The Best HDMI Cables in 2024

Maybe you don't want a Monoprice or Cable Matters HDMI cord for some reason. We checked a few other large retailers and found cables we liked from each one. Here they are.

As we mentioned above, just because you're getting a new TV doesn't necessarily mean you need new HDMI cables, even if you're upgrading to something with 4K and HDR. Over short distances, say under 6 feet, just about any recent "high speed HDMI cable" should work fine. "High Speed" is the rating used by HDMI companies to indicate cables that have the bandwidth to handle 1080p and greater video resolutions.

You can think of bandwidth like a pipe. You need to be able to get a lot of "water" through the pipe with 4K and HDR content. A high speed cable needs to be "big" enough to handle it all.

Unfortunately, there's no way to tell just by looking at a cable whether it's a high speed HDMI cable that can handle the deluge of data required for 4K and HDR content. Even if it says High Speed on the jacket, that's not 100 percent useful. A cable can be considered a "high speed HDMI cable" if it passes 1080p, but not be well enough made to handle 4K. The only way to verify it works as high speed HDMI is to test it.

The good thing is, if it works, it works. For example, if you're sending a 4K HDR signal from your 4K Blu-ray player to your 4K HDR TV and the TV shows a 4K HDR signal, you're set. It's not possible to get a better image using a different 4K HDMI cable. That's not how the technology works.

There are only two "fails" with an HDMI cable. The most likely is you won't get any signal at all: A blank or flashing screen. First, check that everything's connected correctly and all your HDMI device settings are correct. 

The only other "fail" mode of HDMI cables is sparkles. This looks like snow on the screen. It can be heavy enough to look like static, like an old TV tuned to a dead channel, or it can be random-but-regular flashes of white pixels. This means you'll need new cables. 

If the TV is receiving the same resolution you're sending it (e.g., the TV says it's 4K HDR when you're sending 4K HDR), you're all set. A different cable won't make that image sharper, brighter or anything else. 

Also remember, if one step in your chain isn't 4K HDR, nothing is. As in, if you connect a 4K Blu-ray disc player to an old sound bar and then to a 4K TV, you won't be able to get a 4K signal to the TV. Also, some TVs only have one or two HDMI inputs that are HDMI 2.1 compatible. Check your owner's manual for that, too. 

The latest version of HDMI is called 2.1. This is a huge leap forward in terms of bandwidth, capable of up to 8K resolutions and beyond. There are also new cables, called Ultra High Speed, and these can carry 8K signals as well as the popular 4K/120Hz used by the Xbox Series X and others. If you're into gaming, it's worth trading up to one of these, and as we found with the Cable Matters cords above, it doesn't incur much of a price premium.

For more info on that, check out our HDMI 2.1 explainer.

The vast majority of you will just need an HDMI cable of a few feet/meters to connect your TV to your nearby cable/satellite box, video streamer, 4K Blu-ray player, or game console. Some of you, though, are looking for something with a longer cable length. There are a lot of variables to consider, which we'll discuss, so we don't have a simple pick.

In broad strokes, the build and material quality is much more important in a long HDMI cable than short. Over 15 feet there is a much higher chance that a mediocre cable won't work, or won't work at the resolution you want. This still doesn't mean you need to spend a fortune on a long cable, there are plenty of options for roughly the same price per-foot as the ones mentioned above. It does mean that no-name cables might be less likely to work. 

To put it another way, a poorly made 3-foot cable will probably work fine for most people, but a poorly made 15-foot cable probably won't. With any long-run solution you're considering, make sure it can handle 4K/60, HDR and so on. Many options can't. There are three technologies to consider:

Active: An active HDMI cable has a small chip built into the cable that takes a little power from the device's HDMI connector and uses it to boost the HDMI signal. These cables cost a little extra, but are far more likely to work. A long passive cable might work for you, but it might not. It depends on your gear. Since they're not significantly more expensive, they're worth considering for any long run.

Optical: Though a similar technology to the old-school audio interface, HDMI-over-optical is capable of far greater bandwidth. It's also capable of far greater distances. It's easy to find options that are over 330 feet. Prices have dropped radically in the last few years, with options available for similar prices per-foot as traditional copper cables. Most don't even need external power. They work and look just like a thin HDMI cable. There are Monoprice options, as well as an Amazon Basics option.

Wireless: You could also skip cables completely and just go wireless. This isn't quite as simple as it sounds, though. There are far too many considerations to get into here, but a few things to keep in mind: 1) They're going to cost more than cables; 2) 4K options often only work in-room and can be blocked by anything, including cabinet doors and even people. Though wireless seems like it should be easy for multiple devices in this era of near-ubiquitous Wi-Fi, it's not. If you're considering this, definitely do your research before you buy.

There are, of course, many other cable options. 

If you want to keep hunting for the best deal, make sure the cable you're considering is either Premium Certified, says it can do 4K/60, or can handle at least 18Gbps bandwidth. And it's an added bonus if it has a great warranty like the Monoprice cables.

Keep in mind there's no such thing as HDMI cable "versions." As in, there's no such thing as an "HDMI 2.1" cable. The version numbers refer to the physical connections in your TV, receiver or sound bar. So your TV and 4K Blu-ray player need to both have HDMI 2.0 to watch HDR content, but the cable connecting them couldn't care less. It's just a dumb pipe. 

As long as that pipe is "big" enough, which is to say it has enough bandwidth, you should be good to go. The 18Gbps bandwidth mentioned above came about with the HDMI 2.0 spec, so if a cable claims it, it's likely built to handle the additional data that HDMI 2.0 connections can provide. The new Ultra High Speed cables are capable of 48Gbps, but that's far beyond what any current source can send.

Lastly, if you want to run the cables through a wall, make sure you get HDMI cables specifically made for that. Check your local building codes for the HDMI specification you need. 

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As well as covering TV and other display tech, Geoff does photo tours of cool museums and locations around the world, including nuclear submarines, massive aircraft carriers, medieval castles, epic 10,000-mile road trips, and more. Check out Tech Treks for all his tours and adventures.  

He wrote a bestselling sci-fi novel about city-size submarines and Budget Travel for Dummies. You can follow his adventures on Instagram and his YouTube channel.