# How to make your own HDMI Cables



## sport06

Has anyone figured out how many conductors and of what ga. an HDMI cable consists?


Also, can you find HDMI connectors that you can terminate yourself?


Thanks


----------



## KurtBJC

The cable is a mess; four shielded twisted 100-ohm pairs and seven miscellaneous conductors. There are connectors available, but generally only in large bulk from Chinese sources, and there are no backshells available for them--all the assembly houses mold them on. All of the connectors I've seen are solder-only, and the contact points are very small. To my knowledge, nobody currently sells HDMI-suitable raw cable in the US, nor does anybody currently build finished HDMI cable assemblies here. So, while it's possible to do (we're investigating doing it, but have to get a few pieces to fall into place, and will likely wind up with tens of thousands of dollars in equipment to make it happen), it's not very practical, especially on a one-off DIY basis.


----------



## Eagle117

I bought my HDMI cable from SVideotoRCA. Since it is digital, there shouldn't be any signal loss so I don't see why I would need to buy expensive Monster cables or anything:
http://www.svideotorca.com/hdmicable.html


----------



## veonake

I'm sure there are specs out there, but why attempt to DIY an HDMI cable? Just go to www.monoprice.com and buy one of theirs. It's incredibly cheap, and due to the fact it's a digital signal, you shouldn't have any problems.


----------



## Marine2800

And in order to manufacture and sell any you have to pay HDMI.org a $15K annual fee.... plus third party certification...


----------



## Yunus

I bought a cheap 6' HDMI cable from pccables and it works fine. Tested it against a Monster and it looks the same to me.


BUT


I do not believe that just because something is digital it doesnt matter what quality it is. Digital cables can still lose data, error correction can prevent that but HDMI to my knowledge does not have any error correction so any data lost is just skipped. If your looking for a 50' cable or something you might need to be more particular about what cable you get.


In fact between what I have read on this board and other reviews over long lengths componet can be better than HDMI but thats another topic.


----------



## veonake




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *Yunus* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I bought a cheap 6' HDMI cable from pccables and it works fine. Tested it against a Monster and it looks the same to me.
> 
> 
> BUT
> 
> 
> I do not believe that just because something is digital it doesnt matter what quality it is. Digital cables can still lose data, error correction can prevent that but HDMI to my knowledge does not have any error correction so any data lost is just skipped. If your looking for a 50' cable or something you might need to be more particular about what cable you get.
> 
> 
> In fact between what I have read on this board and other reviews over long lengths componet can be better than HDMI but thats another topic.



You will only lose data as a result of the cable if the cable is TERRIBLE in addition to the signal being extremely weak. The types of error you're referring to is jitter. This also has much more to do with the source ADC and the target DAC in addition to cable length than the cable itself. Pretty much any decent DAC will be able to correct for jitter.


----------



## jhimmel

The reason why termination might be desireable is when you want to pull in-the-wall runs and terminate at wall plates. I was looking for the same thing (which brought me to this thread).


What I DID find is a site with decora style wall plates for HDMI, and terminated HDMI cable of all kinds of length and guage - some rated for in-the-wall runs. The cables are very reasonably priced, and are of excellent build quality.


The site is eHDMI.com


----------



## dscrimager

 here 


But I haven't used them. I think these may be challenging to solder.


----------



## ZWarren69

I don't understand why you would want to build one yourself, except just to feel accomplished.


----------



## CJO

IIRC, the specs on HDMI call for having the lengths of all the internal cables to be within 20/1000's of an inch of each other. That's not something that would be very easy to do by hand.


CJ


----------



## FreeFire

I find that spec pretty amusing. I don't think it's possible with a machine, either, since just measuring the cable from end to end doesn't measure each conductor (the conductors don't go perfectly straight in a cable bundle). Steve Vanuti, the HDMI Marketing Manager, claims that to splice an HDMI cable it must be within 1/20000 of an inch.


On a typical cable, it's around 9 inches per nanosecond (1GHz). That means that according to the spec, HDMI signals must be less than a picosecond apart.


I'm surpised you're even allowed to bend the cable at those tolerances.


----------



## KurtBJC

You're right--it is pretty amusing. I read that statement and could not figure out what he was talking about. Most HDMI cable is actually pretty sloppy stuff inside, too; inconsistent twist rates, inconsistent dielectrics, a real mess. Those things affect timing much, much more than 1/20,000th of an inch of conductor length variability.


There is nothing about this in the HDMI spec document. Where Vanuti got it I really can't imagine, but it's fair to say that it's the statement of a salesman, not a technician. The tolerances for channel-to-channel delay differential aren't right at hand here, but I can assure you that they aren't anything in the picosecond range....


----------



## cubanomx




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *ZWarren69* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> I don't understand why you would want to build one yourself, except just to feel accomplished.



I'm on the same situation, I need a 95m HDMI cable. I read on wikipedia about Custom HDMI cables can be prepared with regular CAT5e cables.


BTW, no matter if the signal is digital, the HDMI is based in the DVI standard, who have issues with distances because was designed for pcs (close to the digital monitor). the HDMI cable is expensive without reasons and here we remember the same USB stuff some years ago: a USB1 cable can manage USB2 data (40x speed) without any problem (is everything marketing)


hdmi don't need to be expensive. I wonder if someone knows a guide to build hdmi cables, I know if possible with cat5e or cat6 cables!


I have hdmi 1.0, 1.1 and 1.3 cables but are only 2 ~ 5 meters long. I need 95!!


----------



## Rupert

HDMI CAT5 Extender:

http://www.gefen.com/kvm/product.jsp?prod_id=3872


----------



## FiberOpticDude

cubanomx,


I have terminated HDMI cables and it is absolutely nightmarish! Do try it unless you are very good at soldering and a masochist. Actually, don't even consider it.


HDMI at 95m is not really doable over copper unless you go through two cables and repeater/retimer unit with equalization. 60-70m is the maximum for one length of cable at 22AWG. The cable also has to have low intra-pair skew. So you could go through two 50m copper links with an equalizer at the end of each and hope that additive jitter won't break the jitter budget.


For a single stretch of 95m you are looking at fiber optic cable - very expensive. Ram Electronics, Gefen, and DVIGear are a few places that offer HDMI over fiber.


Both of the above options (copper or fiber) are going to be > $1000.


----------



## mlhm5

You can get custom made cables with high quality components at a very cheap price from Blue Jeans Cable - Check them out.


Not worth making your own unless you are making a lot.


----------



## 02mingreyGT

thats a good link


----------



## qtech2020

Does anyone know where to order the HDMI connector heads and bulk cable for making your own HDMI?


I saw it once while surfing and forgot which site it was. It had spool of cable available to terminate your own customer length HDMI and clam style connector end. I am skill at soldering (once terminated HD-DB48 connectors with VGA, Network, and audio cable), so it should be a good challenge.


----------



## Rupert




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *qtech2020* /forum/post/0
> 
> 
> Does anyone know where to order the HDMI connector heads and bulk cable for making your own HDMI?
> 
> 
> I saw it once while surfing and forgot which site it was. It had spool of cable available to terminate your own customer length HDMI and clam style connector end. I am skill at soldering (once terminated HD-DB48 connectors with VGA, Network, and audio cable), so it should be a good challenge.




See post #9 above.


----------



## rico555

Here is a great link on the pinouts of HDMI and DVI cables. Also alot of good info on the cables as well. One good idea I read some where was buying one HDMI cable (6' or less), cutting it in half and then splicing on compatible cable. Then you don't have to worry about soldering the ends, just some good heat-shrink.

"hardwaresecrets" is the website, /article/283/3


Apparently I can't post a URL until I post at least 5 times.


----------



## the snedge




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *ZWarren69* /forum/post/8908536
> 
> 
> I don't understand why you would want to build one yourself, except just to feel accomplished.



How about if you bend the existing connector beyond repair while pulling a 30 foot HDMI cable through the wall and don't want to spend another $80.00?


----------



## tlniec




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *the snedge* /forum/post/14204397
> 
> 
> How about if you bend the existing connector beyond repair while pulling a 30 foot HDMI cable through the wall and don't want to spend another $80.00?



Pull the $80 cable out, and run a $30 cable?


----------



## ChrisWiggles




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *the snedge* /forum/post/14204397
> 
> 
> How about if you bend the existing connector beyond repair while pulling a 30 foot HDMI cable through the wall and don't want to spend another $80.00?



You say to yourself "well that sucks" and you pull a new cable.


----------



## schaafcw

I've seen some HDMI over 5 BNC cable solutions that should be coming out. Specifically I saw units from Kramer and Liberty. They were both running through 400' of RGBHV cable at full 1080p w/ audio. With RG6 RGBHV cable I can see it being able to run upwards of 750' or so. And I think I saw around $400 for the units without any cable.


----------



## Kal Rubinson




> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *ChrisWiggles* /forum/post/14206761
> 
> 
> You say to yourself "well that sucks" and you pull a new cable.



Yes, if you can.


----------



## RandyFreeman

I normally pull a CAT5 cable with every long HDMI cable that I install. Later if something goes wrong with the HDMI cable I can always use the CAT5 cable for video. Also, CAT5 cables have so may other potential uses. CAT5 is cheap. Just leave the ends inside the wall at the box.


Randy


----------



## oztech

For long runs an hdmi balun over cat 5e or cat 6e works well its just more pieces in the

chain to go wrong at some period in time but unavoidable if say a customer uses a 4x4

switcher and wants to be able to share all the eq anywhere in the home.


----------



## cntp

The fact that's it's very difficult/impossible to re terminate HDMI or Displayport cables in the field and without a robot has many in the Pro A/V community worrying. You have to run a new cable if one connector goes bad, you have to run conduit big enough to thread the connector through (not as bad as a DB connector, but still bad), and if you have to replace a cable, you may have to pull all the other cables out of the conduit if there isn't enough room to get the connector through.


-Drew


----------



## bangs

making hdmi longer with cat5e



Ok so I signed up on this site because I also wanted to make my own and with lots of googles, I just found the same thing over and over its to hard or its cheaper just to buy the products.


After seeing all the wall plates it came down to what are they sacrificing

to make 19 wires down to 16 for 2 8 wire cate5 cables.


It came down to a simple answer its the data shields as they would be useless

in cat5e anyways because cat wire does not use data shields ..



I did not make a wall adapter i simply cut my hdmi cable in half and stripped the wire... I did have one adapter from a old tv I could de- solder but only one so it was easier for now just to cut the hdmi cable in half and re solder and then use both ends.


on one cat5 wire I soldered all the individual wires up and left me one green/white that i used for the 4 ground wires in-cased in the foil of the data shields . I also never joined up the main shield ground wire..



I would strongly suggest making your legend before you start this project

example orange hdmi cable goes to cat5e cable 1 orange



things you need

flux

solder

knife

heat shrink


----------



## Neurorad

Is it possible? Yes. Can it be done reliably? No, especially for long runs. It's hard enough getting factory-made cables to work. The splices will introduce signal 'reflections'.


But, it's a cool project. Nice job.










I think RapidRun and/or AudioQuest had some field-terminated HDMI connectors available, in the past, but I don't they're made anymore; might have something to do with HDMI licensing.

http://www.audioholics.com/news/indu...es-hdmi-cables 


Edit - looks like BTX Technologies also offered/offers this field termination technology.

http://www.cepro.com/article/how_to_..._in_the_field/


----------



## MrBobb

Let this thread die PLEASE. It's insanity to attempt to make your own cables with tinny pins and burn ur fingers when perfectly good cables, neatly factory-made cables can be had for $10. U guys must have time to burn and/or make $5/hour.


----------



## Lenny Burch

HDMI cables are extremely difficult to make and requires expensive machinery. However, if you go to www.Cables.com , they can make you any length you need relatively cheap. I purchased a 40' HDMI from them for my laptop quite a few years back. The cable was only $39.99 + S&H, and it is a high quality cable. It works great on my laptop, my tablet, and my blu ray player. I have used it and dragged it around for about 4 or 5 years now and it stands up to abuse. The housing did move a little, but snapped right back on the connector and everything still works fine.


----------



## jeff6times7

@KurtBJC - Can you clarify what you mean by "inconsistent twist rates"? If two twisted pairs have the same twist rates then the magnetic interference between the two pairs will increase over distance. By changing the twist rates, the magnetic interference between pairs is minimized. Right?


----------



## Colm

Haven't seen Kurt around for a while, so I will answer in case he doesn't see your question


Kurt was referring to a quality control issue, the twist rate not being consistent within a single pair. That affects the geometry of the pair. Impedance is a function of dielectric constant and geometry. Any difference from nominal affects impedance and thereby return loss degrading the signal.


Using different twist rates for different pairs in the same cable is one way to minimize crosstalk. However, it increases interpair skew.


----------



## Anthony Veaudry


i found a site that sells hdmi termination plugs  http://www.showmecables.com/Category/HDMI-Connectors-Adapters.aspx

 

 

 

the two plugs i found are:

 

1:  http://www.showmecables.com/product/HDMI-Male-Solder-Connector-Kit.aspx  

2:  http://www.showmecables.com/product/HDMI-Male-Field-Terminated-Connector.aspx

 

 

i hope i helpt you all


----------



## olyteddy

Really doesn't look any more complicated than installing professional TV camera connectors.


----------



## jautor

Hmmm... "1080p compatible up to 39 feet". At a $1.74 for the bare wire plus $27 for connectors, I think you're better off buying a pre-made cable.


----------



## blk182atn7


http://www.hdmi.org/installers/insidehdmicable.aspx


----------



## themaster

hey guys.. I don't want to *make* a dvi cable!!!

I want to run a extension through my house to 2 wall terminals.. so am I understanding right that the best way to do this is cat6 or cat5e?

I was looking at this product/video..






I see it doesn't support 4k.. _anything_ that does?


----------



## Otto Pylot

If you want to run an "HDMI" connection from one room to another you can easily do that with solid core CAT-6/7, non-CCS, and NOT CAT-6 ethernet patch cable. However, depending on the distance, you will have to terminate the cable with an active termination which is usually something like HDBT (HD Base-T) which is a bit pricey. If you are just going to extend an ethernet connection from one end of the house to another, then you can use the same solid core CAT-6/7 cable and terminate with a punch down keystone jack.


----------



## bigrig

Here's my question - 

Our house has 7 RCA cables ran from the media cabinet to the TV area. Is it possible to splice on a HDMI connector on each side, and use the RCA cables as the HDMI cable wiring?

Edit - after reading bangs post it sounds like no, need 16 conductors. So - any chance one of these HDMI over Co-Ax adapters could work?
https://www.amazon.com/single-75ohm-Extender-Sender-Receiver/dp/B00HWIWEMU/

Thanks, 
Matt


----------



## JT Babin

bigrig said:


> Here's my question -
> 
> Our house has 7 RCA cables ran from the media cabinet to the TV area. Is it possible to splice on a HDMI connector on each side, and use the RCA cables as the HDMI cable wiring?
> 
> Edit - after reading bangs post it sounds like no, need 16 conductors. So - any chance one of these HDMI over Co-Ax adapters could work?
> https://www.amazon.com/single-75ohm-Extender-Sender-Receiver/dp/B00HWIWEMU/
> 
> Thanks,
> Matt


If your "RCA" cables are made from RG-6 it will work. RG-59, probably still. Mini Coax, there's a slight chance. It probably won't work at all over something twisted.

My personal favorite post in this thread is the HDMI spliced over Cat5. I think that's awesome. I think it could be topped by splicing across 7 RCAs while gathering together all of the shields and eliminating the unnecessary pins like the 19th ethernet pin, and ARC.

That's a science experiment though.... but I'd love to see it! If you want something that works, use HDMI over Coax but make sure you're at RG-6 otherwise there's a chance that it won't work and you'll have wasted your money.

Keep the thread alive!


----------



## bigrig

JT Babin said:


> If your "RCA" cables are made from RG-6 it will work. RG-59, probably still. Mini Coax, there's a slight chance. It probably won't work at all over something twisted.
> 
> My personal favorite post in this thread is the HDMI spliced over Cat5. I think that's awesome. I think it could be topped by splicing across 7 RCAs while gathering together all of the shields and eliminating the unnecessary pins like the 19th ethernet pin, and ARC.
> 
> That's a science experiment though.... but I'd love to see it! If you want something that works, use HDMI over Coax but make sure you're at RG-6 otherwise there's a chance that it won't work and you'll have wasted your money.
> 
> Keep the thread alive!


Okay, mini coax with male RCA connectors. Don't think I'm going to try the splice!


----------



## JT Babin

I've never tried it on Mini Coax. If you buy it from somewhere that has a super liberal return policy it might be worth a shot. Technically, it shouldn't work, so not how reliable it will be. If it's a short run, which is sounds like it might be, it could possibly do it. You'll need to cut the RCA off both sides of one wire and put F-Connectors on it in order to give it a go.


----------



## jocanton

Just wanted to report my success on splicing HDMI. I accidentally broke the head off an HDMI cable. It was going to be a real pain to replace the cable because it ran through the wall. There would have been no way of pulling it through easily so I was dreading doing that. I spent the better part of two days meticulously soldering all 19 wires + ground to a 20 pin header pin male on the end of the cord coming out of the wall which goes to my projector hush box, and female on the end of a new HDMI cord I bought and then cut into. I was very pleased when I connected it and everything worked flawlessly! Now I have the HDMI cord inside the wall terminating into a wall plate so when I connect my AV receiver I now plug it into the wall plate instead of how it was before where the HDMI cord ran out of the wall and plugged directly into my AV receiver...this way if I ever break the HDMI cable again while moving the AV receiver, all I have to do is buy a new cable, but the one inside the wall is stationary so it won't break again.

A couple things I made sure of when I did the splice was one that all the wires were as close as I could make them to the same length. (However, the quote that says they need to be 1/20,000 of an inch is bogus, at least in my case, because there were a couple that I had bad sold joints on which I had to cut a few mm off the end of the wire and it still works perfectly.) Two, I was very careful to keep wires from shorting. I put really small heat shrink around all the bare wire inside the five shielded sets of three wires (I don't know what these are because they are not connected to ground, but I figured I better keep them from shorting to each other by heat shrinking each one). I then put slightly larger heat shrink around each of the 5 sets of 3 shielded wires so as to cover the end of the little heat shrink and bare wire. I did not worry about adding any more shielding to any of the separately shielded wires or the whole group of wires at all, I just kept the termination point as short as feasible but still giving enough exposed wire to solder onto the male and female headers. I also put little heat shrinks around each and every 19 wires + ground so that when I was done soldering everything to the header I pushed the heat shrinks all down to cover the solder points and blew them all with my heat gun...being very quick about it as not to melt the small wires or plastic header. Once done, I connected both female and male headers and wrapped everything in lots of electrical tape and secured the electrical tape with zip ties, then put it in the wall never to be seen or taken apart again (in other words, I didn't solder to male and female headers thinking I would ever unplug the splice, I only did that because it gave me something to solder to and keep the individual wires separate from each other). I plugged it in and fired up the projector and to my surprise, it worked! I was half expecting it not to work, so I was very relieved when it did.

Edit: I forgot to add, I had to use a voltmeter to map out the pin out for the HDMI cords. They were both made by GE but for some reason they used different color coding, one cord had one color while the other cord used a completely different color for the same pin. Once I had everything mapped out then I could connect the wires that applied to the same pins on the HDMI heads.


----------

