Product Review: RedMere Active HDMI Cable

RedMere Active HDMI cable technology is the heart of a high quality HDMI cable that does not just pass the signals through the cable but enhances the signal while keeping the wires as thin as possible.

Circuits inside an HDMI cable sounds like something a company brags about yet is just another way to charge extra money for the same cable others sell for only a few dollars. This drastic difference in price can appear to be a marketing scheme but sometimes it is something much more.

RedMere is a technology company that specializes in components for HDMI cables, smart or active technology means chips and circuits on the ends of the cable to equalize the signals. Using this kind of technology you can get cleaner more clear signals and better quality along with a thinner more flexible cable.

This is really great for the cable I received from RedMere that has a mini HDMI and an HDMI connection for use with tablets and cameras. This is perfect for my recent slew of tablets I have been receiving for review that has the mini HDMI connection for output to a television or monitor.

The HDMI cable technology does not require extra power so the signal itself powers the chipset in the cable to equalize the signal. I am not familiar with this type of technology but in simple terms it means the circuit is adjusting the frequency so that the cable is a higher quality for a better video and audio.

All the technology aside, I don't want to bore my readers, the cables are thinner and have a much better bend radius with this technology. This means smaller wires for easier storage and lighter cables so you can carry them and use them like no other HDMI cables before.

The RedMere cable I received fits inside a small 4.5 inch bag and is easily added to a carry pouch for a camcorder or tablet, this is the perfect cable type for carrying around with your tablet like the iPad or ViewBook. I also tried this out with my high definition video camcorder to view video from the camera straight from the HDMI output port.

This new type of cable is only now hitting the market and a few companies have not yet started advertising their offerings but a few like Vizio and Radio Shack have. These HDMI cables are often labeled as Smart or Active cables but are easy to find by their thinness. The active sink side of the cable is the circuit which is about an inch long from the very end of the contacts end of the connector to the stress relief beginning on the cable.

The sink side is the side you plug into your television while the other is the source side or the output from your device like a tablet or camcorder. The 8 foot RedMere cable I received for review is rubber coated and about an eighth of an inch thick which is pretty darn thin.

All other HDMI cables I own are twice this thick and are in no way made for convenient carry with a tablet, this cable easily fits into my padded tablet pouch without bulking it up any. This would make a nice cable to carry with my tablet and a really good set of earbuds for a complete accessory kit for my tablet.

The RedMere cable performed just fine with both tablets and camcorders I tried it out with, I used a Genius G-Shot HD520 camcorder and a ViewBook 730 to check out the quality of the video. I watched video on my Vizio 32 inch HDTV of recorded and downloaded content from both devices and was pleased with quality of both audio and video.

I had no problems with the RedMere cable but this is not a real technical test of the cables quality, a real test would have to be done with more equipment than I have available. Video and sound was just fine and I was more than pleased with the performance, especially when compared to my much larger cables.

The RedMere HDMI technology is available for HDMI cables from several companies including Monster, Vizio, Radio Shack and PNY and are usually labeled as Smart or Active cables. Check out the RedMere offerings at the RedMere website under the Cables for the Home, on the Move or the Office section.