HDMI 1.4 Problems Are a 'Pandemic'
By Jason Knott
Some installers are ready to quit out of frustration. DPL Labs upgrades cable testing procedures to filter out problems.

Jeff Boccaccio, president of DPL Labs, had nearly 70 calls last week from installers who were frustrated with non-functioning HDMI systems.

“It’s a pandemic," he says. "It’s getting so bad that some integrators tell me that they are just going to quit and get out of the business. It’s sad for the whole industry.”

HDMI problems are rare occurrences in small DIY systems where homeowners are likely plugging in short run cables from a receiver to a TV, but it’s the custom installers who seem to bear the brunt of potential problems because they are doing larger, more complex installations where sometimes they “break every rule in the book” when designing a system, Boccaccio says.

DPL Labs Unveils Tougher Testing
Boccaccio and DPL Labs have become a de facto consulting firm for hundreds of custom installers. And to help mitigate problems in the field, DPL has recently instituted tougher testing policies for its certification in order to help alleviate these in-the-field problems.

In a nutshell, the new testing procedures cover three areas:

Video Integrity: DPL is now testing cables to meet a specific speeding rating of 3.4 Gbps, which is required for a cable to be able accommodate 1080p, Deep Color and 3D.

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