When is High Speed HDMI Required?
By Jason Knott
HDMI Licensing identifies four types of cables and outlines when each is necessary for 1080p.

In an attempt to minimize confusion surrounding HDMI 1.4, HDMI Licensing LLC has created a four-category labeling system. There previously were only two types of HDMI cables.

Only home theaters with Internet connections will require an HDMI cable with Ethernet. All other existing cables will support the remaining features of HDMI 1.4.



"With HDMI 1.4, only the Ethernet Channel requires a new upgraded cable," reiterates Jeff Park, technology evangelist for HDMI Licensing LLC. "That is only exception that requires a new cable."

Below is a chart of all the possible features of HDMI and what cables are required for each feature. When a homeowner is watching TV (or a projector) in any format below 1080p, there are only two instances when he will need a High Speed Cable: Deep Color and 120Hz from the source.

In both of these cases, if the homeowner is viewing 720p or 1080i content, a High Speed Cable is necessary because those features require almost double the bandwidth of standard definition.

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