What is the main difference between HDMI cable types, and are they backward compatible?

This article was created from a community discussion by @luil

HDMI 2.1 - Certified Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable

Ultra High Speed HDMI 2.1 Certification ensures that cables like our HDMM21V2M will deliver full 8K performance & beyond. This line of cables are also encased in die-cast aluminium shielding to improve signal integrity & prevent signal degradation due to EMI Interference.

These high performance 8K cables support resolutions of up to 8K at 60Hz (7680x4620p), 5K at 60Hz, 4K at 120Hz and bandwidths of up to 48Gbps. They also support HDR10+ (High Dynamic Range) and Dolby Vision for higher contrast ratio and vivid colors.

Certified Ultra High Speed HDMI Cables work with all 8K ready devices and are also backward compatible with previous HDMI specifications.

HDMI 2.0 - Premium Certified High Speed HDMI Cable

Premium Certified High Speed HDMI Cables like our HDMMV2M support resolutions of up to 4K at 60Hz (3840x2160p) and bandwidths of up to 18Gbps. It also supports HDR10 (High Dynamic Range) and Dolby Vision for higher contrast ratio and vivid colors.

These cables work with all 4K ready devices and are also backward compatible with previous HDMI specifications.

HDMI 1.4 - High Speed HDMI Cable

High Speed HDMI Cables like our HDMIMM6HS fully support 1080p+ resolutions at up to 120Hz refresh rate, with life-like color. To accommodate the demands of future high definition devices, such as increased resolutions and higher frame rates, this Ultra HD cable supports resolutions up to 4k x 2k and bandwidths of up to 10.2 Gbps. These cables are fully backward compatible with older HDMI-capable devices.

This FAQ applies to these products: HDADMM3M HDADMM5MA HDADRET4 HDEXT2M HDMIACMM1 HDMIACMM3 HDMIACMM3S HDMIACMM6 HDMIACMM6S HDMIADMM3 HDMIADMM6 HDMICCMM6 HDMIMM10FL HDMIMM10HS HDMIMM15 HDMIMM15FL HDMIMM15HS HDMIMM20HS HDMIMM25FL HDMIMM3FL HDMIMM3HS HDMIMM3HSS HDMIMM6 HDMIMM6FL HDMIMM6HS HDMIMM6HSS HDMIMM80AC HDMIPLATE HDMIPNLFM3 HDMIROTMM6 HDMM1 HDMM10 HDMM10MA HDMM12 HDMM15 HDMM150CM HDMM15MA HDMM1M HDMM1MFL HDMM20 HDMM20MA HDMM25 HDMM2M HDMM2ML HDMM2MLP HDMM3 HDMM30 HDMM30CM HDMM30MA HDMM30MAO HDMM35 HDMM3M HDMM40 HDMM45 HDMM50 HDMM50A HDMM50CM HDMM5M HDMM5MA HDMM6 HDMM7M HDMM8 HDMMU6 HDPMM25 HDPMM35 HDPMM50 HDPSMM1M HDPSMM2M HDROTMM1M HDMMV50CM HDMMV1M HDMMV2M HDMMV3M HDMMV4M HDMMV5M