About HDMI Cable With Ethernet, Except using HDMI cables to transfer V/A data, did you know you can use them for an internet connection?
You can use an HDMI cable with ethernet in limited ways to control consumer elections and communicate audio signals.
How does it work? It’s important to discuss in-depth about HEC and how to determine if your device is HEC compatible.
HDMI Ethernet Channel Understanding
HEC ethernet channel undergoes construction with chip processors of HDMI version 1.4 or higher and cables.
Together they function to enable the transmission of network data at significantly high speeds at an increased bandwidth.
You can use an HDMI ethernet channel for a more stable and faster connection.
Also, this will simplify your setup and create new opportunities for better home network management.
What is An HDMI cable with Ethernet?
A HDMI cable with a built-in compatible ethernet channel can transfer data between two HEC-compatible devices.
To deeply understand how it works, open an HDMI cable and observe the inside components.
Every HDMI cable has 19 pins to transfer data. Most pins connect to a twisted pair of wires (normally designated as straight-through wires) carefully wrapped inside a protective shield. Hence the name shielded twisted pair.
HDMI cables and ethernet enabled twisted pairs similar to the others (for A/V data) to travel internet data.
The configuration doesn’t detract the other pins from their functions and doesn’t affect the cable’s price.
Therefore, today you’d be hard-pressed to get an HDMI cable that doesn’t include ethernet features.
There are three types of HDMI cables: ultra high-speed HDMI cable with ethernet, high-speed HDMI cable with ethernet, and standard HDMI cable with ethernet.
They can all handle data transfer at speeds of 100 Mbps.
How To Know Your Device Is HEC Compatible?
If your device is HEC compatible, it will likely self-describe in the user’s manual.
Sadly, you can rarely use HEC technology and must be persistent to find a HEC-compatible device.
Professional research suggests that finding a modern device that uses HEC technology will be almost impossible.
HEC’s main idea was to make your TV the center of all your connections.
Therefore, you would only need a single ethernet cable that connects to your TV while allowing every device to connect to the network.
However, engineers failed to take into account the economic situation of manufacturers.
Although it appears to be a useful tool, it faces several challenges.
- The cost of having to add HEC ports to TVs.
- The rapid-paced nature of technology production.
- The lack of compatibility with other products.
The above challenges resulted in the minimal use of HEC technology in the consumer electronics universe.
Although HEC applications appear apparent with computer systems and gaming consoles, it’s fair to say they never really caught on.
Even though wired connections are more secure and stable, the advancement in WiFi has made hardline connections somewhat obsolete for consumer products.
However, there’s an area where you can use HEC but in a completely different manner. This is why most HDMI cables today are ethernet enabled.
Best Applications of HEC Connectivity/ HDMI Ethernet Channel
The single best use for HEC technology in consumer products is CEC technology and HDMI ARC.
The mentioned technologies use shielded wires for the internet connection to communicate data across the cable.
The cable capitalizes on the additional wiring to transfer data without causing any interference with the other paired cables.
Without HEC technology in the HDMI 1.4 standard, such applications wouldn’t exist.
Caption: AV receiver
ARC has become essential for communicating audio signals from your TV to a soundbar or AV receiver.
Audio signals could only travel one way without the help of the paired wires, and ARC used in HEC.
This feature allows your TV to transfer audio signals and receive them. Often ARC ports on the TV have a label.
Also, they can transfer other various signals, such as surround sound data.
Another use of HEC is in Consumer Electronics Control, which allows you to transfer infrared data across the cable.
What it does is the number of controllers you need to manage a system.
For example, if you have a soundbar connected to your TV system, you can use your TV’s remote to adjust the sound settings on your soundbar.
Your TV accomplishes this by sending that information to your soundbar through your HDMI cable.
Confirm if your device is CEC compatible to ensure you can utilize this feature.
Caption: Soundbar
Conclusion
There you have all you need to know about HDMI with ethernet.
As mentioned, HEC allows you to manage your system without needing multiple cables.
But it is rarely in use because WiFi is by far more convenient.
However, that didn’t completely eradicate the HEC technology, as you can use it to power HDMI CEC and ARC.
That s why there are still several applications of HDMI cable with ethernet. If you have any queries on HDMI cable assemblies, contact Cloom Tech.