HDMI Connector Types Explained

Find Out More About the Different HDMI Connector Types and How To Connect Them

A Mini HDMI (Type C) to Standard HDMI (Type A) Cable

In the ever expanding world of HDMI technology, manufacturers are looking to add HDMI to more and more of their devices. In the HDMI 1.3 specification we saw the introduction of the Mini HDMI connector.

Currently there are 2 types of HDMI connector available; the Type A and Type C connectors, known as the Standard HDMI connector and the Mini or Miniature HDMI connector respectively.

Standard HDMI Connector (Type A) - The Standard HDMI connector is also known as the Type A HDMI connector. It has 19 pins and is found on most HDMI enabled devices such as TV's, Blu-Ray Players, HDMI upscalers and the Sony Playstation 3.

Mini HDMI Connector (Type C) - A Mini HDMI connector was introduced in the HDMI 1.3 specification. As it's name suggests it is much smaller than the Standard Type A HDMI connector, although it still has 19 pins. The Mini HDMI, also known as the Type C connector, was developed for smaller, portable devices where standard HDMI ports would be too large. It is now commonly being found on the new generation of HD Camcorders and notebooks

Connecting Standard HDMI (Type A) to Another Standard HDMI (Type A) Device

This is the most common HDMI connection, used to connect Blu-ray Players, Playstation 3's, upscalers, SkyHD boxes and more to HDMI displays. For this you will require an HDMI Type A to Type A Cable. These HDMI cables tend to differ significantly in price, however, we think that for most peoples home theatre setups our High Quality Gold HDMI Cables are perfectly adequate, running all resolutions up to 1080p and based on the 1.3b HDMI Specification.

Connecting Standard HDMI (Type A) to Mini HDMI (Type C)

Fortunately, the Type C connection was developed for use with current HDMI equipment, meaning that it is completely backwards compatible - i.e. will work with any HDMI specification - and is pin for pin compatible with the standard (Type A) connector. This means there are no complicated conversions. To connect a Type C HDMI port to a Type A HDMI Port you simply need an HDMI Type A to Type C Cable.

Connecting Mini HDMI (Type C) to Another Mini HDMI (Type C) Device?

To make this connection you will need a Mini HDMI to Mini HDMI Cable. You will also need to make sure that you are connecting an output device to an input device. For example it would not be possible to connect two camcorders with mini HDMI ports that are designed to output the picture to a screen. However, an HD camcorder with a mini HDMI output to a laptop with a Mini HDMI input would work.

What Happened to the HDMI Type B Connector?

Currently the Type B connector is not available on any devices but was developed as part of the HDMI specification for future applications with very high resolutions. The Type B HDMI connector has 29 pins and can carry double the bandwidth of the HDMI Type A connector.

Tags: Mini HDMI , HDMI , HDMI Type C , HDMI Connector Types , HDMI Type A

Category: Technical Help

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