The best HDMI cable for CCTV are the ones that can handle the traffic from the Digital Video Recorder (DVR) or Network Video Recorder (NVR) in high-resolution without compromising the video quality
In many CCTV installations that use DVRs/NVRs, the customer wants to see the images through a monitor connected directly to the recorder.
For this type of installation it is necessary to use monitors and HDMI or VGA cables, and today the best choice has been the first one.
Many technicians are faced with different types of situations when they are installing the cables but are not sure which one is better for CCTV recorders.
In this article, I will explain a little about the standards of HDMI technology, the different versions and which HDMI cable is best for DVRs and NVRs.
How to choose the best HDMI cable for CCTV
All cables have their distance limitations, and in the case of HDMI, the maximum distance recommended is 50 feet.
There is a lot of discussion about the HDMI cables quality and obviously, there are big differences in prices, in the market, it is possible to find a lot of poor-quality cables, and also other cables that are sold at very high prices.
The question is simple, the cables deliver the video or not. If that cheap cable allows you to get a picture of your DVR on a Full HD monitor, the other cable that costs a lot more will not make so much of a difference, it's just a question of whether or not to display the image on the screen.
Another factor to consider is if the HDMI cable is made of a good material that won't breake on the first time you use it. Just be careful with that.
Should I Always Buy Cheap HDMI Cables?
I don't recommend buying those poor-quality HDMI cables because there are other factors involved besides showing the image as explained above.
Depending on the physical quality of the cable, maneuvering movements can damage it. So you can choose between the cheaper and more expensive cable. You don't have to purchase something very expensive, but you don't have to go cheap to the point where you buy cables with very low quality.
Be very careful when buying cables on the market that have poor quality material that causes the pins to be damaged when inserted into equipment such as DVRs or TVs.
More details about the HDMI standard
The HDMI standard was created for multimedia transport in high definition, hence its name High Definition Multimedia Interface which means that it can transport audio and video in high definition in digital format, this pattern has evolved with time for different versions.
I will not go into many technical details here, but basically the standards created for HDMI are related to the speed that can transmit multimedia content (audio and video) and other features like the use of images in 4K (HDMI version 1.4) or transmission of two simultaneous images (HDMI version 2.0) which also allows higher frame rate (4K at 60FPS).
In the market it is possible to find equipment with different versions of the HDMI standard, ie the product manufacturer's manual should indicate which version of HDMI is available (although most manuals do not mention anything about it)
But pay close attention to what I'm saying ... HDMI versions like 1.4 and 2.0 are related to the equipment,
I'm not talking about cables. Do not fall for the tale of buying a cable that some vendor pushes you saying it's cable HDMI 2.0, this is not correct.
It means that your old cable that is used for devices that are version 1.4, such as Blue Ray Players and TVs will work for new devices that are ready to work with HDMI version 2.0, such as the modern TV for example.
Your old cable will work because the pin patterns are the same, don't think there is something super special on a new cable that the seller wants to push you, so it is not necessary to swap for new and more expensive ones.
HDMI cables that are used for versions like 1.4 will work for version 2.0, just keep in mind you need to follow the recommendation of maximum of 15 meters and if your CCTV application exceeds this distance you need to use HDMI extenders that use UTP (network) cables.
More details on standards and HDMI versions can be found on HDMI.org's website (www.hdmi.org), the site is a reliable source of information.