Search for an HDMI cable and you will be offered an HDMI 2.0 cable, an HDMI 2.1 cable and an HDMI 2.2 cable, usually on the same page, usually at three prices. Ask which one you need and the answers will disagree, because the question is being asked about a naming system that the owner of the HDMI trademark does not permit cable products to use.
That is not a figure of speech. HDMI Licensing Administrator states in its published guidance on feature names that no use of version numbers is allowed in the labeling, packaging or promotion of any cable product.
So the cable name you are searching for is not a name a compliant cable is allowed to carry. What a cable carries instead is a category name, and reading it correctly is almost the whole of the buying decision.
Where "HDMI 2.1 Cable" Comes From
It comes from a reasonable inference. Devices are described by the specification version they implement, so a cable built for a 2.1 system sounds as though it ought to be a 2.1 cable. Sellers repeat the shorthand because it is what buyers type, and the shorthand becomes a product category of its own.
The rule exists for the same reason the confusion does. The specification separates the source and the sink from the cable. A version describes what silicon and firmware can do; a cable carries a bandwidth. Attaching a version number to a cable implies a feature guarantee no cable can make alone, because features are negotiated between the two devices at each end. An HDMI 2.1 cable exists in the sense that a cable suitable for a 2.1 system exists, and does not exist in the sense that no such product name is available to a compliant manufacturer.
What May Appear on the Jacket Instead
Officially named cable types, and there are more of them than the three or four that get quoted.
These are not marketing categories anyone can adopt. HDMI Licensing Administrator requires the official cable name to be printed on the outer cable jacket itself, and requires the packaging to display the matching cable name logo or certification label. A compliant cable tells you what it is on the jacket, in the official name, with no version number anywhere.
That is the practical test when a listing describes a cable in words the specification does not use. It is not proof of a bad cable; it is proof that the cable is described by someone not using the official designations, which is what the trademark owner warns about. Sellers may use a variety of marketing terms and may not use the official cable name designations, and some cables on the market are counterfeits.
What may appear on an HDMI cable jacket
The Category Numbers Nobody Quotes
Behind the names is a numbering system that almost never appears in retail copy. Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable is Category 3. Ultra96 HDMI Cable is Category 4. Ultra High Speed was also the first cable type the HDMI Forum defined.
A category number is a better thing to hold in your head than a version number, because it attaches to a cable and to nothing else. When someone says their cable is a 2.1, no category is claimed and no certification follows from it. When someone says Category 3 or Category 4, a specific test standard and a specific certification program follow from it.
What Each Name Is Actually Tested To
The names are a bandwidth ladder, and each rung is a tested claim rather than a compatibility promise.
Official cable name | Bandwidth | Tested to carry | Certification |
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Standard HDMI Cable | 1080i and 720p | Earlier consumer applications; no 1080p, no 4K | No certification label program |
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Standard HDMI Cable with Ethernet | 1080i and 720p | As Standard, plus the HDMI Ethernet Channel | No certification label program |
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Standard Automotive HDMI Cable | 1080i and 720p | Tested to a higher standard for automotive use; may use a Type E connector with locking tab | No certification label program |
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High Speed HDMI Cable | Up to 10.2 Gbps | 1080p and beyond, including 4K at 30 Hz, 3D, Deep Color | High Speed baseline |
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High Speed HDMI Cable with Ethernet | Up to 10.2 Gbps | As High Speed, plus the HDMI Ethernet Channel | High Speed baseline |
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High Speed Automotive HDMI Cable | Up to 10.2 Gbps | Tested to a higher standard for automotive use; may use a Type E connector with locking tab | High Speed baseline |
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Premium High Speed HDMI Cable | 18 Gbps | 4K at 60 Hz, HDR, BT.2020, with an EMI test and low EMI | Premium label, mandatory program |
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Premium High Speed HDMI Cable with Ethernet | 18 Gbps | As Premium High Speed, plus the HDMI Ethernet Channel | Premium label, mandatory program |
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Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable | Up to 48 Gbps | 4K at 50/60/100/120 and 8K at 50/60 | Ultra label, mandatory program, Category 3 |
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Ultra96 HDMI Cable | Up to 96 Gbps | 8K60 and 4K240 uncompressed at full chroma, plus 12K120 and 16K60 | Ultra label, mandatory program, Category 4 |
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Read across the last two columns and it is a ladder of what was proved, by whom, and on what evidence, which is the part that can be checked afterwards.
The HDMI cable bandwidth ladder and its category numbers
A Name Is a Certified Claim, So the Label Is the Proof
The two Ultra cables sit in a mandatory certification program. Every model must pass testing at an HDMI Forum Authorized Testing Center, and once certified, each package or unit of sale must carry the matching certification label. The Premium program carries the same requirement that every length of every model line be tested.
The label is not decoration, and it is more than a hologram. It carries a QR code any standard code-reading app can scan plus a security hologram, and a scan returns the brand name, the model number, the length and confirmation that the cable is registered in the verification system.
The program also moves. HDMI Licensing Administrator buys cables from stores and online marketplaces and sends them for testing, and a cable that fails means the adopter either fixes the manufacturing problem or loses the ability to order further labels for that model. Cables that pass carry something worth understanding: the scan result also confirms the audit pass, so a scan can tell you not merely that this model was certified once, but that a cable bought off a shelf this year still met the specification.
That is the difference between a name and a data sheet. A data sheet states an intention. A certification label states which laboratory tested which model at which length, and a scan states whether that is still true.
What an HDMI cable certification label proves
Ultra96 Is Two Different Things
The word Ultra96 does double duty, and the overlap causes real confusion.
As a cable name, Ultra96 HDMI Cable is the Category 4 cable above, and the only cable that supports all HDMI 2.2 applications. As a feature name, Ultra96 is a designation manufacturers are encouraged to use on products to indicate that a device supports a maximum of 64, 80 or 96 Gbps in compliance with the specification, and therefore requires the Ultra96 HDMI Cable to reach its maximum bandwidth.
So Ultra96 on a television means the set can drive up to 96 Gbps and expects the matching cable. Ultra96 on a cable means the cable is Category 4. The same word sits on both sides of the connector, and both ends need checking, because a Category 4 cable cannot rescue a source that stops at 48.
The Suffix That Tells You About Compression
Once bandwidth stops being the only variable, the specification adds a suffix to resolution designations to distinguish how a format is carried.
Designation | Meaning |
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4K100A, 4K120A, 8K50A, 8K60A | Uncompressed |
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4K100B, 4K120B, 8K50B, 8K60B | Compressed |
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4K100AB, 4K120AB, 8K50AB, 8K60AB | Both uncompressed and compressed |
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The compression in question is VESA DSC 1.2a link compression, which the specification describes as visually lossless, and the specification supports uncompressed and compressed modes so a manufacturer may implement either or both. A product claiming a resolution is therefore making a statement about encoding at the source rather than about a cable. The cable’s job is identical in every case, which is to carry the resulting data rate.
Why "Certified" Alone Does Not Settle It
A product cannot claim compliance with the current specification, or market that it supports its features, until the compliance test specification exists and the product has passed compliance testing.
For cables the equivalent gate has two doors. The first is the label. The second is a rule that is easy to miss: cable name logos belong on the certification labels and are not allowed to be printed on cable packages, and may only be displayed by affixing the actual label. Packaging with a logo printed straight onto the artwork, and no label, has not done what the program requires, whatever the artwork implies.
And a name cannot describe a feature the source and sink have to agree on. Variable Refresh Rate, Auto Low Latency Mode and Quick Media Switching are negotiated between devices; they are not properties of a cable. Their delivery depends on the cable only to the extent that the format the devices settle on has to fit the bandwidth.
How Many Types Are There, Then?
More than three, and the count depends on which question you are asking. That is why the question gets three different answers and none of them is wrong.
Counting this | The answer |
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Official cable names | Nine, once the Ethernet and automotive variants are included |
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Certification categories | Category 3 for Ultra High Speed, Category 4 for Ultra96 |
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Connector families | Types A, C and D for the Ultra cables; the initial Ultra High Speed program covered Type A |
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Form factors | Not a type at all: a flat jacket is a construction, a mini connector is a connector, and an adapter lead is a converter assembly, which the specification permits within the two Ultra categories |
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So "how many types" has no single answer because it is three questions, and the one that decides what you buy is the second: which category this cable certifies to.
Do You Need the Top Rung?
The specification owner’s own guidance answers this in a way that is more useful than a yes or no.
Situation | What the guidance says |
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A 1080p or 4K display | Installations can benefit from the Ultra cables, because they are tested for low EMI, and because a cable installed inside a wall is expensive to replace when the display is not |
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Choosing the tier | Use the correct Ultra cable for the product’s bandwidth capability: Category 3 for a 48 Gbps system, Category 4 for a device that drives 64, 80 or 96 Gbps |
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Buying above the requirement | A future-proofing decision, not a performance upgrade |
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eARC audio | Both Ultra cables are designed to support it; eARC with the Standard or High Speed cable with Ethernet might be possible, but those cable types are not certified for eARC operation |
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Possible is not the same claim as certified, and that gap is the whole reason the categories exist.
What the Name Cannot Tell You
Four properties get treated as if the name covered them, and the name covers none.
Property | What actually decides it |
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Length | The specification states no maximum, because it depends on cable type, construction and environment rather than on category |
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Construction | Conductor gauge, shielding, jacket compound, and whether the assembly is passive, active or a converter |
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Margin above the limit | A category is the floor that was proved at test, not a measurement of headroom in the reel you are holding |
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Connector variant | Type A, Type C and Type D are the same signal in different shells |
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What to Ask Before You Order
- Which official cable name is printed on the jacket, word for word.
- Which category the model certifies to, because Category 3 and Category 4 are different products.
- What the QR scan returns, including brand, model, length and whether the compliance audit still passes.
- Whether the certification label is affixed, rather than a logo printed onto the packaging artwork.
- The bandwidth the device at each end drives, since the cable has to match the lower of the two.
- The installed length and the route, because the category is a floor and the run is the risk.
- Whether the cable is passive, active or a converter assembly, since three constructions can share one category name.
The Short Version
The cable names people search for are version numbers, and version numbers are not permitted in the labeling, packaging or promotion of any cable product. What exists instead is an official name ladder running from Standard through High Speed and Premium High Speed to the two Ultra cables, and behind those names a category number: Category 3 for Ultra High Speed at 48 Gbps, Category 4 for Ultra96 at 96 Gbps.
A name is a tested bandwidth claim, and the only evidence that survives the supply chain is the certification label, because the label carries the traceable model, length and registration plus a QR scan that can also confirm a continuing compliance audit. Features sit above the name, negotiated by the two devices and merely carried by the cable. Buy the category your devices need, check the jacket and the label, and ignore the version number.
We build HDMI assemblies, and we can tell you which official name a given construction may carry and what it was tested to at an Authorized Testing Center. Send us the device at each end and the installed length, and we will tell you which category the run needs.
Sources
- HDMI Licensing Administrator, "HDMI 2.2 Specification Technology Overview" — the statement in the feature names section that no use of version numbers is allowed in the labeling, packaging or promotion of any cable product, and the accompanying rule that version numbers may only be used when clearly associated with a feature or function defined in that version and may not be used by themselves to define a product’s capabilities or the functionality of the HDMI interface; the definition of the uncompressed and compressed feature name designations as A for uncompressed, B for compressed and AB for both, with the designations 4K100A, 4K100AB, 4K100B, 4K120A, 4K120AB, 4K120B, 8K50A, 8K50AB, 8K50B, 8K60A, 8K60AB and 8K60B, which manufacturers may use in product marketing, advertising, user guides, packaging, website and on-product; the requirement that the Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable or the Ultra96 HDMI Cable is needed to ensure performance and compatibility at higher resolutions and refresh rates; that Ultra96 is a feature name manufacturers are encouraged to use to indicate a product supports a maximum of 64, 80 or 96 Gbps in compliance with the specification and requires the Ultra96 HDMI Cable to reach that maximum; that the Ultra96 HDMI Cable is the only cable that supports all HDMI 2.2 applications; that the specification supports both uncompressed and compressed modes and that manufacturers may implement either or both; that VESA DSC 1.2a link compression is visually lossless; that FRL replaces TMDS while TMDS support remains required for backwards compatibility; the feature list including Latency Indication Protocol, Dynamic HDR, Source-Based Tone Mapping, eARC, Variable Refresh Rate, Auto Low Latency Mode, Quick Frame Transport, Quick Media Switching and HDMI Cable Power; and the testing policy that a product cannot claim compliance or market support for the features until the compliance test specification exists and the product has passed compliance testing — https://www.hdmi.org/spec/hdmi2
- HDMI Licensing Administrator, "HDMI Cable Overview" — the full list of officially named cable types with their performance descriptions, being Standard, Standard with Ethernet, Standard Automotive, High Speed, High Speed with Ethernet, High Speed Automotive, Premium High Speed and Premium High Speed with Ethernet, Ultra High Speed and Ultra96; the requirement that all HDMI cable products be labeled with their official cable name on the cable jacket and that packaging display the cable name logo or the appropriate certification label; the descriptions of the Standard cable as tested for 1080i or 720p, the High Speed cable as up to 10.2 Gbps with 4K at 30 Hz, 3D and Deep Color, the Premium High Speed cable as 18 Gbps with 4K at 60 Hz, HDR and BT.2020 and low EMI, the Ultra High Speed cable as up to 48 Gbps introduced in the HDMI 2.1 specification and in market from 2020, and the Ultra96 cable as up to 96 Gbps supporting uncompressed full chroma formats including 8K60 and 4K240 at 10 and 12 bit color, with both Ultra labels scannable by standard QR code apps; and the statement that the cable names are trademarks of HDMI Licensing Administrator — https://www.hdmi.org/resource/cables
- HDMI Licensing Administrator, "Ultra HDMI Cables" — the category designation that the Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable is Category 3 and the Ultra96 HDMI Cable is Category 4, with Ultra High Speed being the first cable defined by the HDMI Forum; that both are part of the Ultra HDMI Cable Certification Program, which is a mandatory certification program, with low EMI requirements for both; that all models must pass certification testing at an HDMI Forum Authorized Testing Center and must then affix an Ultra96 or Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable certification label to each package or unit of sale; that the official cable names are also required to appear on the outer cable jackets; that only the Ultra cables are designed to support eARC and that eARC operation with the Standard or High Speed cable with Ethernet might be possible but those cable types are not certified for eARC operation; that existing High Speed cables with Ethernet can deliver only some of the new features; that the Ultra cables are backwards compatible with existing devices including 2.1b and 1.4b products; that installations with 1080p or 4K displays can benefit from the low EMI testing and from future-proofing for in-wall installation, while using the correct Ultra cable for the product’s bandwidth capability; that the Ultra cables are available with Type A, Type C and Type D connectors and that the initial Ultra High Speed program covers Type A; that the specification does not indicate a cable length; that the specification permits wire, passive, active and converter Category 3 and Category 4 cable assemblies; the description of the continuous compliance audit under which HDMI Licensing Administrator purchases cables from stores and online marketplaces for testing at Forum Authorized Testing Centers, with a failure preventing further label orders for that model and a pass confirmed on the label’s scan result; that the logo may not be printed on cable packages and must only be displayed by affixing the certification label; and the two functions of the label being anti-counterfeiting traceability through a QR code and security hologram, and cutting through reseller marketing that uses variations on cable names or bandwidth claims; together with the statement that resellers may use a variety of marketing terms and may not use the official cable name designations, and that some cables are counterfeits — https://www.hdmi.org/spec2sub/ultrahdmicables
- HDMI Licensing Administrator, "Premium HDMI Cable" — that the Premium HDMI Cable Certification Program applies enhanced testing plus authentication and verification to High Speed HDMI Cables at 18 Gbps with an EMI test, that it requires every length of every model line to be tested, that each cable be tested at an official HDMI Authorized Test Center, that cables are regularly audited for continuing test compliance over the product’s life, that a proprietary anti-counterfeiting label is required on each product and that a unique QR code is required for instant end-user verification; that these cables are available with Type A and Type D connectors and that the specification also supports converter cables including HDMI Active Optical Cables; that only authorized adopters participating in the program can order labels; that verification banners on manufacturer and reseller websites display the brand name, model number and length when clicked or scanned; and the label size update effective February 2026, where the original size is no longer available to order but remains valid to use, with a 23 percent reduction in materials usage and 24 percent reduction in roll weight — https://www.hdmi.org/spec/premiumcable
