NEXT-GENERATION CHORD CLEARWAY HDMI AOC CABLE LAUNCHES

The new Chord Clearway HDMI AOC Cable is designed for longer runs of between 3 and 20 meters.

The new Chord Clearway HDMI AOC (Active Optical Cable) interconnect joins the existing copper Clearway HDMI (which offers high-res performance up to 3 m) and introduces a next-generation chipset at both ends of the cable for longer runs of up to 20 m.

CHORD CLEARWAY HDMI AOC CABLE

The new 48GBps-bandwidth Clearway HDMI AOC cable benefits from the highest OM3 grade (over 10-Gigabit-bandwidth glass fibres), rather than the typical OM2 (1 GB).

Chord tells us resolution is up to 10K (30 Hz) from the four-fibre/seven-wire configuration which is protected with foam/Polyethylene insulation, a dual aluminium foil shield and a PVC jacket. Alongside full 4K/8K/10K HDR picture quality, the high-speed Clearway HDMI is heavily shielded against unwanted HF noise.

EARC AND MORE

The cable supports: eARc (Enhanced Audio Return Channel ); ( SBTM (Source-based Tone Mapping); Variable Refresh Rate (VRR); Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM); Quick Frame Transport (QFT) and Quick Media Switching (QMS).

Further features include a gold-plated copper HDMI connector shell with 19 gold-plated copper connector pins, hand soldering and fabrication to the terminations, and protection from a zinc-alloy connector backshell.

MORE ABOUT HDMI AOC

Following concerns that copper-only cable is being stretched to the limit of its capability, for several years, Chord Company has been exploring optical technology for carrying the ever-more demanding signals required by the latest (and future) players, processors and screens.

Unlike TOSLINK cables, where the entire signal is carried down optical fibres, HDMI AOC cable is a hybrid of seven copper cables and four optical fibres.

Chord says that the advantage of optical fibre is that it doesn’t pick up HF noise; the same cannot be said for the copper cables. This potential weakness, coupled with the longer cable lengths involved, means that HF noise on the signal earth is “inevitable”.

Even though this is a digital ‘optical’ cable, Chord Company has ensured that the copper cables are fully protected from external HF noise pollution, hence the external PVC jacket with double aluminium foil shielding system.

CHORD CLEARWAY HDMI AOC CABLE PRICE AND AVAILABILITY

Chord Company Clearway HDMI AOC is available now priced from £120 (3 m).

Available in 3 m, 5 m, 8 m, 10 m, 12.5 m, 15 m and 20 m lengths.

HiFi PiG Says: A solution to a common problem as longer AV cable runs become more frequently used.