Belden

HDMI Cables

Belden, the leader in professional

audio/video signal transmission

technology, now offers a reliable

HDMI interface between any

compatible digital audio/video

source and a compatible digital

audio and/or video monitor.

NP 266E

New Product Bulletin

Belden Introduces HDMI

Cables for High Definition

Audio and Video

The world of entertainment media is going di -

gital at an amazing pace. One major element

of that rapidly-evolving scene is the advent of

home theater, an exciting entertainment option

that provides consumers with a total-immersion

viewing and listening experience.

But home theater devices must be capable of

sending and receiving a wide range of video and

audio signal types. That means the selection of

cables to support that signal traffic will be cri -

tical – no one wants to bury new cables behind

dry-wall today only to find out tomorrow they

degrade image and sound. The use of HDMI-

compliant cable from Belden will help ensure

that you enjoy superior, uncompressed digital

video and audio quality in your new home the-

ater as your installation expands and evolves.

More audio-video professionals use Belden than

any other cable brand. In fact, more radio and

television broadcasters use Belden than all other

brands combined. As these broadcasters have

migrated to digital transmission technology,

Belden has remained the brand they prefer.

Now, the #1 choice of professionals can be

your choice, too.

Belden offers a complete line of cables and re -

lated products for use by the home theater in -

staller, including 26 AWG shielded twisted pair

HDMI cables in lengths of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7 meters.

What is an HDMI Cable?

The acronym “HDMI” stand for High Definition

Multimedia Interface. It’s the first (and to-date

only) industry-supported interface for uncom-

pressed, all-digital audio/video. This standard

was created by a consortium of media-industry

giants for high performance digital connections.

There have already been five versions of HDMI

since it was first released in 2002. Each has

provided the consumer more features and per-

formance, but also specified more speed and

bandwidth.

An HDMI cable gives you a reliable interface

between any audio/video source and any audio

and/or video monitor in your home theater

setup, as well as providing support for standard,

enhanced, or high-definition video and multi-

channel digital audio – all on a single assembly!

To cite just a few application examples, Belden

HDMI digital video/audio cables might be used

to connect HDMI sources like broadband/ cable

set-top boxes, digital video recorders, DVD

players, HD-DVD and Blu-ray players to displays

like plasma screens, digital light projection (DLP)

projectors, liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) and

liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) or digital image

light amplification (D-ILA) devices, among others.

Belden

for Quality

Digital computer data is relatively tolerant of

transmission losses, but video data is not. If you

want a sharp, clear picture on your displays,

accurate transmission of data bits is essential.

That means it’s important to purchase a high

quality HDMI cable. Unfortunately, quite a few

inferior cables, not tested or certified to exact-

ing specifications as are Belden products, are

being marketed today.

What you’ll see on your displays when you use

inferior cables depends on your system sources

and the capabilities of your TV, but might

include problems like pixel loss, colors not as

deep as they should be, an increase of image

graininess, the presence of artifacts – and, pos-

sibly even a total loss of picture.

Currently, 1080p (Category 2, version 1.3b) is

the highest resolution format used for broad-

casting and consumer distribution of video

content. In the term "1080p" the number 1080

represents 1080 lines of vertical display resolu-

tion, and the letter p stands for a progressive

(non-interlaced) scan. Belden’s HDMI cables are

performance tested to verify their capability

to handle transmissions in advanced high defi-

nition applications based on 1080p. Our digital

video/audio cables are also UL-rated for resi-

dential and commercial installations (including

in-wall use).

Belden verifies HDMI cable performance, among

other methods, with a technique known as an

"Eye-Pattern" test. Other critical electrical para -

meters tested by Belden include Impedance,

Attentuation, Crosstalk, and Skew.

In eye pattern testing, the digital data signal

traveling along the cable is repetitively sampled

and applied to the vertical input of an oscillo-

scope, while the data rate is used to trigger the

horizontal sweep. The result seen on the scope

is a series of lines that might be thought of as

signal traces. In the very middle of the eye dia-

gram is a flattened hexagon called the "eye

mask." If signal traces cross into the region of

the eye mask, the cable fails the test (see the

pattern on left in the Figure). On the other

hand, an acceptably-performing cable (or other

HDMI component) will yield a wide “eye” area.

In general, if a source – a device generating an

HDMI signal – produces a good signal and if

the HDMI cable delivers that signal at least well

enough to pass the eye pattern test, the display

in your home theater setup should be able to

reconstitute the digital signal without errors.

(See Belden’s Eye Pattern test results.)

Ready for the Future

The Digital Revolution is just beginning. In the

not too distant future, you'll see exciting new

digital applications and devices and new ways

to enjoy music and movies in home theaters, as

well as more advanced technology enabling you

to receive the critical data you need in your

business, and vital news to keep you informed.

New cabling solutions from Belden will help

take you into that exciting future world of

home entertainment. Meanwhile, the Belden

HDMI cable you choose today will be the safest

product on the market to ensure your home

theater investment will be future-proof.

UL NEC/C(UL) Length HDMI Assembly 1080i 1080p

Part No. CEC Type Meters Feet Connector Compliance Verified Verified

HD2001 CM or CL2 1 3.28 Gold

Category 2, Version

1.3b

✓ ✓

HD2002 CM or CL2 2 6.56 Gold

Category 2, Version

1.3b

✓ ✓

HD2003 CM or CL2 3 9.84 Gold

Category 2, Version

1.3b

✓ ✓

HD2004 CM or CL2 4 13.12 Gold

Category 2, Version

1.3b

✓ ✓

HD2007 CM or CL2 7 22.96 Gold

Category 1, Version

1.3b

✓

Belden HDMI Cable Assemblies

Belden Technical Support +31 (0) 77 3875 414 www.belden-emea.com

05.08

HDMI Cable by Belden

The signal in a Belden HDMI cable is error-free.