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The looseness of HDMI connectors causes both inferior video and audio quality regardless of whether Interconnects are used to carry the sound directly from the CD/DVD player/ Comcast box to the amplifier rather than through the television or not. Fortunately wrapping the upper stem of the HDMI connector at each end of the cable a few times with Teflon tape tightens this connection and delivers a surprising improvement, particularly to the sound quality. The price is right! Enjoy...
DG
Follow Ups:
I'm curious - HDMI signals (audio and video) are digitally encoded, not analog signals. Unless the connection was so poor prior to this mod that you were getting bit errors (data corruption) how is there *any* possible room for improvement? It doesn't add up.
Why not install a new connector or if you solder a lot , you have those hooks, which the dentist also uses. They are perfect for binding the connections, but i had the same with the usb port, wihich a good one is made for 500 times unplugged and plug in, but with the external audiocard, pushing and pulling which that shitty oyaide useless cable . So at the and replaced the usb ports and the powerplug... but ain't it your cable ? , is it a lot of weight , which hangs on the connector?..
Ask before you buy, the component list....the outside ain't the most important
Sherwood,
Thank you for your response. Am just a tester reporting what I see/ hear and you may be technically-qualified but HDMI does pack 19 high-speed data transmissions (18 GB per second with HDMI-2) through a connector whose male inserting head by poor design is broad, shallow and loose-fitting allowing sideways motion that doubtless produces vibration / micro-arcing of its pins. The introduction of Teflon tape eliminates much of the sideways motion and resulting degradation. When looking at all the timing information being transmitted below, it's not surprising to me that removing the motion from the HDMI plug handshake would have the beneficial effect regardless of whether the high-speed information is digitally encoded audio/ video rather than analog signals. Express trains have to run on time or there are flat color and sound consequences:-)
DG
Type A receptacle HDMI (male)
Pin out
A diagram of a type A HDMI receptacle, showing 10 pins on the top row and 9 pins on the bottom row (total 19 pins).
Type A receptacle HDMI (male)
Pin 1 TMDS Data2+
Pin 2 TMDS Data2 Shield
Pin 3 TMDS Data2−
Pin 4 TMDS Data1+
Pin 5 TMDS Data1 Shield
Pin 6 TMDS Data1−
Pin 7 TMDS Data0+
Pin 8 TMDS Data0 Shield
Pin 9 TMDS Data0−
Pin 10 TMDS Clock+
Pin 11 TMDS Clock Shield
Pin 12 TMDS Clock−
Pin 13 CEC
Pin 14 Reserved (HDMI 1.0–1.3c), Utility/HEC/ARC (Optional, HDMI 1.4+ with HDMI Ethernet Channel and Audio Return Channel)
Pin 15 SCL (I²C Serial Clock for DDC)
Pin 16 SDA (I²C Serial Data Line for DDC)
Pin 17 DDC/CEC/ARC/HEC Ground
Pin 18 +5 V (max. 0.05 amp)
Pin 19 Hot Plug detect (all versions) and HEC/ARC (Optional, HDMI 1.4+ with HDMI Ethernet Channel and Audio Return Channel)
Yes, modern high-density connectors really do leave a lot to be desired as far as contact surface area, play, durability etc. I certainly wouldn't dispute that.
HDMI, apart from being digitally encoded, is also encrypted for their stupid DRM requirements. My point is that if there were issues with contact intermittance, the symptoms would be severe - complete picture or audio dropout, or at least obvious blocking of the video and garbling of the audio. In reality, when you lose a portion of an encrypted data stream, the whole thing tends to go south.
I really hate HDMI personally. I find that the encryption aspect is really limiting (no distribution amps here, fellas) the cables ungodly expensive, and they can't be run at significant length. IMHO, use HDSDI and separate audio path for best results - if you can handle the cost, HDSDI ain't cheap.
If you really want to know for certain that your modification improved video quality, you'd need to use a colormonkey or some other display calibrating device. Such a device will tell you for certain if anything about your picture quality has changed if you do a before/after comparison.
Sherwood,
Many thanks for the information. Would not like to wander into your forest professing to absent knowledge or might never emerge!
Shortly after publishing this tweak, I found the comprehensive and professional collection of tips from Mr. A.J. van den Hul published in a PDF on the Internet (link below). Beneath I reproduce a small part relating to HDMI/video that shows you are both of the same opinion.
DG
7-9 A word on analog and digital video connections
In analog video signal transport the three-wire component video connection (like our The COMPOLINK 75) is still the best, especially when longer distances (above 5 meters) are concerned.
The currently strongly promoted HDMI connections often suffer from crosstalk in the cable itself and the connectors are in many cases the worst ever produced. But... plenty of new equipment has no component video options anymore.
So, when buying a HDMI cable check that it has good quality connectors, is multiple screened, has low signal attenuation and most importantly: That it is able to flawlessly handle your equipment’s highest video resolution(s) which you intend to use. (This also at the largest cable distance you’re ever going to use). It is therefore wise to check or compare HDMI cable performance at home.
In our program we carry The VDH HDMI and the higher quality VDH HDMI HQ HYBRID.
Because carefully controlled DBT's were not done. That's why.
Tried and like results.Contrast increases as does color saturation. THe change in contrast adds to visual definition, particularly in shadow details. Oh yeah audio is more distinct also.
GOod results for cheap.
INcidentally the spring loaded fingers of HDMI cables are similar to those on volume controls. GOod call.
Uncle Stu,
Thank you for posting your findings.
Using Teflon tape to plug all the empty sockets of the TV set, Comcast box and DVD player and completing a thorough system degaussing (circuits off at breaker box, all cables disconnected and multiple Walker Talisman exposure of AC wall OUTLETS/ cable ENDS/ speaker TERMINALS + DRIVERS) significantly enhances those improvements in my experience.
DG
tried it elsewhere, but didn't mention it. USB cables benefit a lot too.
didn't want you feel the wolves circling. Been there went, through all that.
started with teflon tape wrapping IEC ends (female side) so that it fits more snugly in to the male sockets, works well there,
Uncle Stu,
I agree about IEC connectors but found Teflon tape too sound-damping for use with USB connectors that fared better with rubber o-rings to my ear.
Found that Teflon tape around the fuse holders and fuse of the CD/DVD player makes a substantial improvement and around the fixed wire connecting either end of the large fuse to one of the Samsung widescreen TV's circuit boards a lesser but noticeable enhancement. The rock-steady, eye-popping detail and saturated color of the series 'Rome' after all this is exceptional and even cable TV finally borders on impressive...the sound quality corresponds.
Consider the substitution of brass/ nylon for ferrous/ stainless steel screws to be the critical gateway through the distortion layer that otherwise blocks hearing more deeply into the music so placing other sound improvements beyond audible reach. My continuing thanks for your help in showing the non-magnetic way through...
DG
unclestu and Dryginger2,
Isn't stainless steel a Non-Ferrous Metal?
~D
Wherever you go there you are.
ipdtt,
Initially I forgot the wisdom of my original mentors and accepted conventional wisdom that stainless steel screws were all non-magnetic. Then one day for some reason I checked one and then each subsequent stainless steel machine screw against a magnet to find that 90% were strongly attracted. So immediately substituted mainly nylon and occasionally brass non-magnetic screws in their place on each component. In the deadening grip of wide-spread EMI distortion, the vitality of the music was throttled, slow, heavy and artificial. Afterwards the sonic flames snapped, crackled, jumped around all around the sound-stage fireplace with ethereal lightness and pace.
Some component machine screws are too small to be stocked by local hardware stores and all mine were metric that they do not carry anyway. However McMaster Carr are the answer for those who check with a magnet that they have a majority of magnetic stainless steel machine screws on their amplifier just for starters.
DG
Stainless steel can be both magnetic and non-magnetic depending on type
according to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stainless_steel#Electricity_and_magnetism
Ferritic and martensitic stainless steels are magnetic. Austenitic stainless steels are non-magnetic.
***MAGNETIC***
FERRITIC stainless steel consists of iron-chromium alloys with body-centered cubic crystal structures
MARTENSITIC stainless steels, such as types 403, 410, 410NiMo and 420, are similar in composition to the ferrite group, but contain a balance of C and Ni vs. Cr and Mo.
***NON-MAGNETIC***
AUSTENITIC stainless steels are the most weldable of the stainlesses and can be divided rather loosely into three groups: common chromium-nickel (300 series), manganese-chromium-nickel-nitrogen (200 series) and specialty alloys. Austenitic is the most popular stainless steel group and is used for numerous industrial and consumer applications,
(Classifications of stainless steel reproduced in part from: http://www.aws.org/w/a/wj/1998/11/kotecki)
Dryginger2,
Thank you much... That is spot on!
~D
Wherever you go there you are.
"wrapping the upper stem of the HDMI connector"
What are you refering to as "the upper stem"?
Thanks, Rick
Rick,
Thank you for your question. For some reason the 'point + shoot' dislikes focusing on the HDMI connector with morning light/ flashlight combination but here is a poor shot that conveys how I wrapped the Teflon tape around the metal insert. It's also possible to plug unused HDMI inputs on TV/ sound channel outputs on DVD player and even the covered amplifier interconnect output with Teflon tape. The audio layering and video saturation results are self-evident. (If I can take a better focused shot of the taped-HDMI connector with more natural light this afternoon, I'll post it later today.)
DG
Noon - here's the better picture...
Edits: 11/25/14
Good, thanks for the shot, it did the job. I figured that was likely it but being sure has it's merits.
Glad it helped. I don't have any experience with HDMI connectors but from what I've read they are rather mechanically marginal so more support seems like a good thing.
Teflon tape is handy stuff for vibration issues, It cold-flows readily and helps to damp resonances and keep stuff in place but still allows it to be moved. We used to use it on coil windings and slugs in high-G environments. You may need to add a little more or replace it if it's been installed for a while and then removed since it doesn't "recover" to speak of.
Rick
Rick,
One of the guys who works at this complex dropped by and was shocked at the improvement in the picture and sound quality resulting from the installation of Teflon tape on HDMI connectors and in empty TV/ Comcast box/ DVD Player sockets. Over and over, he kept repeating, "IT'S SO LIFE-LIKE!"
In my opinion the improvements to TV cable are clear but they look and sound tame relative to the dramatic improvement in color saturation and sound layering from playing DVDs. After a week or ten days the immediate impact of all improvements subside into the 'new normal' but I venture to suggest that the improvements from this tweak, experienced simultaneously by both eyes and ears, is initially so large that its first impact will be amongst the few that are long later recalled.
DG
And no, I'm not a pure objectivist. But when you claim significant improvements in sound and video quality, there should at least be *some* measurable justification for those claims. Lacking those, your claims are specious at best...
-RW-
If it sounds better and looks better, what else matters? Hold on, let me grab a scope, I can't trust my judgment. Have fun measuring stuff.
rlw,
Thank you for the self-revelatory post.
Cynics and skeptics need a target for expressions of their free-floating negativity and try to make tweaks serve their purpose by defining them as 'claims'. However those starting tweak-threads do not claim that their experience will be your experience and simply extend a general invitation to test the tweak.
DG
N/T
Try this tweak, your system will sound better!
How does it sound better?
Well, it sounds, you know, better.
But, *how* does it sound better? In what way?
I don't know, it just sounds better!
Oh, okay. Thanks...
-RW-
RW,
Wishing you a 'Happy Thanksgiving'!
DG
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