THX Ltd. Announces New THX Interconnect Cables to Elevate Home Theater Entertainment

[AsRock]

2 things came to mind...

 

[THU31]

While this is overkill, cable quality does matter. When I bought my 4K OLED TV, I was still using my old HDMI 1.4 cables. And even though they were high quality, the screen would sometimes go black, or I would have artifacts similar to GPU overclocking artifacts from 20 years ago.
I replaced them with $20 2.1 cables from UGREEN and I've had no issues for a few years now. Hopefully they'll be fine if I ever upgrade my TV and receiver.

I expect there are cheap 2.1 cables that actually have problems with 4K120 or 8K.

 

[R-T-B]

...and just when telling people to stop buying Monster Cables felt like a distant memory...this...

I actually bought a monster cable recently (ok like 1-2 years ago), first one in my life. Why? Because for some freakish reason in the very early proto-hdmi 2.1 market, they were the cheapest certified cable.

Strange times.

 

[LabRat 891]

I actually bought a monster cable recently (ok like 1-2 years ago), first one in my life. Why? Because for some freakish reason in the very early proto-hdmi 2.1 market, they were the cheapest certified cable.

Strange times.

Don't feel bad. I scored some MONSTER cables on clearance (+employee discount). They're never worth full-retail, but they are 'quality' cables (usually).

Monoprice used to be my go to, but too many people have reported issues w/ their DP and HDMI cables; more than 2 'tech'toobers have confirmed samples of Monoprice's cables not meeting spec, aswell.
I'll still buy from Monoprice (just got a glass monitor stand from 'em), just not their high-speed serial-link cables (that includes USB3.xGenx and Type-C).

 

[R-T-B]

Don't feel bad. I scored some MONSTER cables on clearance (+employee discount). They're never worth full-retail, but they are 'quality' cables (usually).

Monoprice used to be my go to, but too many people have reported issues w/ their DP and HDMI cables, and more than 2 'toobers have confirmed samples of Monoprice's cables not meeting spec.
Still will buy from Monoprice (just got a glass monitor stand), just not their high-speed serial-link cables (that includes USB3.xGenx and Type-C).

Oh I don't. Cable is actually a decent 5m example (and neon blue with gold trim, but w/e if it works, you know?)

There are certainly better options on the market now though. This was during early hdmi 2.1 cert process + pandemic so honestly, the fact it was in stock, certified and wasn't 5 MILLION DOLLARS was almost a reason to buy it.

 

[SOAREVERSOR]

Can't speak to these cables, but quality audio cables do make a difference.

You're talking digital vs analogue for the most part here though.

 

[R-T-B]

You're talking digital vs analogue for the most part here though.

and hdmi audio is digital.

Yeah, it makes a difference on analog RCA. But nearly everything else? Nope.

 

[Prima.Vera]

Can't speak to these cables, but quality audio cables do make a difference.

In the analog era, yes, but since all off those cables are for digital signaling...

 

[R-T-B]

In the analog era, yes, but since all off those cables are for digital signaling...

a lot of audio cables are still analog (not all of course but a surprising amount). But mostly at the endpoint. Not much point going digital there, and not much will be lost in transit from the jack to your ear either. So really very limited gains to be had.

 

[eldon_magi]

I'd steer clear of xinese brands, but there are some Taiwanese companies that make them. Note that optical cable are directional. But yes, they work and they work really well.

Thankyou. 100gbit SFP28+ network cards are coming down in price rapidly. I have a dream. I dream of 8K monitors with a SFP28+ cage, and a optical transceiver, which you can connect to your 100gbit+ SFP+ LAN using optical network fiber, and it just gets an IP address from DHCP. Any network device can send video to it.

That's my dream.

I have a 50ft fiber HDMI cable that does 4k120hdr w/ vrr just fine. They may offer a DP version. Stouchi is the brand. Picked it up on Amazon for $60.

Thankyou for the brand name. From my research so far, optical HDMI cables are plentiful, and work well. But DP cables not. Probably because the different signal. And i need DP cables the most, or i will have to start looking at mini-DP to HDMI converters.

One thing i can't understand is most GPU's have multiple DP outputs, and maybe one HDMI output, while most monitors have multiple HDMI inputs, but usually only one DP input.

My new screens have one DP input, plus altmode USB-C. I just ordered a "DeLock DisplayPort Adapter for a USB Type-C Monitor 4K 60 Hz"

Hope it works.

 

[Ferather]

Sounds like a plan.

 

[ToTTenTranz]

I'd like to make my contribution to the pile by stating the fact that THX belongs to Razer since 2016.

 

[Ferather]

I don't think it was the whole company, I remember they purchased the THX spatial software. THX also tend to do better with upmixing also.

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So I have been looking at the newer DisplayPort 2.1 @ 80Gbps, turns out its all just bandwidth reduction (bit like compression).
The encoding has changed to 128b/132b, allowing up to 80Gbps (77.37Gbps), and no cable upgrades.

If this is the case, and we had 80Gbps optical (raw), encoding will do the same, so one cable for life @ 100 years life span.


If I took an audio PCM @ 37mbps file and compressed (encoded) it to FLAC @ 8mbps, the bandwidth required has changed.
If I compared sending a RAW video file, and an encoded 128b/132b file (not decoded), the end file size will be different.

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Intel High Definition Audio - Wikipedia (HDA, HDAUDIO) | @eldon_magi, you might find this interesting.

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SPDIF_Tx v1.20 | Infineon (15* Channel SPDIF Transmitter) || CS42528 | Cirrus Logic (8 Channel 192k SPDIF Receiver).

* Also has 'Don't care' mode (0), which I presume means any number of channels (16+).

----

 

[trsttte]

So I have been looking at the newer DisplayPort 2.1 @ 80Gbps, turns out its all just bandwidth reduction (bit like compression).
The encoding has changed to 128b/132b, allowing up to 80Gbps (77.37Gbps), and no cable upgrades.

If this is the case, and we had 80Gbps optical (raw), encoding will do the same, so one cable for life @ 100 years life span.


If I took an audio PCM @ 37mbps file and compressed (encoded) it to FLAC @ 8mbps, the bandwidth required has changed.
If I compared sending a RAW video file, and an encoded 128b/132b file (not decoded), the end file size will be different.

Nothing of the sort. What changing the encoding changes is the transmission efficiency: where before for each 8 data bits you'd send 2 extra bits for error correction and dc balancing - wasting 20% of your bandwidth - moving to 128b:132b you'll only waste about 3%. That's how a small change from 32gbps to 40gbps with DP1.4 to DP2.1 UHBR1 nets a big jump in effective bandwidth from 25gbps to 38gbps

DP2.1 also increased the signal frequencies by a lot (can't find the number but ballpark about double the frequency) and new and better cables are definitely needed.

You technically could call compressing encoding something in a different more efficiant way but your comparison is incorrect because if you're sending the video encoded in 128b/132b vs sending a raw 1:1 bit stream you'd be increasing your bandwidth requirement because you're transmitting an extra 4 bits vs the raw bit stream.

All compression requires encoding data in a different way, but not all encoding is compressing data

 

[Ferather]

Noted. So if the physical copper cables in HDMI-DP can only do say 40Gbps max, then to get 80Gbps the encoding is required, correct?
Also, if the cables where 3x 40Gbps, 120Gbps, why cant we do 80Gbps with the older encoding? Or can we?

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PAM4 Modulation & PAM4 vs NRZ | PAM-4 Signaling | Understanding NRZ and PAM4 Signaling

 

[Calenhad]

Higher quality cables for extreme bitrate content is a necessity. Having a THX certification process to make sure a cable will flawlessly support said bitrates is great. I have had enough experience troubleshooting home theatre setups, where the only problem was a shitty hdmi cable, to appreciate a good cable. You are correct in saying it is just a digital signal, but once you get into 4K HDR or higher you can really tell if your cable is junk/made for an older spec. Meaning it will not work at all or cause constant resync aka those great 1 second black screens. If the cable corrupts the signal bad enough, the receiving end can't tell 0's from 1's anymore. Because, ohms law (as one example) still applies to the physical transfer of digital signals in a copper cable. If the SNR is to low your signal will go bye-bye. And a crap cable is one sure-fire way to get there fast.

If you can find a unicorn $1/m cable that works flawlessly with 4K HDR then I want one too. So far I have had to spend a little more per meter than that, iirc the previous cable I had to upgrade for somebody was ~$10 for a 3m cable. So those prices are approaching old Monster Cable snake oil(tm) territory. And how long until we see fake THX logos on cables? Any on Amazon by now?

I'd like to make my contribution to the pile by stating the fact that THX belongs to Razer since 2016.

What fact would that be? That you are factually wrong? All Razer got is this piece of software.

 

[ToTTenTranz]

What fact would that be? That you are factually wrong? All Razer got is this piece of software.

Well, then you should send an email to Business Insider telling them their article is wrong so it must be retracted.

The 'Apple of the gaming industry' just bought an audio company founded by George Lucas

Business Insider can exclusively reveal that Razer has acquired the iconic audio brand THX, which was founded by George Lucas.

www.businessinsider.com

Razer's cofounder and CEO Min-Liang Tan revealed the acquisition of the majority of THX assets in an interview with Business Insider.

While you're at it, you can also send an email to Razer themselves who are apparently convinced they bought THX in 2016.

Razer Acquires THX - Razer Newsroom

Razer acquires audiovisual icon THX as it explores growth beyond the games industry. Check out the article here.

press.razer.com

Razer acquires audiovisual icon THX as it explores growth beyond the games industry.

Thankfully there are specialists on the internet who know more than official press releases.

While you're at it, perhaps you could change the wikipedia page as well.

 

[claster17]

Having a THX certification process to make sure a cable will flawlessly support said bitrates is great.

VESA and HDMI certification for DP and HDMI cables already exist. Having another entity check the cables is fine but I expect Razer to charge an insane markup.

 

[trsttte]

Noted. So if the physical copper cables in HDMI-DP can only do say 40Gbps max, then to get 80Gbps the encoding is required, correct?
Also, if the cables where 3x 40Gbps, 120Gbps, why cant we do 80Gbps with the older encoding? Or can we?

I think you're confusing things, some type of encoding in one form or another is always necessary to send any signal, display port happens to use this "simple" 128b/132b.

Older cables were able to do X bandwidth, 32gbps on the old DP1.4 (which was already problematic) and now cables need to be built slightly better to do a bit more (40gpbs) or much better to do a lot more (80gbps). For some lenghts this is just not feasable so we jump to optical.

The cables were't 3x40gbps, Display ports uses 4 lanes, in the past each carrying 8.1gbps (x4 = 32.4 gbps) and now jumping to 10/13/20 gbps (x4 = 40/60/80 gpbs)

 

[Ferather]

@Calenhad, I thought the same as you, the spatial software, but no @ToTTenTranz is correct. Might be that they purchased the software first, then after, the whole company, or we just remember it wrong.
@trsttte, Agreed I should have put a 4x X Gbps in my example, what I meant was the physical bandwidth of the copper. What has changed with the newer cables, higher gauge?

100% copper and oxygen free wont change, so I am trying to workout how the bandwidth has essentially more than doubled.

And also, wouldn't it be the case of more copper = more antenna effect (EMI), one lane would surely pickup less EMI than 4 in a row, same for gauge?

 

[claster17]

What has changed with the newer cables, higher gauge?

Better shielding mostly.

 

[Ferather]

Shielding from EMI, lol. I like that answer.

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So with my optical internet I get 5ms ping UK to China (there and back in 5ms). According to Google, the distance is 4833.76 miles.
Lets makes that 4800 and x2 (there and back again, by Bilbo Baggins). 5 / 9600 = 0.00052083333ms, a mile.

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@trsttte, you have been very helpful, so thanks for that.

Second image below, I put out a bi-directional optical system for HDMI-DP. Single specific lanes of single fiber, a multi-fiber cable.

The video lane could start at 100 Gbps (NRZ), and later move to 200Gbps (other encoding, example PAM4).
The audio and data lane can-will also have their own bandwidth, 125Mbps audio 10Gbps data.

This would require a new version, due to the built in optical transmitters-receivers (not in the cable or connector).


This is all on paper, and semi-randomly generated numbers, of coarse. Blanking periods for audio-other are not required.

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Optional read (Audio): https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/dmas-design-spdif-optical.307991/

Technically speaking, a GPU can already support 125Mbps TOSLink @ current consumer standard.
This includes the module which the cable plugs into, but for some reason they don't.

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[R-T-B]

Higher quality cables for extreme bitrate content is a necessity. Having a THX certification process to make sure a cable will flawlessly support said bitrates is great.

We already have the (decently) open HDMI certification process. It's not cheap because high bandwidth is... not cheap. Nothing to do with the cert agency.

 

[Ferather]

Rated [lossless] and [low latency] would be a better certification.