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Which HDMI cable for 4K TV?

clemenzina

clemenzina

Forum Supporter
I recently bought a second-hand 5000t and am very disappointed with the picture quality on my Samsung TV Model QE43QN90C (2023) - specs are available if req'd, scroll down the page.

Despite setting the input @ 2160p the picture quality is very disappointing, particularly when accessing streaming services*, eg iPlayer, when the text is almost broken up. It's occurred to me that maybe I shouldn't be using a legacy HDMI cable of un-remembered provenance so I intend to buy a new one which will definitely cope with the higher resolution offered by the TV, but it's a minefield...

Can anyone recommend a good cable that doesn't cost more than £15? The lesser the better, of course, but if someone said "pay £20 or £25 for this and you'll be in heaven" then I'd go for it. 2m should be plenty long enough.

I only buy online. Thank you for reading.

*Obviously I can access streaming services via the TV but the TV's remote control is vilely small and crowded (for my fingers) so it would be a relief to be able to use the Humax, if only for iPlayer.
 
If you get a picture at all, the fault (if there is one) is not the HDMI cable. Anyone who tells you otherwise is peddling snake oil.

HDMI is RGB, but the separate R G and B are transmitted as serialised digital data... and if bits were getting corrupted you would notice! That said, you should ensure your cable is compatible with 4K (HDMI 2.0, or 2.1 for 8K), but so long as the cable is 2.0 you don't need to pay or an expensive one.

What crap HDMI cables might do is radiate interference and corrupt the aerial signal.

It is far more likely you have iPlayer set up for low quality, or it has defaulted to low quality because your broadband is running slowly. Also check the resolution the 5000T is set to output, and use 5000T on-screen menus as test sources.
 
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clemenzina said:
Despite setting the input @ 2160p the picture quality is very disappointing, particularly when accessing streaming services*, eg iPlayer, when the text is almost broken up.
Click to expand...
You might do better for most iPlayer content with input set to 1080p and let the TV do the rest.
 
Thank you @Black Hole and @MartinLiddle 😊

@trog - My 5000T's resolution is @ 2160p in the Settings - I upped it to that when the 1080p appeared so bad.

I used to read about HDMI snake-oil peddlers in the old days but thought that the new standards must have changed things. I'll just get a 2.0 HDMI cable.

I knew y'all would know 😁
 
Is the TV iPlayer better than the Humax iPlayer? If so I'd suggest getting a new Samsung remote (eg the smart or solar one - less keys) or a universal remote with big keys.
 
bottletop said:
Is the TV iPlayer better than the Humax iPlayer? If so I'd suggest getting a new Samsung remote (eg the smart or solar one - less keys) or a universal remote with big keys.
Click to expand...
Oh yes, the TV iPlayer is fine. As for the Samsung remote, I set aside the "modern" one as soon as unboxing the TV, no idea where it is now. But I did find a hardly-used Harmony from years ago, looking all pristine in a drawer, only to discover that Logitech stopped supporting it in May this year so it can't be configured for anything new. One could spit!
 
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