Newsletters
Facebook
RSS Feed
EH Store
View SlideshowQ: What’s the best way to keep HDMI Cables from ‘popping out’ and/or from damaging my HDMI Input or cable? - Lew, Portland
A: Arghh! - sorry - just a natural reaction to another HDMI cable popping out. These really are a problem aren’t they? It’s really easy for them to fall out, or worse, move within the socket and damage either the cable or equipment.
While HDMI might offer great visual and audio capabilities you do get the feeling that the connector was designed by an intern on a Saturday morning. Enough with the rant - we just have to live with it.
There are a couple of ways to help with this problem:
Adhesive - Carefully place some Blu-tack above and below the connector. This will help prevent the cable from falling out. If you can get hold of the black version, this is even stickier and better.
Locking Cables - Some cable manufacturers (notably Gefen) make locking HDMI cables. On the rear of most equipment you will find a screw above the HDMI connector. Carefully unscrew this and replace it with the screw attached to the HDMI cable. Of course this restricts the choice of cable you can use and might be expensive if you have to replace all the cables in your system.
Covers - Lindy makes two covers that are designed to work over an existing cable. These are specifically designed to work with Lindy cables, but you may find that it will work with the ones you own. At $14 per pair, it is certainly cheaper than replacing all your cables.
Even with these solutions make sure that you support the cables and ensure there is no strain on them. This can cause problems with picture quality and can damage the equipment.
Click here to view slideshow of locking HDMI cables and accessories.
If the integrator/installer routed the cables properly to begin with stress relief in mind it shouldn’t have happened in the first place… but I do see your point concerning service calls for simple fixes. If you’re doing a multi-thousand dollar install for a customer then adding some active stress relief or locking mechanism may be a relatively low cost addition to prevent service calls down the road.
If you’re piecing together a system yourself and/or are effectively your own CI, then there are free ways of effectively preventing cable stress. The latter instance was the mindset my original comment came from.
What if someone else touches your leg? Many integrators may not have this problem with their personal system, but the problem comes when their customers call them and they’re upset that their system cut out in the middle of their party, or that their HDMI Input was damaged somehow by their cable coming out. Usually those service calls are not a money making event for the integrator.
Maybe it’s not a mountain, but it’s certainly a big hill.
Mountain out of mole hill springs to mind. I concur with IsleOfMan. You are a dying breed
Quote Man “It hurts everytime i touch my leg!”
Smarter Man “then stop touching your leg”.
The best way is thoughtful cable routing and not trying to stretch every last inch of reach out of a cable… adjust the slack so there’s not a lot of pull. Outward/backward pull causes the plug to slide out and sidewards pull (usually from routing the cable parallel to the back of the equipment then trying to make a right angle too close to the connector) is even worse and can damage the cable, connector, or the receptacle.
Think about how you route your cables and buy cables that are long enough and it quickly becomes a non-issue.
+ View all comments on for this article
- News
- Cool Homes
- Blogs
- Photo Galleries
Seymour Screen Excellence Adds Retractable Masking Option
The woven acoustic screen is now available in a retractable, masking version.
24 Audio Zones, Mirror TV & Loads of Lighting Control
Centralized home control and automation plus boatload of A/V options including dropdown theater screen revitalize 12K-square-foot home.
The Case for Dumb TVs
Should TV manufacturers offer dumbed-down TVs that focus on image quality rather than apps?
Automated Avatar Is Home’s Personal Electronic Greeter
Say hello to home control in this high-tech palace, circa 2006.
I totally agree with you that there are things you can/should do. My comments were more directed to JO.
I personally have not had this problem in my system, but I also know that things don’t seem to go so smoothly with customers’ systems, and many people seem to find a way to break things that I could never imagine.