Prior to HDMI, these were basically limited to either DVI or component video. The former, a video-only connector, was better suited to its original use in computer monitors, The latter, although effective at transferring HD signals once hooked up, required users to route up to five separate cables if they wanted both video and audio to transfer simultaneously. Broadly speaking, HDMI connectors are notable among other types of wired connectors and terminals for the quality, bandwidth and speed of the A/V signals they’re able to carry. Since the first HDMI products were launched in 2002, there have been a number of revisions and official iterations of the HDMI standard, each of which delivered its own updated set of HDMI connector specifications. Sales of HDMI components began to increase exponentially over the following 3-5 years, and today it has become more or less the default option for home and workplace A/V signal transfer alike. True to the developers’ original vision, HDMI now allows extremely high-quality audio-visual signals to be carried reliably and neatly between capable wired devices via a single sturdy cable.

In almost all standard use scenarios, HDMI cables and connectors of all types will be used to transfer simultaneous audio and video signals from a source to a receiver or display. After all, that’s what they were originally developed to do, without users having to link up multiple different sets of cables (or the much more unwieldy DVI connectors) to get both types of signal carried at once. As covered earlier in this guide, HDMI was originally developed to update and replace the existing DVI connector standard still found on many computer monitors and other items of video display hardware. DVI is a video-only output, and although HDMI can carry both audio and video signals at the same time, it’s also electrically compatible with the DVI interface. Male HDMI connectors, on the other hand, are generally supplied as fixed components at either end of almost every commercially available HDMI cable. In many situations, it’s easier and cheaper to replace a damaged male connector by swapping in a replacement cable. However, this isn’t always practical. Some high-end HDMI cables can be relatively expensive (especially the longer and sturdier types), and so in these cases, it can be considerably cheaper to wire a new male connector than to replace an entire cable run. Because female HDMI connectors are usually recessed into the body of TVs, games consoles, projectors, computers and monitors - and because they tend to be more susceptible to deforming under excessive strain than male connectors - they’re more widely sold as standalone replacement parts.

Male HDMI connectors, on the other hand, are generally supplied as fixed components at either end of almost every commercially available HDMI cable, and so in many situations, it’s easier and cheaper to replace a damaged male connector by simply swapping in a new cable. However, this isn’t always practical: some high-end HDMI cables can be relatively expensive (especially the longer and sturdier types), and so in many cases, it can be considerably cheaper to wire on a new male connector than to replace an entire cable run. HDMI was essentially developed as a means of gathering these five separate cables into one. And, after a period of intense research and testing worldwide, HDMI first launched as a range of commercially available cable and connectors in 2002. HDMI stands for High Definition Multimedia Interface. This high-end modern format was initially developed in the very early 2000s, with the original aim of improving on the overall convenience and functionality of existing standards for carrying HDTV signals. As female HDMI connectors are usually recessed into the body of TVs, games consoles, projectors, computers, and monitors - and because they tend to be more susceptible to deforming under excessive strain than male connectors - they’re more widely sold as standalone replacement parts.

Broadly speaking, each of these revisions delivered successive expansions in overall functionality and performance, and so the universal HDMI connector specs have constantly been evolving over the lifetime of the format to date.

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