Intermittent HDMI Cable??

[mkgrady]

I installed an hdmi cable and the customer says the signal drops out intermittently. I thought hdmi cables either work or the don't. Any suggestions? Not impossible to replace but not easy either.

 

[brantmacga]

Yeh, it happens. Could also be an issue with HDMI connector on source or TV, but try a new cable first.


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[GoldDigger]

There may also be a problem with the length of the cable or sharp bends.

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[Smart $]

An intermittent source is not out of the question either. My cable box cuts out on occasion. At least I'm pretty certain it's the box. :blink:

 

[mkgrady]

There may also be a problem with the length of the cable or sharp bends.

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It's a 25' cable. I'm guessing that is not too long. Wonder if I can test the cable

 

[kwired]

It's a 25' cable. I'm guessing that is not too long. Wonder if I can test the cable

If you do a lot of installs might be worth getting something to test with, otherwise even some of the inexpensive testers I found on a quick google search cost as much or more then just replacing the cable.

 

[zbang]

It's a 25' cable. I'm guessing that is not too long. Wonder if I can test the cable

IME, cables don't (well, hardly every) go intermittent except at the connectors, and more often it's the device's connectors. Assuming it's a good-quality cable, my focus would be the on them.

OTOH, it's easy to loan another cable and drape it from source to display and see how that works.

 

[mkgrady]

If you do a lot of installs might be worth getting something to test with, otherwise even some of the inexpensive testers I found on a quick google search cost as much or more then just replacing the cable.

I do several hdmi installs every year. I see testers for as low as $20. Not sure if I would need to spend a lot more for something reliable. After all we can buy a multi meter for $10 but no pro would use one of those.

 

[GoldDigger]

It's a 25' cable. I'm guessing that is not too long. Wonder if I can test the cable

That length,.25', is about the limit for ordinary HDMI cable construction.
The loss in signal amplitude from cable capacitance can interact with external electrical noise to cause intermittent operation.
The use of buffering and error tolerant encoding makes for a sharp cutoff between seeming to be perfect and not having a picture at all.

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[hbiss]

Not impossible to replace but not easy either.

This is why cables from a TV should NEVER be installed so that they can't be easily changed. Smurf tube, large enough so that the connectors can pass through and installed so that the cable can be easily pulled through is the proper way. HDMI can be finicky and I would never install a cable into a wall like a romex run and count on it to work when the TV is installed.

You do know that cables over 25 feet utilize active connectors and only work one way with a definite in and out? I've never looked at testers for HDMI cables but I'll bet the cheap ones only do the shorter ones with straight through copper.

-Hal

 

[mkgrady]

This is why cables from a TV should NEVER be installed so that they can't be easily changed. Smurf tube, large enough so that the connectors can pass through and installed so that the cable can be easily pulled through is the proper way. HDMI can be finicky and I would never install a cable into a wall like a romex run and count on it to work when the TV is installed.

You do know that cables over 25 feet utilize active connectors and only work one way with a definite in and out? I've never looked at testers for HDMI cables but I'll bet the cheap ones only do the shorter ones with straight through copper.

-Hal

If the cable is installed backwards will it work at all, or will it work intermittently?

 

[hbiss]

Will not work.

I have seen what seemed to be intermittent problems caused by an incompatibility between a cable box and a TV. Like I say, HDMI protocol is finicky. It isn't just a method of moving data from one device to another, it also handles security by allowing a TV, for instance, to tell a blue ray player that it is authorized to display the content in HD because it's not some kind of recording device to copy the disc.

-Hal

 

[Smart $]

Will not work.

I have seen what seemed to be intermittent problems caused by an incompatibility between a cable box and a TV. Like I say, HDMI protocol is finicky. It isn't just a method of moving data from one device to another, it also handles security by allowing a TV, for instance, to tell a blue ray player that it is authorized to display the content in HD because it's not some kind of recording device to copy the disc.

That's known as HDCP... High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection.

 

[mkgrady]

Will not work.

I have seen what seemed to be intermittent problems caused by an incompatibility between a cable box and a TV. Like I say, HDMI protocol is finicky. It isn't just a method of moving data from one device to another, it also handles security by allowing a TV, for instance, to tell a blue ray player that it is authorized to display the content in HD because it's not some kind of recording device to copy the disc.

-Hal

I take from that that the hdmi is not run backwards?

 

[jerryalan]

After all we can buy a multi meter for $10 but no pro would use one of those.[/QUOTE]

a $10.00 or $20.00 multimeter will do most field work quite handily and if dropped, stolen or fried won't be a significant loss.

 

[kwired]

After all we can buy a multi meter for $10 but no pro would use one of those.

a $10.00 or $20.00 multimeter will do most field work quite handily and if dropped, stolen or fried won't be a significant loss.[/QUOTE]

True, but also consider some of those may blow up in your hand if you have it set on ohms and connect the leads to voltage.

 

[JFletcher]

I admit a fair amount of ignorance when it comes to HDMI, but ponder this:

a good 80% of reception problems are on the customer end, and usually from bad terminations of CATV. How do you know that the HDMI cable isnt simply exacerbating problems on the CATV side of this? Is this a mfg'd or field-terminated cable?

 

[mkgrady]

I admit a fair amount of ignorance when it comes to HDMI, but ponder this:

a good 80% of reception problems are on the customer end, and usually from bad terminations of CATV. How do you know that the HDMI cable isnt simply exacerbating problems on the CATV side of this? Is this a mfg'd or field-terminated cable?

The customer tells me the picture is also bad when connecting to a DVD player. I assume that leads to bad hdmi cable or bad jack on the tv. I suggested to try a different hdmi input on the tv. Have notecard back.

What I don't get is how a hdmi cable or jack can work intermittently. I imagine the contacts don't heat up and cause this. I would think the connection would be good or bad all the time.

 

[hbiss]

Only way to find out is to substitute a new cable. There are times where I had to fall back to a component connection (3 RCA video + 2 for audio) to make the devices work together.

How is the customer using one HDMI cable from the TV to multiple devices? Or is he just switching the cable from one to the other?

-Hal

 

[mkgrady]

Only way to find out is to substitute a new cable. There are times where I had to fall back to a component connection (3 RCA video + 2 for audio) to make the devices work together.

How is the customer using one HDMI cable from the TV to multiple devices? Or is he just switching the cable from one to the other?

-Hal

I don't know. He just hired me to run the hdmi and power to the tv. He wanted to take it from there.