Scott Mueller's Upgrading and Repairing PCs Forum

Scott, my dad and I accidentally placed a CRT TV on top of a Belkin HDMI cable. I'm scared that we might have ruined it. Is there a particularly good way to test that cable without plugging it into a monitor or TV set? Be glad that it's not one of the HDMI cables that I bought from Monoprice last year. (Um, is Belkin a good brand?)

You could try using an ohm meter to check the resistance for each signal from end to end as well as for any possible shorts between signals. This might be difficult and tedious due to the proximity of the pins and the design of the connector, to do it right you'd likely need to make your own test setup with pigtail connectors you could attach to break out the signals into separate wires. My guess would be that the cable should be fine, if there is any damage it is most likely to the shielding which shouldn't be a problem for a 10' or less cable. If I suspected any real damage I would simply cut the cable in half (to prevent future use) and replace it. My time is worth more than an inexpensive replacement cable from the likes of MonoPrice.com. Scott.

I stand corrected--the HDMI cable in question is a Barkin cable, not a Belkin cable.

Most of these cables are made by the same overseas manufacturers. Only the packaging, branding and price are different. Scott.