When HDMI Cables Attack!

Fascinating short article at CE Pro Online about the perils of a faulty HDMI cable that was producing a burning smell.

CE Pro: When HDMI Cables Short Out a System
They installed a new cable and the problem stopped. It turned out that one pin inside the HDMI connector was shorted to ground -- pin 18. That is the 5 volt supply line. Fortunately, the DVD was built like concrete and was able to maintain its own internal supply and not become damaged.
The first lesson when installing HDMI cable is to check the cables before you install in a wall. There are HDMI testers out there you can pick up for cheap or just run the cable before you go to the job sight.

This incident highlights why it is so important to test, test, test your gear before you install it.

For those of you who like processes, the steps for solving a hardware issue are Diagnose, Analyse, Repair, Test, Prevent.

The last step is key. Once you've solved a problem, engineer the solution so that the fault won't recurr. In other words put it back together better than you installed it in the first place.

Of course, every solution has two problems, but that's a subject for another post.

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