We talk a lot about our cables while we are planning our displays for the CEDIA booth. Hours are spent grouping our cables together by category and the different technology they provide. I ask questions about each of our cables and when I started looking at my notes I saw these questions:

“What is the truth regarding HDMI and is there in fact a difference from one cable to another? Is there a reason to buy a better HDMI cable?”

In getting these answers, this blog post was born and over the next six weeks we are going to discuss the six parts of an HDMI cable and why customers should purchase a better (and preferably one of Metra Home’s) cables.

As most dealers know Metra Home has been a DPL member (www.dpllabs.com) since its inception. In our association with DPL we have learned that the vast majority of claims made about HDMI and HDMI cables are confusing and misleading. Metra Home has been fortunate to be associated with DPL and has over time received a reputation for good working, reliable and affordable products due to this association.

Jessy Crabb, General Manager of Metra Home Theater Group, discussed HDMI® 2.0, Ethereal products, and handling technologies including HDR and HDCP 2.2.

By CE Pro Editors, September 04, 2015

CE Pro went one–on–one with Jessy Crabb, General Manager, of Metra Home Theater Group.

Q. HDMI is moving into the 2.0 specification. How would you assess this transition?

A. We have found that with all the conflicting information in the industry dealers have been left confused and wary, just like with every other revision. Custom installers not only have to worry about making sure the sources and displays are capable of HDMI 2.0, they have to make sure that with double the bandwidth, their cables and accessories will go the distance to make their components work.

Q. How is Ethereal helping dealers make the transition from 1.4 to 2.0 technologies?

A. We focus on dealer training at trade shows, distributor shows and on a one-to-one basis. We provide ongoing, YouTube videos that are a great way for the dealer to keep up to date on the latest technology. We also have regular meetings with DPL Labs to keep both ourselves and our dealers in the know, and our tech support is available seven days a week…

We are gearing up for CEDIA 2015 in Dallas and this process includes shooting informational videos. The first batch of videos are up and ready for viewing. Here are the new videos:

Lists are always popular on blogs but lists can also be boring. This list is informative and important, just like our staff! Please leave comments and let us know if you agree.

1. 

   HDM-DAD

   What it does — verifies that all the EDID signals have the necessary integrity.
   Problems Solved — Provides analysis of the Low Speed Data Stream which includes the 5 volt feed from the source to the display, the Hot Plug Detect return voltage from the display to the course, the Data line and Clock feed. The LED display lights on the top of the case indicate the status of these EDID components. If there are issues with any of these feed the DAD will repair them.

2. 

   HDM-JRPLUS

   What it does — Less expensive EDID repair tool to leave at the job site to solve all the same issues of the HDM-DAD.
   Problems Solved — Audio drop outs, long sync times between sources, “HDCP not supported” issues on your display screen, “Mode not supported” on your display screen, “Mode out of range” on your display screen, black screen on your display and Picture and Sound drop out for a few seconds and then returns are all solved by this product. The HDM-VI2 is fully HDMI® 2.0, 18 Gbps compatible meaning this product will fulfill your needs of today and into the future.