I have had both cable and satellite before. In both cases a coax is run from the source to box that digitally decodes the signal, meaning that coax is transmitting a lot of data, often including high speed internet. Yet running a coax from the cable box to the tv only results in standard def picture. What gives?
In: 12
* Coax *could* be used as the connection between the cable box and the TV.
* But the movie industry wanted something different for a lot of reasons:
* Less confusion
* the coax coming from the street into your house *must* run through the decoder box from your specific cable company before going to your TV.
* If both connections used coax, people would try to connect it straight to the TV and it wouldn’t work.
* Coax comes in many different types and not all are suitable for the immense amount of data HDMI cables transmit.
* The cable from the street is installed by the cable company so they know it’s the proper type, but a cable from the decoder to the TV could get swapped out by the user by mistake and now there are complaints that things don’t work.
* HDMI cables have a minimum spec that means they will all work….for now.
* If your device has an HDMI connector, then you know it works with HDMI.
* Since lots of formats have used a COAX connector…you can’t tell just by looking at the device if it’s compatible with HD video, HDCP, etc
* Slimmer form factor/easier to connect – HDMI connections don’t take up as much room on a device as COAX connectors do and they are much easier to insert/remove and harder to break than COAX.
* More control of design: To sell a device with HDMI connectors with the logo you need to get the proper licensing and that ensures (most) manufactures follow the rules.
* Anyone can make a device with a COAX connector and imply it does what it’s supposed to (like enforce HDCP) but it might not actually do that.
Latest Answers