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I'm looking to purchase a HDMI cable online for use with my AppleTV. I asked the seller just to be on the safe side, would this cable work with an AppleTV and he said it will not work.

From searching the Apple site it seems the only thing the HDMI cable needs is HDCP capability which the seller claims the cable has. The cable is also 1.4 with Ethernet capabilities so it seems to be top of the range.

Would there be any reason why this cable wouldn't work or do I have to purchase a special Apple one?

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I'm just going to leave this here. – Jason Salaz♦ Sep 18 '12 at 12:40

3 Answers

up vote 9 down vote accepted

There is no reason why it wouldn't work. In fact I use even cheaper (but shorter) cables myself and they work fine. For reference, I paid €0.75 a piece for a couple of 0.75m HDMI cables with a local online cable shop, and they work fine for 1080p video.

I'd advise to not succumb to the "gold or silver plated" marketing nonsense or the overpriced "premium" HDMI cables, as even the cheap cables transport your binary 1s and 0s just fine.

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Silver plating is especially pointless as the whole point for gold plating contacts is because gold doesn't corrode (i.e., rust or tarnish). Silver (like copper, iron, and most other conductive metals) will tarnish and lose its conductivity. – CajunLuke Sep 18 '12 at 16:40
@CajunLuke, if my non-plated cables ever become eroded and stop working, I will happily pay the €0.75 to buy a new one :) After two years of service, they all still work fine though. – Gerry Oct 12 '12 at 8:17
I'm not disagreeing with your assertion. (I use cheapo cables myself with no issues. I just don't leave them in highly corrosive environments, so corrosion isn't an issue.) I was making a comment on the amusement factor of the (all-too-realistic) case where someone makes a silver cable that is a) expensive and b) tarnishes, making the whole exercise pointless. Not only would the cable be unnecessarily expensive, but it would also not have the benefit that you're paying all that extra money for. – CajunLuke Oct 12 '12 at 15:02
up vote 4 down vote

A standard HDMI cable should be fine, there is no need to buy a special Apple branded one (or any other premium brand unless you're playing with resolutions way beyond those supported by the AppleTV).

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up vote 3 down vote

I have an Amazon Basics HDMI cable that works fine with my Apple TV. I also have a cable from Monoprice that works with my other Apple TV.

Some people are under the misapprehension that every Apple connector is proprietary.

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