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How do I pick the best HDMI cable?

Despite efforts on the part of some manufacturers to label their cables as HDMI 2.0 or HDMI 2.1, what differentiates one HDMI cord from another isn’t the HDMI version. That version number (1, 1.4, 2.0, 2.1, etc.) describes the capabilities of your hardware — from OLED TVs and soundbars to AV receivers, etc. — not your HDMI cables.

That said, there is a relationship between the version of HDMI your devices use and the kind of HDMI cable you should buy.

Speed (or bandwidth)

Speed is the single biggest consideration when choosing an HDMI cable because if your cable isn’t fast enough for your specific equipment, HDMI version, and media sources, it won’t be reliable.

HDMI cable speed is measured in gigabits per second (Gbps); don’t worry, you don’t need to memorize a bunch of numbers. To keep things simple, HDMI.org — the group that maintains the specifications for both HDMI devices and HDMI cables — sorts HDMI cable speed into four main categories:

Standard HDMI

If you don’t own a 4K UHD TV and you don’t plan on buying one any time soon, a standard HDMI cable is probably all you need. It supports HD video in both 720p and 1080i resolutions. We’ve seen 1080p work with standard HDMI cables, but it’s not guaranteed. You can use these regular HDMI cables with DVD players, Blu-ray players, game consoles, streaming media players, and even AV receivers and soundbars. Just keep in mind, if you ever decide to venture beyond the realm of HD, you may need something faster.

High Speed HDMI

This is the AV world’s workhorse. High Speed HDMI cables can manage any device or content all the way up to video with 4K resolution at 30Hz. 3D video, deep color, and, of course, 1080p HD are all supported. Static HDR (like HDR10) will work, too, although we don’t recommend this kind of cable if you want to experience Dolby Vision HDR. As a dynamic version of HDR, it uses a lot more data and thus benefits from a faster cable.

Premium High Speed HDMI

As long as you’re sticking to the world of 4K UHD, and you don’t anticipate wanting to use bleeding-edge features like 8K or eARC, a Premium High Speed HDMI cable is going to last you for a very long time. It’s guaranteed to offer 18Gbps, which is what HDMI 2.0b devices need to perform at their best. This premium HDMI cable can support 4K resolution up to 60Hz, all flavors of HDR, including Dolby Vision and HDR10+, and audio return channel (ARC) so that you can simplify your cabling to your TV with just a single connection.

If you bought your TV or any other piece of AV equipment in the last three or four years, Premium High Speed is the way to go.

Ultra High Speed HDMI

Welcome to the top of the HDMI tower. Ultra High Speed HDMI is for people who want the ultimate in future-proofing. Representing the bleeding-edge of HDMI tech, ultra-certified cables are guaranteed to provide the full 48Gbps that enables all of the advanced features in the HDMI 2.1 specification, including 8K/60Hz, 4K/240Hz, and 4K/120Hz video, eARC, all versions of HDR, and the many varieties of variable refresh rate (VRR) technologies.

Do you need this kind of cable? At the moment, only two categories of folks can really benefit from it: Next-gen gamers on consoles like the PS5 or Xbox Series X, both of which support gaming in 4K/120Hz and 8K/60Hz, and those who own 8K TVs or some newer gaming monitors and TVs. Keep in mind, to be able to game at 4K/240Hz, 4K/120Hz or 8K/60Hz, your TV needs to support these resolutions and frame rates, too.

Cable length

In an ideal world, you’d pick the HDMI cable that had the shortest possible length for your desired components. Setups have a habit of changing as you add, remove, and relocate your AV gear, so make sure you select an HDMI cable that is long enough for your current and future needs, especially if you’re installing it in a wall or ceiling.

But be wary of any HDMI cable that runs longer than 25 feet. These super-long cables can suffer from signal degradation, and you might find that long cables do not maintain a reliable connection between your devices, and don’t even think of connecting several together with an HDMI adapter, that won’t work either. Always check to make sure an HDMI cable works with all of your devices, HDMI switch, HDMI splitter, and content types before installing it permanently. An active HDMI cable uses a small chip to borrow a tiny bit of power from the devices they’re connected to, which helps maintain signal strength over longer distances.

When considering longer cable runs, cable quality becomes much more important. Read customer and pro reviews carefully before you buy a long cable and make sure the manufacturer has a good warranty.

Installation type — it matters

If you’re planning on running an HDMI cable through a wall or ceiling, it must be rated for that type of use. Do not run a standard HDMI cable behind drywall; its protective covering has not been designed to withstand accidental contact with construction materials like nails, screws, and metal drywall hangers. Look for cables with a CL2 or CL3 rating, and always check your local building codes for compliance before installing. Installing an HDMI cable in a wall isn’t always a great idea, even if the cable is rated for in-wall use. Check out our HDMI alternatives section below for other ways to run an AV signal through walls or over long distances.

Will high-speed HDMI cables always work?

In the past, most experts would have said that either an HDMI cable works or it doesn’t. Unlike analog cables, where the signal quality can degrade from excellent to poor and have a corresponding effect on video or audio, HDMI is a digital cable — and ones and zeroes don’t have quality. They either make it from the source device (like a Blu-ray player) to the destination device (a TV), or they do not. Occasionally, if there is a problem with the signal path (usually caused by a cable run that’s too long), you’ll see “sparkles” on the TV screen. This means that some of the ones and zeroes aren’t making it across the gap. The solution is almost always to replace your HDMI cable with a shorter one.

However, new technologies like Dolby Vision and HDR10+ use far more bandwidth than even HDR10. Known generically as dynamic HDR, these formats can be very picky about HDMI cable transmission speed. For instance, when you enable Dolby Vision for the first time on an Apple TV 4K, it will test the speed of the HDMI connection to your Dolby Vision-compatible 4K HDR TV. If the speed isn’t sufficient, you won’t be able to use Dolby Vision, and the Apple TV will revert to HDR10 for HDR content. We’ve found that even when using a high-speed cable that passes this speed test, there can still be times when the Dolby Vision connection drops out, resulting in a black screen.

Because of this, we strongly recommend that if you have Dolby Vision or HDR10+ AV equipment, you only buy high-speed HDMI cables that are guaranteed to deliver the full 18Gbps and that you test them thoroughly with Dolby Vision or HDR10+ content before installing them more permanently.

Likewise, if you own or plan to own a next-gen gaming console, an ultra-high-speed HDMI cable is essential if you want to be able to exploit all of the capabilities of your console.

What are some HDMI cable alternatives?

Run a cable conduit

Running an HDMI cable through a wall over a short distance of 10 feet or less is usually no problem, as long as the HDMI cable is CL-rated. But this setup isn’t ideal, even using a cable intended for in-wall use. For one thing, they’re difficult or impossible to repair if damaged, making them a problematic choice for in-wall use, according to Jeff Napoleone of Cloud 9 AV in Toronto. Napoleone recommends installing a cable conduit behind the wall if you’re sticking with HDMI. That makes it easier to run the cable and also offers additional protection.

HDMI-over-Ethernet

If you’re going to need a cable that spans extended distances, your best bet is to purchase an HDMI-over-Ethernet extender. The system uses a standard Cat5 or Cat6 networking cable, which is easier to wire through walls and much easier to repair than a damaged HDMI cable. It is worth noting that despite an earnest search on our part, there are currently no HDMI-over-Ethernet extenders with a viable connection for the complete HDMI 2.1 feature. 

Network cable

Networking cable can be a much more cost-efficient option than HDMI, especially if you have a long distance to span. You pay for networking cable by the foot, and each foot costs a nickel at most, so even if it adds up, it can still be very long without breaking the bank. Another benefit is the ability to swap out the transmitter and receiver for newer devices as technology improves, without having to rewire.

Wireless HDMI

While they’ve been around for more than a decade, wireless HDMI hasn’t really taken off, mostly due to the lack of standards in the industry and questions about their ability to handle latency — or a lag in the signal being transferred from your component/source to your TV. That said, if you don’t want to deal with the messy nest of cables behind your media center, or have some distance you just can’t cover with cables, they are relatively simple to set up (a transmitter plugs into the HDMI port of your component and a receiver into your TV’s HDMI port) and might be the solution for you.