Standard HDMI cables have been in use for quite many years now and are as such a part of every average household. However, in the past couple of years, the micro HDMI and mini HDMI cables gained popularity as there are more and more devices that use these cables.

In this article, we will cover basically all there is for an average user to know about HDMI cables. As the title suggests, micro HDMI vs mini HDMI comparison will be of our main focus, however, we will start with the basics, such as, what the HDMI is, and build upon that. That way we will ensure that you all are up to speed and have the knowledge and understanding needed to make the most of the information provided herein.

Upon reading this article, you will know about the types of HDMI cables, what are the differences between them, and what each type of HDMI cable is used for. To assist you even further, we will wrap things up by answering the most frequently asked questions.

In case you are only interested in learning the difference between micro HDMI vs mini HDMI, feel free to skip the sections that do not serve you.

That said, let’s dig into the micro HDMI vs. mini HDMI topic, shall we?

What is HDMI?

As the CAPS suggests, HDMI is an abbreviation that stands for High Definition Multimedia Interface. As such, it serves for High Definition content, both audio and video, to be transferred among various supported devices with the use of HDMI cables. All devices that may use HDMI technology are equipped with HDMI ports, which is where one side of the HDMI cable is plugged in.

The HDMI cables consist of connectors on both ends. Those may be the same on both ends or of different types/sizes (more on that in the following section). In general, HDMI is a bidirectional signal, which means that signals can travel in both directions of the cable. It is the connected device and its ports that determine the actual direction of the signal.

As the HD in the HDMI suggests, the cables are used for HD content (resolutions of up to 1920 x 1080 (1080p)) and are as such the most commonly used cables in an average home of the developed world.

HDMI cables are used to connect devices, including TV, Blu-ray player, Xbox, PlayStation, home theatre, dongles, PC, laptops, smartphones, tablets, projectors, and other devices of video/audio format to be connected.

As the technology evolved and newer and smaller devices started supporting HD content, so have the HDMI cables and ports. As such, we have several types of HDMI cables this day, which is why the micro HDMI vs. mini HDMI explanation is required in the first place.

Types of HDMI Cables

Now that you know what an HDMI cable is, we can take a closer look at the types of HDMI cables.

First HDMI cables that are still the most common ones are now known as Standard HDMI cables or Type-A HDMI cables. Then there are Mini HDMI cables, known as Type-C HDMI cables, and Micro HDMI cables, known as Type-D HDMI cables.

Type-A HDMI Cable

• The most commonly used HDMI cable
• The Specs of the Standard HDMI: It comes with connector dimensions of 13.99mm x 4.45mm
• Also known as Standard HDMI cable
• Type-A HDMI is typically used on TVs, computer monitors, Blu-ray players, PlayStations, Xboxes, TV boxes, other gaming consoles, and set-top boxes. 
• The cable usually comes in the box with many of the devices that require this sort of connection.

Type-C HDMI Cable

• The Specs of the Mini HDMI: It comes with connector dimensions of 10.42mm x 2.42mm
• Its connectors are 60% smaller than those of Type-A, which saves some space and makes sense for smaller devices
• Also known as Mini HDMI cable
• Type-C HDMI is typically used on slim modern laptops, new PCs, cameras, camcorders, DSLR cameras, and some tablets. 
• The cable usually comes in the box with many of the devices that require this sort of connection.

Type-D HDMI Cable

• The Specs of the Micro HDMI: It comes with connector dimensions of 6.4mm x 2.3mm
• Its connectors are 72% smaller than those of Type-A, which saves additional space and makes sense for smaller devices
• Also known as Micro HDMI cable
• Type-D HDMI was used on some smartphones (Motorola) (smartphones are the main reason why this type of HDMI cable was developed in the first place; keep in mind that USB Type-C is now the standard and eliminates the need for Micro HDMI cables for most of latest smartphones), GoPro cameras 
• The cable usually comes in the box with many of the devices that require this sort of connection. (such devices are very rare these days)
• The main purpose to use a Micro HDMI cable was to display the content on TVs or monitors, however, these days smart TVs enable casting, which means that the content from the phone can be transferred to the TV’s display wirelessly. The latter obviously makes things way more practical than using the cable, however, it does normally require a WiFi connection. 
• Extremely rare these days (basically out of use)

Keep in mind that Mini HDMI and Micro HDMI cables will normally have a standard HDMI connector on one side, which enables connection to TVs or other monitors. This fact alone tells you that the cables of all types (aside from the difference in connectors) must be the same and they are. Even connectors are not that different (the only difference is in size). Each HDMI connector has 19 pins.

Standard HDMI connector has 10 pins on top and 9 on the bottom (the same goes for the Micro HDMI, only that the connectors are smaller are more closely together), while Mini HDMI has all 19 connectors in a single line. 

Size of HDMI Ports

It is probably obvious to you that HDMI ports must correspond to the HDMI cables’ connectors’ dimensions. The exact sizes of those have been listed for each HDMI size in the previous section.

The cable’s connector must fit into the port, so use the port’s width to determine which type of cable you need.

• Standard HDMI width: 13.99mm
• Mini HDMI width: 10.42mm
• Micro HDMI width: 6.4mm

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