It’s easy to assume that all HDMI cables are the same. You plug them into your TV and connected device, and the picture you expect pops up. But while all HDMI cables provide basic functionality, old cables don’t bring the modern features that let modern devices look their best. Updated HDMI cables don’t cost much more than old ones, so if you’ve been using old ones for a while, it’s a worthwhile upgrade to swap them out. Understanding the latest HDMI generations New cables mean better features While HDMI still uses the same physical connection type from its launch decades ago, the internals have been upgraded over time to carry more information and add more functionality. These aren’t immediately noticeable from looking at a cable outside the package, but they’re important to check. I briefly went over HDMI generations in my explanation of why gold-plated HDMI cables aren’t necessary. Every several years, the HDMI is updated to a new generation, but the terms around these changes are confusing. There’s a lot of overlap, and sellers …