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THX launches HDMI-cable certification program

By Marcus Wong - on 19 Dec 2014, 4:10pm

THX launches HDMI-cable certification program

Why the need for certification on something as generic as cables? Well, according to THX, common cables which perform flawlessly with HD content tend to demonstrate faults with higher bandwidth 4K test material. This was discovered when the company was evaluating new 4K televisions, and THX’s conclusion is that a significant portion of HDMI cables available today – specifically in lengths of 5m and greater – can demonstrate faults when passing high-bandwidth content such as 4K 60 fps.

THX certification will not only help “guarantee that viewers experience content in its truest form but also ensures THX-certified cables will be compatible with future content delivered in years to come”, says the company.

Under the THX 4K interconnect program, cables will be certified if they fulfil the performance requirements of 3Gbps per channel (Level 3) or 6Gbps per channel (Level 6) data rates. This will ensure future-proofing as THX expects future ultra-high resolution content with no chroma subsampling to require HDMI cables to support a bandwidth of up to 6Gbps per channel.

The cables will have to pass around 75 laboratory tests that cover electrical and communication-protocol performance as well as mechanical integrity and interoperability, ensuring that the cables have no effect on picture and audio quality, and will be compatible with future content delivered in years to come. The latter point is perhaps more important, as installations which involve long cable runs would be particularly hard to replace later on.

Kordz is the first company to have their line of cables certified by THX and they currently have two lines: the THX Level 3-certified R.3 line and the THX Level 6-certified EVS line.Both cables will be introduced at International CES.

Sources: Twice.com, THX

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