HDMI Plug\Connector Issues (RANT)...........

[Janitor Tzap]

I would like to take the person who came up with this design aside and punch them out!

I keep going back to peoples homes to fix the: TV/Monitors, DVD/Blu-Ray Player/Recorders, and Game systems that use the HDMI Plug\Connectors.

Mostly I replace the Cable.
I found that sometimes you can get the connection to work again.
After you spray contact cleaner in to the plug end of the cable, and working it in, and out of the socket.
But it only lasts for a few months, then I'm back cleaning it again, or just replacing the cable.
ARGH!


Signed: Janitor Tzap

[jwax]

You must be buying the cheap ones.
Here's what you need:
https://www.amazon.com/P568-100-HD-HDMI ... hdmi+cable

[Janitor Tzap]

You must be buying the cheap ones.

I wish that was the case.

I've tried $10 to $20 dollar shielded HDMI cables for computers, and even those will have the issue with the contacts in the plug & jacks.

I have replaced DVI & the even older SVGA Cables.
But only because the cable was damaged by getting yanked, kinked, or cut.
Never from problems with the pins not making good connections.

No....
The HDMI connector is just a poor design.


Signed: Janitor Tzap

[dacflyer]

have you tried the gold plated ones ? not sure if the ones on the tv or other units, are gold plated or not..i hear that gold never corrodes.

[Janitor Tzap]

have you tried the gold plated ones ? not sure if the ones on the tv or other units, are gold plated or not..i hear that gold never corrodes.

Yup, still have the issue....
Only it takes longer for the problem to occur.

Another Example:
The sockets on the TV\Monitor may not have Gold plated contacts, or Silver plated contacts{Copper}.
Thus, connectivity will not be the best, when using Gold plated Cables.

Story:
While I worked at a TV/VCR repair shop.
We would get customers bringing in their Nintendo gaming systems, or ATARI Game systems,
complaining that they could no longer play any games on their machine.
9 out of 10 times, it was due too the Edge Card Connector on the Game Cartridge,
and or the Connector in the Video Game System, that would get dirt or tarnish building up on the contacts.

On old Zenith Televisions from the late 1960's to early 1980's.
They had mechanical tuners with Gold Plated Contacts in them.
Yes, the Gold made the tuner more reliable, and it need less cleaning.
But because the tuner wasn't completely sealed, contaminants could get in.
So, it still needed to be cleaned from time to time.


Signed: Janitor Tzap

[haklesup]

interesting, I have not experienced problems with any HDMI connectors yet but in general, the major failure modes would be

1. surface Contamination causing leakage, opens or shift in impedance
2. Spring memory (contacts get compressed and don't spring back causing opens and series resistance faults
3. Surface plating degradation, either from oxidation or abrasion
4. Failure of internal connections usually in the over-mold where the wires connect to the connector ( in my experience many RCA cables and power connectors fail this way)
5. Failure of the dielectric to maintain impedance, can be mechanical damage or internal contamination. For example, a cable can be bent, kinked or crushed and show little evidence but it can still be fatal to the signal integrity.

cheap cables are made often by cutting cost in the contact's base metal or plating surfaces and sometimes in the grade or gauge or wire inside the cable. Gold is best because it resists oxidation and is mechanically slippery but a flash coating may look good but fail to provide the properties it was intended to. For a while recycled copper with high resistance was blamed for bad motors wasting energy. you would never plate with silver, that would be tin or similar alloy usually

I don't think the HDMI connector design is inherently bad but there are plenty of opportunities for bad components given the high bandwidth of the connection

While I don't recommend the cost of Monster cables, I have had just fine luck with 5", 10', 20' and 50' foot cables I got on ebay, I just observed the comments and rating to guess they had reliable product. Not being a repair person, I won't be exposed to the volume of problems you have.

[Janitor Tzap]

Hmmm...............

I came across this on another site.

The person said the gold plated fingers on the RAM stick were rubbing off.
{Thou, too me it looks like they were burned off.}

In any case this is troubling, because CPU's in general draw a lot of current.
And to have this kind of failure to happen, would do a lot of damage to the computer.


Signed: Janitor Tzap

[Janitor Tzap]

ARGH!!!!!!

I'm back too cleaning a customer's HDMI Plug\Connector on the back of the Monitor/TV.
Again!

This is driving me, and the owner of the Monitor/TV CrAzy!

This is the fourth time I've done this.
But I'm beginning to wonder if it has to do more with the cable connector putting some strain on the connector itself.

Reason being is that if I simply touch the cable, I can cause it to loose the video, and audio.

Well, this time, after I sprayed the contacts with contact cleaner.
I broke out a tube of "ProGold" Contact Conditioning Treatment.
Put a drop on the contacts, and worked the plug in, and out of connector several times.
This seems to have helped.
But for good measure.
I tied the cable down somewhat, So it doesn't move around.


Signed: Janitor Tzap

[CeaSaR]

That's just too short of a time period for that type of cable to either oxidize or work loose. Monitors / TVs "should" be stationary devices where the connecting cables hardly ever move.

2 thoughts on this customer / situation,.
1. Is the customer a gamer or do they very often rearrange their decor?
2. Is the monitor in a high humidity area?

Answering these 2 questions should give you further insight. They might also spur other thoughts that might help solve the issue.

[Janitor Tzap]

That's just too short of a time period for that type of cable to either oxidize or work loose. Monitors / TVs "should" be stationary devices where the connecting cables hardly ever move.

2 thoughts on this customer / situation,.
1. Is the customer a gamer or do they very often rearrange their decor?
2. Is the monitor in a high humidity area?

Answering these 2 questions should give you further insight. They might also spur other thoughts that might help solve the issue.

Question #(1)
Answer:
Yes, The owner is a Gamer.
But the Monitor/TV is connected to a desktop computer.
Thus, it isn't moved around, it just sits on his desk.

Question #(2)
Answer:
His Gaming Computer is in the basement, though it is a finished basement.
Humidity maybe is a factor.
But, when I examined the Cable Plug, and the connector on the back of the Monitor/TV.
I didn't find any corrosion on the pins.


Signed: Janitor Tzap

[haklesup]

sounds like a cold solder joint and working the connector remakes a cold weld for a little while. That's usually what I find when there is finger tip sensitivity to open circuits at a cable connector (where replacing the cable does not seem to help). try a reflow with hot air, water clean flux would help the solder reflow but might be a pain to clean out of the connector after, worth it if you have to go all the way to removing a PCB from the monitor.

WRT the corroded gold fingers in the photo above, I found a similar failure on the digitizer flex cable on an amazon tablet that had water inside (refurb, woot gave me my money back). Too bad, I could use that unbroken screen to fix another tablet if it weren't for 3 missing gold traces. This can happen to any connector in the presence of water when current is flowing or voltage is sufficient, it is primarily electromigration, the gold electroplated off the lead and onto somewhere else.

A monitor generally runs warmer than the dew point and is not too affected by humidity unless it is extreme (condensation)

By now and especially of you want to work on the inside, your labor should be exceeding the replacement cost unless it is a very nice 4k monitor.

[Janitor Tzap]

Okay here's an Update to the HDMI Plug\Connector Issues.

The HDMI cable for the person with the computer start acting up again.
So, I went and replaced it with a Standard RCA HDMI 1080i cable, and the problem seems to be solved.

I took the HDMI high end "TWISTED VEINS" cable back to my work shop.
I looked at the connector end that was plugged in to the monitor.
Using a X10 Lope, and some dental picks, and a bright lamp.

NOTE: The connector is much like the old "Edge Card Connectors" that the old 5.25 Floppy Drives had, but much smaller.
Edge Card Connector

Standard HDMI Connector


I found that several of the pins were not level, and even with my smallest dental picks, I couldn't straighten them.
Now that I could see why the cable had failed in such a strange way.
I looked for other people who had found the same issue.

Well, I found a company in China that had made a bad batch of connectors, and sold a lot of them to different HDMI cable makers.
Thus, there are some questionable HDMI Cables out there.
Notably, GE HDMI Cables that have been failing in this way.

Also, the durability of the connectors isn't that good.
So, try not to plug & unplug the cable to much.

So, If your having issues of picture flashing on and off, streaking, or static snow on your TV/Monitor.
And by wiggling the connector you can make it better or worse.

Replace the cable.

EDIT: I updated the pic's of the connectors to show how similar the two are.


Signed: Janitor Tzap