My living room TV and basement office setup are pretty complicated as far as HDMI is concerned.
I have multiple devices plugged into my TV, including an Xbox One X (I still use the rapidly aging console for casual multiplayer games occasionally), an Apple TV 4K, a Google TV Streamer, a Switch 2, a USB-C dock for the ROG Xbox Ally X, and in some cases, a few other things. Since my mid-range Hisense U8H TV has only one open HDMI 2.1 port capable of 4K/120Hz, I use a high-quality HDR/120Hz/4K HDMI switch to keep all my devices connected and make it easier to plug in whatever I want.
My office setup is similar, with a Mac mini (I'm using it as a Plex server), a PlaySation 5, and an Xbox Series X all running through an HDMI switch, while my M3 Max MacBook Pro utilizes the monitor's display port so I can get 120Hz on both screens (the M3 Max MacBook Pro only connects to a 4K monitor at 120Hz over Display Port), and my gaming PC is hooked directly to the monitor's main HDMI port.
I already covered why it's important to plug devices into the right HDMI port on your TV, and now, I'm diving into why you need to pay attention to what HDMI cable you're using, especially when you throw game consoles and HDMI switches into the mix.
Here's all the different types of HDMI cables
If you want to take advantage of high refresh rates and resolutions, stick with Ultra High Speed HDMI cables
Before we get into my overly complicated setups and the unique issues I've encountered, let's take a look at the current HDMI cable standards.
With every notable HDMI revision, including 1.4, 2.0, and 2.1, there's been a notable leap in bandwidth. For example, HDMI 1.4 allows 4K but only at 30Hz, which is great for movies and TV shows. Then with HDMI 2.0, you get 4K/60Hz and HDR10/Dolby Vision support. More recently, HDMI 2.1 came along, offering enough bandwidth for 4K/120Hz, 8K, VRR, ALLM, and eARC. Finally, while HDMI 2.2 is on the horizon, devices that support the format aren't available yet.
Below are the current types of HDMI cables and what resolutions, refresh rates, and features they support:
- High Speed HDMI: 1080p and 4K/30Hz
- Premium High Speed HDMI: 4K/60 with HDR, HDR10, and Dolby Vision
- Ultra High Speed: 4K/120Hz, 8K, VRR, and eARC
- Ultra96 HDMI: 96Gbps of bandwidth, which allows for uncompressed full chroma formats (while these cables are available, devices and media that take advantage of this bandwidth don't exist yet).
Not all HDMI cables are built equally
HDR, 120Hz, eARC and more complicate things
When pulling together my setups, I quickly realized how important it is to pay attention to what type of HDMI cable I'm using, especially when I added an HDMI switch to the mix. While this isn't always the case, sometimes a High Speed HDMI cable won't communicate with an Ultra High Speed HDMI cable.
When I built my living room TV setup, I ran into this issue multiple times. I ran an Ultra High Speed HDMI cable from the HDMI switch to the TV, but the cable going into my Switch 2 was Premium High Speed. No matter what I tried, I couldn't get the Switch 2 to connect properly to my TV, and I was greeted with a black screen — those handshake issues were back. I also encountered the same problem with my Xbox One X and the Premium High Speed HDMI cable I had it connected to.
In my office, I ran into the same issue with my PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, though this situation was a little different. Again, an Ultra High Speed cable ran from the HDMI switch to my monitor, and the cable connected to my console was also Ultra High Speed, but from a different brand. This led to black screens, flickering, and, in many cases, the display signal simply not appearing. This isn't a common problem, but encountering brand compatibility issues with some higher-end HDMI cables, even when you're not using an HDMI switch, can happen.
It was at this point that I decided to get rid of all my older HDMI cables and flip almost my entire setup to a specific, relatively cheap Ultra High Speed HDMI brand called Silkland that I found on Amazon — the headache of constantly swapping different cables to find a combination that worked just wasn't worth it anymore. As soon as I made this change, everything worked perfectly in both my living room and office.
Other ways HDMI cables can cause problems
If you can't select the resolution or refresh rate you want, it's a sign something is likely wrong
Beyond the HDMI handshake issues I experienced, you might encounter a few other things if you're using the wrong HDMI cable with higher-end devices. For example, if you're trying to game at 4K/120Hz with your PS5 but the option isn't available in the console's settings and you're stuck at 4K/30Hz, you're likely using a Premium High Speed HDMI cable instead of an Ultra High Speed HDMI cable. The same goes for when eARC and VRR aren't working as expected or available as options on your device.
But how do you know what HDMI cable you're using? Great question. This is where things get frustrating. Similar to USB-C, it's nearly impossible to tell the difference between a basic HDMI cable and an Ultra High Speed HDMI cable. The easiest way to check is on the actual cable itself, because in some situations, HDMI cables will say "High Speed" or "Ultra High Speed" directly on them. If the cable doesn't say anything, it's likely an older HDMI cable that's only 4K/30Hz capable, though this isn't always the case.
To avoid this, I've gotten rid of most of my older HDMI cables and labeled the ones I've kept as either High Speed or Ultra High Speed. I never like to throw out cables because I feel like I'll regret it at some point, but in this case, it just wasn't worth keeping older, slower HDMI cables around.
