Metra Home Theater Group’s tech team has fielded numerous phone calls about home theater cables not supporting 4K — even though the packaging says it will support this technology. The practice of misleading consumers is not new but in the world of 4K technology, it is causing problems for custom installers.

How can electronics companies get away with these false claims on their products? We’ve seen other manufacturers sell a cable claiming a “rated” bandwidth of 27 Gbps or even 31 Gbps on their HDMI® cables. However, it doesn’t work with 4k.

This is what we call “magic” math. If a signal can be measurable, certain manufacturers are measuring this and including this number to reach 27 and 31 Gbps. Keep in mind that this signal is not usable signal. This will make their cable “specs” look better, but it does not in any way make it perform better.

As a Custom Installer, it’s common knowledge that the source does not provide the voltage and current for its own digital output. This is instead provided by the display’s HDMI® input. What installers probably do not know is that 4K, 4:4:4 color and HDR has now changed how TV manufacturers are making their displays.

To provide 4K, 4:4:4 color and HDR, display manufacturers have to cut corners and stay competitively priced. To provide this technology at a lower cost, manufacturers reduced the number of display side power supplies. In addition, there is less power provided and only enough to go about two meters to your source using a passive cable.

If your install is somewhere between 5 meters to 20 meters and you are using an active HDMI® cable powered by the display, you will not have a picture!

What do you do?

Whether you call yourself a Custom Installer, Home Technology Professional or Custom Integrator, today you must be better educated for new technology than ever before. With all of this emphasis on “new” information, we should still be mindful of the installation basics. In this post, the former CIs at Metra Home Theater Group explain their top five most useful tips for Custom Installers that will keep you organized and efficient when in the field:

1. Have Quick Equipment Access: The ideal component rack should give you full access to both the front and rear panels so all wiring and controls are easily accessible.
   Remember, time is money so make sure your setup is as efficient as possible.
2. Use Adequate Ventilation: Most rack installs need to have a thermal management plan depending on the equipment.
   For example, amplification gear can produce a lot of heat when in use and if left to accumulate around your gear, this heat will damage your system components.
3. Prepare with Location Planning: On new construction jobs, never assume the builder is wiring for technology integration. A quick discussion in the planning process can save a lot of time later on. Whenever possible, the optimal location for a rack is within 50 feet of the display. Having the master equipment this close to the display will certify less problems down the road. Plan ahead whenever possible!

Metra Home Theater Group provides a range of sophisticated HDMI® cables to support all types of sources and displays regardless of your technology requirements. Our cables come in a range of prices and technology capabilities to cover your various installation needs. Here are three of our lines, broken down by when you’ll use them in an install:

Good — The MHX Series Cables:
The MHX series of HDMI cables interconnects incorporated advanced engineering, quality materials, and expert construction to give high performance at an affordable price. This means a great picture and sound. These cables offer a premium quality abrasion-resistant high temperature PVC jacket for maximum durability, as well as low-loss foam-skin polyethylene dielectric maximum signal transfer and superior picture quality.

The increasing demand for smart home automation, surveillance and technology requires running more wires. Whether it’s an existing home or a new home construction, running more wires is a huge undertaking. The former CIs in Metra Home Theater Group’s Research and Development department anticipate a shift to a more complicated installation process, with more wires requiring more ports. As the future of installation projects becomes more difficult, we will be ready with time saving solutions for home technology professionals, customer integrators and installers. Taking what we’ve learned on the job from real projects requiring more ports, we’ve developed a simple solution: the Decora Style Multi Port (CS-PCDEC08).

The Challenge:

The more wire you have, the more ports you need. Custom wall plates with more than 6 ports are hard to find. Organizing and hiding all the wires can become a real challenge. Applying drywall to cover large holes made for the wires requires additional costs and even more time. When a customer is in a rush to move in or finish a project, extra time for drywall may not even be an option.

The Solution:

Our CS-PCDECO8 is an 8 port decora insert panel made out of durable heavy gauge steel and powder coated. Metra Home Theater Group is one of the few (if not the only) providers of an 8 port panel plate, and we’ve designed this larger plate to cover existing holes.

This photo is from a job where the new home had wire run that needed to be organized before the customers moved in. The after photo shows the 8 port panel in place.