What are HDMI, HDMI Mini & HDMI Micro Cables?

Posted by: on May 10, 2021

What are HDMI, HDMI Mini & HDMI Micro Cables?
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The HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) video cable has become a standard for any business or home that has HD televisions, audio systems or media players of any kind. Because of the rise in the use of these types of cables, other variations have also emerged to allow for more devices to become HDMI compatible.  HDMI v2.0 and v2.1 is the most recent protocol which expands the color range from previous versions.

Here’s a quick overview of the HDMI (Type A), HDMI Mini (Type C), and HDMI Micro (Type D) cables. 

HDMI (Type A) Cable

The regular HDMI (male) connector Type A is a standard cable connector used for any uncompressed TV or PC video format, including standard, enhanced, high-definition, and 3-D video signals.

A standard Type A connector has dimensions of 13.9 mm x 4.45 mm. The female receptacle has dimensions of 14 mm x 4.55 mm. There are a total of 19 pins that can support SDTV, EDTV and HDTV modes and it is also electrically compatible with single-link DVI-D and compatible with HDMI 1.4 specification.

Click to purchase a regular HDMI-A to HDMI-A cable.

Mini-HDMI C Cable

The Mini-HDMI Type C cable comes in a few different variations depending on it’s use. With the increasing usage of handheld devices such as DSLR cameras and camcorders, this was the first cable to be created. It’s considered a Type C connector. Type C connectors are compatible with HDMI 1.4 specification.

The Mini-HDMI connector is much smaller than a standard Type A plug. It measures 10.42 mm x 2.42 mm. It still has the same 19-pin configuration of the HDMI Type A, but much smaller.

Click to purchase a Mini-HDMI-C to HDMI-A cable.

Micro-HDMI Cable

The Micro-HDMI is a Type D connector. This cable provides HD viewing and allows for the connection of small portable equipment and devices including GoPro action cameras, SmartPhones, small video recording devices and portable media players.  This cable also offers the newest HDMI Ethernet Channel technology, which consolidates video, audio and data streams into a single HDMI cable. By combining both video and audio into a single HDMI cable, there is superior signal quality.

The Micro connector measures 6.4 mm x 2.8 mm.

Unlike the others, the pin assignment is different on the Micro. The pin count is only 5 and has 1 pin row unlike the Type A which has 2.  HDMI Micro is compatible with HDMI 1.4.

Click to purchase a Micro-HDMI-D to HDMI-A cable.