Can you tell if an hdmi cable is bad?

How Do I Tell If I Have 1.1 or 1.3 HDMI Cable?

• Answer:

  An HDMI cable is used to simultaneously transfer high definition audio and video from one source to another. A 1.3 speed HDMI cable can transfer data at a slightly faster rate than a 1.1 speed HDMI cable. While you won't be able to tell the difference between the two types of cable from looking at the video, HDMI 1.3 cables support some higher quality types of audio streams that HDMI 1.1 cables cannot utilize. Difficulty: Easy Instructions Look on the packaging that the HDMI cable came in. The technical specifications breakdown on the packaging will list whether or not the cable is a 1.1 or 1.3 version. Read the instructions pamphlet that came with the HDMI cable. Check to see what audio formats are supported by the cable you have. If your cable supports the Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD audio formats, it is a 1.3 HDMI cable. If it does not, it is a 1.1 cable. Connect your HDMI cable to your home theater system and attempt to play a Blu-Ray home video disc that feature either the Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD audio formats. The audio formats encoded on a disc will be listed on the disc's packaging. If the audio plays just fine with one of these two formats selected, you have a 1.3 cable. If you hear no audio with one of these formats selected, you have a 1.1 cable.