HDMI Cables: A Cautionary Tale

I read the Q&A column in the October/ November 2018 issue concerning HDMI 1.3b vs 2.0 cables, in which you corrected the reader by stating “there’s no such thing.” I want to share my story in the hope of saving someone grief and money. It should be obvious to most of your readers that not all HDMI cables are created equal. I am sure most of us have cables dating back to HDMI’S introduction in 2002, or shortly thereafter. Will those old cables work with new equipment? Probably not. In my case, I had an Apple TV box hooked up to my system. Everything worked fine until I replaced the box with the new Apple TV 4K model. It would work for a few minutes, but then I would lose the picture. Wi-fi signal strength was not the issue. I assumed the problem was with the Apple TV, but

A little digging on Google revealed it was probably my HDMI cable. Brand recommendations were given, and I went with the Amazonbasics High Speed HDMI cable 2-pack for $8.99, a small price to pay to see if the problem could be fixed (I still had doubts). I hooked up my Apple TV using the new cable and haven’t had a problem since. Lesson learned. Jim Webster Dover, DE