minutes ago, Stahlmann said:

These are the two that i tried that didn't work: (10m)

https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B07MR4PRKD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B07SS9G3BX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

So basically not "cheap" cables as they were about 100€ each.

 

This one worked: (3m, bought just for veryfication)

https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B07ZRVBMY9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I've also ordered this one to test it out: (10m)

https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B07RLZ3T36/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I'm glad i can just return the stuff when ordering on amazon. So i'm gonna try this one out aswell for an eye-watering 170€.

Did any of them have the required markings of their certification number?

https://hdmi.org/spec21sub/ultrahighspeedcable

Forum Rules   |   Guide to Display Cables / Adapters

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author
3 minutes ago, Glenwing said:

Did any of them have the required markings of their certification number?

https://hdmi.org/spec21sub/ultrahighspeedcable

I know about the certification but i think there are no certified long cables yet. Like i said, the 3m cable i bought doesn't have the certification either, but has no problems handling the full Bandwidth.

If someone did not use reason to reach their conclusion in the first place, you cannot use reason to convince them otherwise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author
5 minutes ago, Glenwing said:

Did any of them have the required markings of their certification number?

https://hdmi.org/spec21sub/ultrahighspeedcable

Is there a list of all certified cables somewhere? I never seen the certification in any cable listing.

If someone did not use reason to reach their conclusion in the first place, you cannot use reason to convince them otherwise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted

theres was another on the forum with your exact same issue

14 minutes ago, Glenwing said:

Did any of them have the required markings of their certification number?

https://hdmi.org/spec21sub/ultrahighspeedcable

im curious if he might need active optical hdmi for that length?

 

 

on another note another member posted the same issue with running 10m optical 2.1

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author
1 minute ago, circeseye said:

theres was another on the forum with your exact same issue

im curious if he might need active optical hdmi for that length?

Both 10m cables i had were active Optical cables.

If someone did not use reason to reach their conclusion in the first place, you cannot use reason to convince them otherwise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
2 minutes ago, Stahlmann said:

Both 10m cables i had were active Optical cables.

aw ok it was language i couldnt read 🙂

 

just to see...are there ANY kinks, bends or flaws in the cables (i know they are new you never know)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
17 minutes ago, Stahlmann said:

I know about the certification but i think there are no certified long cables yet. Like i said, the 3m cable i bought doesn't have the certification either, but has no problems handling the full Bandwidth.

Making long cables that can pass this amount of data is very difficult so it doesn't really surprise me if no products at that length have been able to pass certification so far. And if they failed the certification and decide to market it as an "HDMI 2.1 cable" anyway, that also wouldn't surprise me. Regardless, of course there is nothing magical about the certification that makes it impossible to pass the 48 Gbit/s data without having the label, so there may be uncertified cables that will work. There's just no guarantee, that's all. Manufacturers are fairly well known to "exaggerate" the capabilities of their cables, so without proper certification it's a gamble. Might work, might not.

16 minutes ago, Stahlmann said:

Is there a list of all certified cables somewhere? I never seen the certification in any cable listing.

Not that I know of. It's something I wish they would add.

9 minutes ago, circeseye said:

theres was another on the forum with your exact same issue

im curious if he might need active optical hdmi for that length?

 

 

on another note another member posted the same issue with running 10m optical 2.1

Most likely yes for that length. But the inner workings of the cable are irrelevant to the certification, it's just an analysis of the input vs the output signal and whether it passes certain parameters. The internal workings of how the cable is constructed doesn't matter, so the certification applies just as much to optical cables as to copper cables.

Forum Rules   |   Guide to Display Cables / Adapters

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author
13 minutes ago, circeseye said:

aw ok it was language i couldnt read 🙂

 

just to see...are there ANY kinks, bends or flaws in the cables (i know they are new you never know)

I checked them before use and i tested them before i was installing them to a wall to make sure it's not my error from kinking them or breaking them otherwise. I know optical cables are very susceptible to damage. These cables are fine and can display a 4K 60Hz signal. Just not 4K 120Hz and what the marketing promises.

If someone did not use reason to reach their conclusion in the first place, you cannot use reason to convince them otherwise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
Posted
  • Author

@circeseye @Glenwing @Kilrah

 

Today i received my 3rd optical 15m HDMI 2.1 marketed cable. Again it doesn't work at anything higher than 4K 60Hz 12-bit 4:2:2. And that's not because i buy cheap cables. The cables i bought all were in between 100€ and 170€. From what i've read on reddit and other forums so far i've not seen anyone getting ANY 10m+ optical cables to work between their C9 TV's and RTX 3080's at any higher requirements than the HDMI 2.0 bandwidth. It really seems like there is a compatibility issue here.

 

I know for sure that my GPU can output the full HDMI 2.1 signal and my TV can receive and process it. Like i said i tested it with a shorter full copper passive cable and got it to work all the way up to 4K 120Hz 12bit 4:4:4.

 

I'm starting to think that optical cables in general are NOT capable of the HDMI 2.1 requirements.

 

I'd really like to know if this issue persists with other 4K 120Hz capable TV's and optical cables for validation...

If someone did not use reason to reach their conclusion in the first place, you cannot use reason to convince them otherwise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 5 months later...
Posted
  • Author
  • Solution

For anyone who stumbles across this post searching for a working cable, THIS is the first one i found that works flawlessly.

If someone did not use reason to reach their conclusion in the first place, you cannot use reason to convince them otherwise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing Displays

×