Online shoppers have been at a disadvantage when it comes to knowing whether the HDMI® Cables they are buying have met the requirements of a rigorous testing and certification process in compliance with the HDMI Specifications.
That is until now. A new online banner program brings the same level of assurance retail buyers of Premium High Speed HDMI® Cables and Ultra High Speed HDMI® Cables have when making a purchase in a store.
The new HDMI Verification Banner program gives online shoppers a mechanism to know a cable is authentic and has been certified under the right HDMI Compliance Test Specification needed to support a specification’s feature set regardless of whether they can see the HDMI Certification Label on the packaging or not.
In this interview, Brad Bramy, vice president of marketing and operations at HDMI LA, discusses the new program, how it can assist online buyers and why it’s important to use certified cables.
Q: What is the HDMI Licensing Administrator’s new HDMI Verification Banner program and why is it important?
Brad Bramy: The program specifically addresses what consumers need when shopping online for Premium High Speed HDMI Cables and Ultra High Speed HDMI Cables.
When shopping online manufacturers aren’t required to show a photo of the certification label on the packaging. As a result, consumers can’t be certain the cables they are buying are authentic.
HDMI LA has several years under its belt with our HDMI Cable Certification Program that requires Premium High Speed HDMI Cables and Ultra High Speed HDMI Cables to pass rigorous testing and certification before being eligible to receive physical HDMI Certification Labels. Retail shoppers can be confident products carrying those labels are of the highest quality.
Our new HDMI Verification Banner program brings the same high-level of confidence to online shoppers.
Q: When did this program launch?
BB: The program began in early 2023. Manufacturers have responded by adopting the program. Among the first are Austere and Zeskit.
Q: What must a cable vendor do to qualify for the new banner?
BB: The banners are an optional part of our existing HDMI Cable Certification Program, so as long as a model has a label order in the last 18 months it can get a banner.
Q: For consumers, is it just a matter of looking for the banner on a retailer’s or manufacturer’s website?
BB: That’s the first step, but then shoppers must click the banner. For some websites that don’t allow our embedded code on their website, we provide a banner with a QR code that just needs to be scanned. So, either clicked or scanned –at that point, HDMI LA verifies the authenticity of the cable. Then the brand name, model and length of the cable is displayed.
It’s the same when scanning the physical Certification Labels affixed to packaging.
Q: What are the main benefits of determining the status of an HDMI Cable prior to purchase?
BB: There are several. First, consumers can be certain that genuine certified Premium and Ultra High Speed HDMI Cables have been rigorously tested and certified at HDMI Authorized Test Centers or HDMI Forum Authorized Test Centers. That means they can be certain the cables they are buying are compliant with the HDMI Specifications, meet performance requirements for the stated feature sets and are compatible with HDMI products.
Counterfeit and uncertified products, obviously, aren’t subject to this testing and as a result may suffer from subpar performance that degrades video and audio quality or may completely fail.
Second, a customer using certified cables can take them out of the equation as the source of a problem if there is a component failure. Rather than not knowing whether a component like a TV or soundbar has failed or the problem stems from an uncertified cable, consumers can be confident in using cables that bear the certification label or have the online verification banner, removing an unnecessary variable from the process of elimination.
Lastly, knowing a cable is certified means it has not been manufactured with substandard materials or with inadequate oversight—two factors that can compromise quality and possibly be responsible for safety hazards.
More information is available on the HDMI LA website.
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