News releases about cable generally come in somewhere between "meh" and "pfft" on our interest-ometer, but this one we couldn't pass up. Blue Jeans Cable, the one-time victim of that cable company, has demoed real quality HDMI cables without the hype. Getting more than about 30-feet of HDMI cable to make good on its "just plug it in, and it works" promise has always been challenging, but Blue Jeans showed off a 100-foot stretch of its 23.5AWG HDMI cable carrying 1080p/60 material at InfoComm this week. No exotic lights, ferrite beads, cryogenic gimmickry or even speed rating here, just quality bulk Belden wire with Bonded-Pair technology that maintains a constant cable impedance and keeps all those bits flowing in synch. Sure, $266 for a 100-foot stretch (shorter lengths are available) of Blue Jeans' Series-1 HDMI cable isn't the cheapest, but you're paying for quality.

We already heard that HDMI 1.4 was just around the bend, and now HDMI Licensing has come forward with all of the official details surrounding the specification. Unfortunately for AV enthusiasts, it seems as if we're taking two steps forward and three back, and we get this sinking feeling that HDMI 1.5 will be here before we know it. At any rate, the main additions to the format are an Ethernet channel, audio return channel, 3D over HDMI, 4K x 2K resolution support, a micro HDMI connector (around half the size of the existing HDMI Mini plug) and an automotive connection system. All fine and good, right? Sure, until you get to the part about having to choose between five different HDMI 1.4 cables, something that the suits at Monster just had to have a hand in. For a detailed look at what you'll need to study up on before buying your next HDMI cable, clinch your fists and hit the read link.

Okay, so there's good news and bad news. Given that we just love to tease, we'll start you off with the positives. HDMI 1.4 was just revealed, bringing with it an HDMI Ethernet Channel (HEC) that enables data transfers of up to 100 Mbps between supported connected devices. Put simply, this could allow a "broadband-connected television using its HEC-enabled HDMI port to provide internet connection sharing with another HEC-enabled device such as a game console or DVR." Furthermore, the spec's Audio Return Channel (ARC) enables broadcast audio to be easily streamed back to an external amplifier, and the Automatic Content Enhancement (ACE) provides support for "future 3D video standards, increased resolution support (up to 4,096 x 2,160 pixels at up to 30Hz), and content recognition that promises to automatically optimize the TV's picture settings based on content type."

The bad news? HEC will only work with new HDMI 1.4 spec cables, and those will be graded into two separate levels of performance: low- and high-data rate. We needn't describe to you what kind of ball Monster Cable is going to have with that one, but even outside of that, we're baffled by the decision to add one more complexity to a cable that should seriously be doing everything in its power to not be overshadowed by DisplayPort. At any rate, we're told that Silicon Image is hoping to ship chip samples to manufacturers in Q2 2009, while HDMI 1.4-enabled products could arrive as early as next year. We aren't holding our breath, but we'll gladly eat crow if need be.

The recession antidote giveaways over at Engadget Classic have been a huge hit, and nothing could make us happier -- except a special set of giveaways just for HD readers, of course! We're sure AV gear is one of the first things to get trimmed from the household budget, but we want to make sure our readers aren't totally cut off. Luckily, the good folks at Next Generation Home Products sent us a raft of HD-centric goodies. This week we've reached in the gift bag and come up with two fistfuls of good, basic HDMI connectivity. We'll give away eight bundles: four will come with a 3x1 HDMI switch and a 4-m length of Next Generation's bulk Xtreme HDMI cable; the other four will consist of a 3x1 HDMI switch and a 3-m stretch of Xtreme HDMI cable. With the all the gadgets stacking up underneath your TV, you can never have enough HDMI cables or ports, so check the rules below and start commenting!

Special thanks to Next Generation Home Products for providing the gear!

The rules:

• Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, but if you want to share your proposal for "fixing" the world economy, that'd be sweet too.
  
• You may only enter this specific giveaway once.
  If you enter this giveaway more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
• If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you'll be fine.
  
• Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
  
• Winners will be chosen randomly. Four winners will each receive one (1) 3x1 HDMI switch and one (1) 4-m HDMI bulk Xtreme cable; approximate retail value is $246. Four winners will each receive one (1) 3x1 HDMI switch and one (1) 3-m HDMI Xtreme cable; approximate retail value is $290.
• If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
• Entries can be submitted until Thursday, May 7th, 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
• Full rules can be found here.

The recession antidote giveaways over at Engadget Classic have been a huge hit, and nothing could make us happier -- except a special set of giveaways just for HD readers, of course! We're sure AV gear is one of the first things to get trimmed from the household budget, but we want to make sure our readers aren't totally cut off. Luckily, the good folks at Next Generation Home Products sent us a raft of HD-centric goodies. This week, we're handing out stuff for those with gear separated by less than a stone's throw but more than an arm's length. We've got two bundles, each with a 5x1 HDMI switch with remote control and a HDMI EQ extender. To cover those long run lengths between components, one winner will get a 15-m HDMI cable, the other will get a 10-m length. Just in case you want to run that cable through your walls, we'll throw in two double HDMI wall plates in each bundle as well. Whether you've got a projector up in the ceiling or a noisy Xbox 360 in a closet, this giveaway is the one for you, so check the rules below and start commenting!

Special thanks to Next Generation Home Products for providing the gear!

The rules:

• Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, but if you want to share your proposal for "fixing" the world economy, that'd be sweet too.
  
• You may only enter this specific giveaway once.
  If you enter this giveaway more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
• If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you'll be fine.
  
• Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
  
• Winner will be chosen randomly. One winner will receive one (1) 5x1 HDMI switch, one (1) HDMI EQ extender, one (1) 1-m HDMI bulk cable, two (2) HDMI double wall plates and one (1) 15-m HDMI bulk cable; approximate retail value is $456. One winner will receive one (1) 5x1 HDMI switch, one (1) HDMI EQ extender, one (1) 1-m HDMI bulk cable, two (2) HDMI double wall plates and one (1) 10-m HDMI bulk cable; approximate retail value is $431.
• If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
• Entries can be submitted until Wednesday, April 29th, 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
• Full rules can be found here.

With NAB just about to get started in Las Vegas, CoolCameraGear is getting out ahead of the crowd with a newfangled adapter sure to please those who find themselves offloading gobs of RED footage. The R2E LEMO to eSATA cable essentially takes the burden away from your FireWire 800, FireWire 400 or USB 2.0 bus by enabling bits and bytes to flow over eSATA. RED camera users simply plug in their RED-Drive or RED-RAM using the original power adapter, then plug the LEMO end of the R2E cable into the drive and the other end into a standard eSATA port. Boom. Just like that, RED owners have instant access to eSATA transfers. For those unaware, eSATA support on camcorder is still a rarity, though the benefits are obvious for pros shuffling through multiple takes. Interested consumers can check this one out when the CoolCameraGear website goes live on April 20th for $230.

Wait a second -- isn't wireless USB, um, deceased? Regardless of what pundits and the industry at large have said (via words, actions, or otherwise), Wisair is absolutely refusing to give up the dream. To that end, the firm has teamed with peripheral mainstay Atlona in order to develop and produce a wireless USB to HDMI adapter. Much like the wired AT-HDPiX, the May-bound AT-HDAiR enables users to connect any USB-enabled computer to any HDTV or projector via VGA or HDMI. The difference? This one works sans extra cabling. The range here is 30 feet, though you can only expect footage to stream through at up to 720p (or 1,440 x 1,200). At least the price tag is just $199, which sure beats some of the obviously more capable options with WHDI chips within.

While we love the transmission capabilities of HDMI, we loath the fact that the HDMI standard doesn't specify a locking mechanism. If you've ever wall mounted a flat screen TV or tried to stuff your receiver into too tight a rack then you're probably familiar with HDMI's weak-azz connector. Now we have what appears to be a first of its kind, magnetic HDMI connector from Torrent, Inc. -- at least its the first to pass ATC compliance testing. Called MagLoc, the magnetic connector with sliding sleeve for optimal fit is said to be 5x stronger than your typical HDMI cable connector. Of course, anyone who's familiar with the magnetic "locks" on some laptop power cords can assure you that the technology is nowhere near as strong as mechanical fasteners. Still, it's a start.

Torrent's higher spec'd SureConnect Advanced and Elite cables also feature the totally over-the-top "VeriFYI" (ugh) indicator lights to confirm the end-to-end connection. VeriFYI blinks to confirm the HDMI cable you just inserted is in fact inserted -- something you should be able to confirm with the same pair of eyes looking at the jack. Insert the other side of the cable and VeriFYI will glow steady for one minute after testing the end-to-end connection. It then repeats this semi-useful (assuming your cables are easily visible) test each time you power up your system. While MagLoc sounds promising, it appears that the cables have yet to reach retail channels. We'll let you know as soon as that changes.

[Via The Inquirer and HDMI.org]

The recession antidote giveaways over at Engadget Classic have been a huge hit, and nothing could make us happier -- except a special set of giveaways just for HD readers, of course! We're sure AV gear is one of the first things to get trimmed from the household budget, but we want to make sure our readers aren't totally cut off. Luckily, the good folks at Next Generation Home Products sent us a raft of HD-centric goodies. There's still more good stuff in the bag, which brings us to round two of the giveaway. Up for grabs this week are four bundles that should help alleviate any HDMI shortages in your system. Each bundle has a 5x1 HDMI switch with remote control, a 1-m length of Copperhead HDMI cable and a 6-inch HDMI extension. Four lucky readers will be picked, so your odds should be a bit better on this giveaway; check the rules below and start commenting!

Special thanks to Next Generation Home Products for providing the gear!

The rules:

• Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, but if you want to share your proposal for "fixing" the world economy, that'd be sweet too.
  
• You may only enter this specific giveaway once.
  If you enter this giveaway more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
• If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you'll be fine.
  
• Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
  
• Winner will be chosen randomly. Four winners will receive one (1) 5x1 HDMI switch, one (1) 1-m length of Copperhead HDMI cable and one (1) 6-inch Copperhead HDMI extension. Approximate value of each package is $250.
  
• If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.
• Entries can be submitted until Friday, April 17th, 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
• Full rules can be found here.

Wondering why Engadget still has a permanent ban on covering Monster Cable products, even after the company tried to make amends for its frivolous lawsuit and strong-arm settlement offer against Monster Mini Golf? Well, it's because the company hasn't actually changed its ways -- not only did we just catch them trying to peddle their overpriced snakeoil cables using rigged displays for the third time, Noel Lee's lawyers have dusted themselves off and filed a lawsuit against Monster Transmission, a performance auto supplier in Florida. Yes, Monster Cable is suing an American automotive manufacturing company in the middle of a recession. Brilliant PR move, don't you think? So yeah, the ban stands -- and we'd recommend steering your friends to any number of cable brands that are just as good, much cheaper, and far less burdened with the stink of desperation than any of Monster's products.

Update: Monster Cable's sending out a statement saying "Monster does not have an issue with Monster Transmission" and that the "case was filed last year, before the Monster Mini Golf matter was settled" but it sounds to us like they're playing fast and loose with their timeline to distract people -- we just spoke to Achilles Thomas, one of the owners of Monster Transmission, and he said the initial lawsuit was filed between October and November of 2008 and hasn't come close to settling, even though the Mini Golf case settled in January. Naughty, naughty.

Read - Audioholics post on the lawsuit
Read - Monster Transmissions

We know what you're thinking: you've decked out your gaming rig with a translucent case and a string of LEDs inside, and gave similar treatment to the wall just behind your display ... so why not add that special glow to your connection, too? Enter these HDMI 1.3 cables from Donya, available in only the finest of patriotic colors -- red, white, and blue. It'll set you back 999 yen (about US $10) plus an unknown amount for shipping, but if you're impatient, we're sure there's a little DIY weekend project to take from this.

[Via Akihabara News]

Got a Mini DisplayPort equipped laptop or video card and need to connect it to something... um, not Mini DisplayPort? If you've got a crisp Andrew Jackson, then Monoprice has an adapter for you with HDMI, DVI and VGA outs, all of which are now shipping for $14.25 and up. Unless you don't like saving money, nor enjoy your peripherals actually working with your new machine, it'll be hard to find a problem with this.

[Thanks, Phil]

HDMI has certainly taken hold in the consumer AV space and component video connection -- despite its merits and supporters -- is in decline. Looking around at the back of a receiver, you might think that small, high density connectors used for digital signals are just better, right? Not necessarily -- consider the rearTwist BNC connectors Neutrik is bringing to the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) show for 1080p HD/SDI (serial digital interface) use by pros. That's good-old coax design, specced out to 4.5GHz, with a kind of in-field reliability that our beloved HDMI connectors can only dream of. We're not bashing HDMI -- it's now mature, has lots of nice features and puts great performance within the reach of lots of people. Also, discrete coax connections like these Neutrik connectors are too pricey for consumer gear; but don't be fooled into thinking that the move to HDMI was all about performance, either.

Man, this is just sad. Over a year after the internet was set ablaze with rage after seeing Monster's HDMI cable scam, we've just been notified that the tactic is still being used in at least one Fry's Electronics store. For those unaware, the rig works as such: two TVs are set beside each other along with a sign that says "See the Monster HDMI Difference." Trouble is, the "Monster set" (on the right) is connected to its source via an HDMI cable, while the "non-Monster set" (on the left) is connected via composite cable. As in, the lamest looking signal next to using an RF modulator. So, is anyone with any amount of power paying attention to this? We get the feeling "false advertising" is a real understatement of the situation.

[Thanks, Jeff]