Why is the Belkin cable a con? It's £30 not £3000. It's beautifully made, for people who love design and attention to detail, it matches the Apple mains lead plug design - yes, important to me design wise! It's using quality components and it's the first HDMI 2.1 standard which means you'll be able to use it when Apple bring out the HDMI2.1 Apple TV in a year or so. Now why is that a con? My last Apple HDMI lead was bought for my ATV 2 in 2010 and has been perfect for the last 8 years - I still use it for connecting things. It was used for ATV 2 then my ATV 3 in April 2012 and then my ATV 4 in 2015. Sorry for to me, cheap products are a con, not something that has had some time built into its R&D.
Because it is being pushed as the only one with no options in a few places. It is like me recommending EON as the only electricity supplier when just as capable cheaper options are there. Same volts, same hertz, same cable into the house, different name.
If you value well made, why not the Monster cables at £60? They look pretty. Probably work as well. £60 got to be better? Saw some for £900 Audio Quest jobbies , now they must be superb, looked the part anyway. They come round to tarmac your drive as well. Yeah, well, perhaps not.
2.1 test criteria has only just been released by the HDMI org, well after this cable was released. Belkin are hoping it will pass, it may well pass or not. Probably will.
https://www.hdmi.org/news_events/index.aspx#CTS2018
But it does not have the test certificate yet? They are careful with the naming perhaps?
https://www.hdmi.org/consumer/finding_right_cable.aspx
They call it Ultra HD High Speed.
It will be interesting to see what comes out as "Ultra High Speed" and what they cost when makers start to pass the test. But they will be of no real benefit over Premium to the ATV with a 2.0a HDMI hardware as far as I know, the chip sets in 2.0 able to get a software upgrade to 2.1? Think 2.1 requires a new chipset. ATV 8K perhaps? Then you need a new TV to work with 2.1 to get the full potential. TV at the moment 2.1 or 2.0 HDMI? Then new Ultra cables will be a lot cheaper I hope.
Of course there will also be the usual rubbish making things difficult and there will always be cables well made and not certified that will work, such as this Belkin. I do think that it is very confusing at the moment. HDMI.org should just recommend Premium but High Speed also has 4k components in the spec so they cannot.
Anyhoo. If you like it then crack on, not for me to say. Not saying you don't have to, just that this cable seems to be pushed to the front ignoring others, that is the bit that gets me. Cost for me is important, maybe others as well. £30 is too much for something where £8 will do exactly the same thing. I can put up with the hassle of returns in the UK as the law is on our side, no cost.
In the digital world I value results over looks and cost, its my tick. Each to their own but people have a choice, expensive or cheap. If the cheap works then the expensive provides absolutely no benefit with HDMI. Not that you can see without test kit anyway.
