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`Home > Electronics > Home Audio & Video > HDTV
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`Previous Page
`How HDMI Works
`
`by Tracy V. Wilson
`
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`Inside this Article
`1.
`Introduction to How HDMI
`Works
`2. HDMI Signals
`3. HDMI Connections
`
`4. HDMI Standards and
`Revisions
`5. Lots More Information
`6. See all HDTV articles
`
`Next Page
`
`Electronics Videos
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`Prices: HDMI Cables
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`HDMI Connections
`There are lots of methods you can use to connect home-theater components. For example:
`
`• Component video carries analog video signals separated into two channels for color and
`a third for luminance. Component video cables use RCA connectors.
`• S-video transmits analog signals using one cable and a four-pin connector.
`• DVI, or digital visual interface, is a 29-pin connection commonly used with computer
`monitors. Unlike composite video and s-video, it carries digital signals.
`
`Many HDTV early adopters rely on DVI, since it hit the market before HDMI did. Since DVI and HDMI
`both use the TMDS protocol, they're compatible. All you need to connect an HDMI cable to a DVI port is
`a passive adapter.
`
`The DVI and HDMI connectors have some other
`similarities. Both use a grid of pins to transmit signals from
`the cable to the device. While DVI has a 29-pin connector,
`HDMI's type A connector has 19 pins. A DVI connector
`also uses a pair of built-in screws to anchor it to the device.
`HDMI plugs don't have this extra support, and some users
`have expressed concern that this puts unnecessary strain
`on the device's circuitry. There's also a miniature version of
`the HDMI connector for use on smaller devices like digital
`camcorders as well as a 29-pin type B connector, although
`most consumer devices use type A.
`
`Photo courtesy HowStuffWorks Shopper
`With a simple adapter, you can
`plug an HDMI cable into a DVI slot.
`
`From the HDMI connector's pins, signals travel through
`twisted pairs of copper cable. Three audio and video channels travel through two pins each, for a total
`of six pins. The TMDS clock, which allows devices to synchronize the incoming data, travels through
`one pair of pins. Each of these four total pairs has a shield -- another wire that protects it from
`interference from its neighbors. The TMDS channels, the clock and the shields make up the bulk of the
`cable pairs inside the HDMI cable.
`
`https://web.archive.org/web/20100326090548/https:/electronics.howstuffworks.com/hdmi...
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`9/17/2019
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`Roku EX1008
`U.S. Patent No. 9,716,853
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`0001
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`
`HowStuffWorks "HDMI Connections"
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`Page 2 of 2
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`https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/hdmi2.htm
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`129 captures
`11 Oct 2007 - 12 May 2019
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`
`FEB MAR DEC
`26
`2009 2010 2011
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`(cid:66) ⍰ ❎
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`▾ About this capture
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`The other signals that travel through the HDMI cable need only one pin. One such channel is the
`consumer electronics channel (CEC). If your devices support it, this channel allows them to send
`instructions to one another. For example, an HD-DVD player could automatically turn on a home-
`theater receiver and an HDTV when it started playing a disk. The hot plug detect channel, which uses
`one pin, senses when you plug in or unplug a device, re-initializing the HDMI link if necessary. The one-
`pin display data channel (DDC) carries device information and the HDCP encryption information
`discussed in the previous section. Other channels carry encryption data and electricity to power
`communication between devices.
`
`The cables themselves come in two categories.
`Category 1 has a speed of 74.25 MHz. Category 2
`has a speeded of 340 MHz. Most consumer cables
`are the faster category 2 variety.
`
`In addition to the connector and cable, the HDMI
`standard applies to how TV sets can synchronize
`sound with video and display color. These
`capabilities have changed significantly over
`several revisions to the standard, which we'll compare in the next section.
`
`HDMI Certification
`In order to carry the HDMI logo, devices and
`cables have to pass compliance testing.
`Manufacturers, known as HDMI adopters,
`must submit a sample of their product for
`tests before starting mass production.
`
`Previous Page
`
`Next Page
`
`Inside this Article
`1.
`Introduction to How HDMI Works
`2. HDMI Signals
`3. HDMI Connections
`
`Related Ad Categories
`
`4. HDMI Standards and Revisions
`5. Lots More Information
`6. See all HDTV articles
`
`Search HowStuffWorks and the web
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`Submit Que
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