“To claim HDMI version 1.4a the product must support all of the mandatory 3D formats. As you know, in the near future Mitsubishi will make available a firmware upgrade for the 738 and 838 series HDTVs to accommodate all of the 3D formats, so that Mitsubishi sets will not need the 3D adapter. Until that time, Mitsubishi cannot claim our products support HDMI version 1.4a. At the current time none of the current model Mitsubishi TVs support all of the mandatory 3D formats; however the software upgrade for the 738 and 838 series HDTVs is planned to support all of the mandatory 3D formats and some of the optional formats. Before Mitsubishi releases this software upgrade we must have these TVs re-tested for 3D support by HDMI, then we can claim HDMI 1.4a 3D support.

The 3D adapter already supports all of the mandatory 3D formats and a fairly large number of optional 3D formats. This product has already been tested by HDMI for 3D support and has passed the tests.”

Of course there will be more info to follow so stay tuned.

Have questions? Call our friendly, factory trained sales team at 1.866.919.4773 or post your comments and questions here on the OneCall Blog.

Patrick G

Patrick is our most experienced sales person, and has worked at OneCall longer than any other sales associate. He is a wealth of knowledge in all aspects of the electronics business and is a great go to guy for those tough questions that come up on a daily basis. Patrick was born and raised in Washington State, growing up in the Bellingham area before relocating to Spokane where he has lived for well over 12 years….he is a true Washington State native. When he’s not selling Electronics and helping our customers at OneCall, Patrick enjoys working in his garden, cooking and playing video games on his Sharp TV. If he could have any electronics product available, at the moment, he would go with the 65” Panasonic 3D Plasma TV and if he could go anywhere in the world on an ultimate vacation he would go to Australia.

Subjects include:

• Speaker Bar Buying Guide
• Digital SLR Guide
• HDMI Questions Answered
• Binocular Selection Guide
• Receiver Buying Guide
• DVD Camcorder Guide
• 1080p Info Guide
• What is Blu-ray?

Michael C

“I have a great Samsung 1080i. How can I play a 1080p blu-ray. What are my options?”

This is a great question Gary, and a dilemma I face at home myself. One of the greatest benefits of Blu-ray is the stunning 1080p video resolution, so is there really any benefit if your TV doesn’t support the full 1080p video resolution?

Yes, absolutely. The Blu-ray players we have available will support a 1080i video output resolution through the HDMI video connection and you will still have stunning High Definition video on your TV. Believe it or not, the 1080i video signal from your Blu-ray movies will most likely look better on your TV than many of your HD broadcast TV signals. At the very least you will be able to connect a Blu-ray player to your TV using the Component Video connection with a 480p video output and still have exceptional picture quality.

Your best option is use the HDMI or DVI input on your TV. There may be an extra step involved in the setup of the Blu-ray player to adjust the output resolution to 1080i. This should be easy to do and we’re always happy to help if you have questions, just give us a call at 1.866.919.4773.

Thanks again, this really is a great question.
Matt

Matt P

Home audio/video enthusiast and merchandising specialist at OneCall.com

First,  it will add shared ethernet capablitliy so if your HDMI devices are internet/network capable you will not have to run an ethernet cable plus the HDMI.  So, for example you have a Blu-ray player with internet capability and a TV with Internet capability.  You will only have to connect the Blu-ray with the Ethernet and then it will share that connection with the TV through a compatible HDMI 1.4 cable. (if they are both 1.4 devices)  Cool and convenient but last time I checked Ethernet cable was a whole lot less expensive than an HDMI cable. 

Second, HDMI 1.4 will allow digital sound to go back from your HDTV to a surround sound receiver. They call it Audio Return Channel.  So, here is the scenario, you are getting HD content from an antenna over the air tuned by your digital HDTV.  Some of this programming has 5.1 surround sound available.  You have a surround sound system hooked to the Plasma HDTV with an HDMI cable and the surround system and TV are both HDMI 1.4 so now you can send that sound back to the Home Theater from the TV without using a optical cable.  Bottom line; you do not need another cable to connect the digital audio.

Fittingly, third is 3D over HDMI.  Here is what HDMI.org says about this capability:

“3D technology is evolving rapidly, with several competing approaches under development, so the HDMI 1.4 specification establishes protocols for a number of popular 3D display methods”

Key phrase there is “several competing approaches.”  So, this technology is not even available yet.  There is specualtion that you will need additional equipment plus a 3D ready HDTV and 3D capable source.  So, dont throw anything out yet.

Next upgrade over HDMI 1.3 is the HDMI 1.4 capabiltiy to reach resolution capability of 4096 X 2160.  So, new buzz word for you 2160P!  The reality though is that you would have to have a very large display capable of this resolution to see a difference, a source that could play it and most importantly media that is recorded in that resolution, which there is not any and nothing in the forseeable future.   Feeling a little calmer?

Next, it is going to provide additional color space for digital PHOTOs that are displayed on a compatible HDTV.  So, your digital photos will look a little better, if both the camera and HDTV have the following capabilities:

• sYCC601 color
• Adobe RGB color
• Adobe YCC601 color

Lastly, there are going to be some newer connectors with version 1.4.   So, this means that some new smaller portable devices (cell phones) are going to have HDMI connectivity.  Also automotive video system will start to get a connection that has a locking capablity to keep the connection secure in an automobile.

So, to sum it up, none of our current HDMI devices or cables are going to quit working.  The real advantage of HDMI 1.4 is that it just eliminates some cables that are already connected and working fine.  Also, keep in mind that to take advantage of these changes all the components will have to have the capability and there will always be a work around if one or more of the components are not.

For more information you can visit www.hdmi.org, call our experts at 1.866.919.4773 or post your comments here.

Chad G

How long have you been working with OneCall? 5 yrs What do you think has been the greatest consumer electronic advancement that has come in your lifetime? Wireless internet What is your favorite thing about working at OneCall? Learning about new technologies.

We have a couple of HD sources in our system. They include a Microsoft X-Box 360 Elite with the HD-DVD player, an up-converting Toshiba DVD player and a Comcast HD-DVR box. All three of these have an HDMI connection, so I got the AudioQuest HDMI-X cables to replace the basic HDMI cables that were either included with the components or were purchased initially. I also upgraded our speaker wire with 14 guage, 2 conductor AudioQuest wire and our subwoofer cable.

We worked for almost 6 hours straight moving furniture back and forth between 2 rooms. After the big move, we wanted to check if there was any difference in picture and audio quality using our new cables. We popped in an HD-DVD disc (Planet Earth, which is super cool) and turned on our Mitsubishi WD-65734. The picture was absolutely beautiful! I was so impressed with the color saturation and accuracy of the image. You could see every fine detail down to the individual hairs on a caterpillar. The sound was also excellent. It was crisp and clean. With our old speaker wire, we had some static, but now it is perfect.

I asked my husband after our Planet Earth chapter had ended if all of the hard work was worth it. He smiled at me and told me that it definitely was, but our home theater would have to stay where it is for a long time. I agreed since it seems to fit perfectly where it is now, but I have some ideas about moving the television in our bedroom. Maybe I will wait to bring that up to him for a little while.

Holley E

Audioquest cites that there are two issues to consider when purchasing an HDMI cable. First it is important to consider the length that the cable will be ran, and second, it is important to consider your future requirements.

Whereas Monster Cable does not provide any speed ratings for different lengths, Audioquest does. Audiquest rates their HDMI 3 cable as having a bandwidth of 34 gigabytes per second (34 Gbps) for a 1 meter cable. It drops down to 5 Gbps when the cable is 20 meters. Even their lowest end cable, the HDMI A, is listed as delivering 21 Gbps at 1 meter. They do not recommend using the HDMI A for cable lengths longer than 12 meters. At 12 meters they rare the HDMI A at 4 Gbps.

Monster Cable simply lists their top cable, the HDMI 1000, at 10.2 Gbps. They do not differentiate between the different lengths.

According to literature from Audioquest, at 32 Gbps the HDMI cable will be able to handle a 1440p signal with a 120Hz frame rate, and deep color technology. The minimum they recommend for a 1080p signal with a 120Hz frame rate is 16 Gbps. This contradicts Monster Cable’s claim that 10.2 Gbps is sufficient for 1080p with the 120Hz technology.

Referencing HDMI.org there are two speed classes in HDMI cables. Standard speed cables support a throughput of 2.23 Gbps, and can reliably transmit an uncompressed 1080i signal at 60Hz. High speed cables by contrast, will transmit up to 10.2 Gbps of bandwidth and are also capable of transmitting uncompressed 1080p and beyond. Monster differentiates the speed rating according to length like Audioquest. HDMI states that “standard” HDMI cable is good for up to 10 meters.

Todd B

Just thought I would share this info that I found on USA Today. Monster Cable is coming out with a wireless HD hookup solution that will be here just in time for Christmas! Basically the transmitter plugs into the HDMI connection on the source and the receiver connects into the TV. The wireless range is reported to be up to 30 feet. It will also “upscale” non-HD sources like DVD to HD according to the article. They will be $299.95 for the receiver and transmitter.

Todd B