Finding the Right HDMI Connector for You
If you've found yourself wanting to connect an HDMI cable to a device with whose input the cable isn't compatible or even just wanted to extend an existing HDMI cable so that you can connect two devices together that are farther away, you know how potentially handy an HDMI connector can be. Before you set off stringing different devices together, here's what you should know about selecting an HDMI connector on eBay.
What does an HDMI cable do?HDMI cables are meant to connect some source of audio or video data, like a DVD player, set-top box or computer, to some other device that can receive or display audio or video data, like a TV. To give an example of how they might be used, suppose that you have a movie saved on your laptop, but would like to play it on your TV screen. Since all recent computer and TV model have an HDMI input jack, you can easily pull this off by connecting the two devices with an HDMI cable.
Why might you need an HDMI connector?In cases where both of the devices that you wish to connect have HDMI input jacks, you're home free and connecting them is easy. However, suppose that only one of your devices has an HDMI jack and the other doesn't. Tablets and some PCs, for example, don't have those kinds of jacks. In that case, you'll need some kind of adaptor or connector to make the HDMI connection between your devices possible. HDMI connectors allow you to overcome the limits of standard HDMI cables and connect devices together that have all kinds of input jacks.
What are the different types of HDMI connectors out there?Since there are all sorts of input and output jacks and connections between different devices, HDMI connectors run the gamut in order to meet these particularities. One broad characteristic of them is that they can come in male/male, female/female or male/female varieties. "Male" refers to the end of a cable that is meant to go into some kind of input jack, and "female" refers to the jack itself, which accepts the connection. A male to male HDMI connector can connect two devices which both have HDMI input jacks. If you want to connect two devices, neither of which have HDMI input jacks, you can plug a cable into each of them that has HDMI input on one end and use a female to female connector to connect those two cables together. A male to female connector can be useful as an extension cord when connecting two devices through HDMI.
Beyond this, you can find HDMI connectors of the following types:
- HDMI input to VGA output adaptors: To connect your TV to a PC without an HDMI input jack
- HDMI to mini HDMI adaptors: To connect your TV to your tablet or smartphone
- HDMI to USB adaptors: To connect to some USB device