UGREEN HDMI 2.1 cable HD171 (2 m): 48 Gbps for 8K60 and 4K240

UGREEN's HD171 is a two-metre HDMI cable built to the HDMI 2.1 standard. What matters is the 48 Gbps bandwidth: that is what it takes to carry 4K at 120 Hz and above, or 8K at 60 Hz. UGREEN lists 8K at 60 Hz as well as 4K and 2K at up to 240 Hz.

For consoles and gaming PCs, the relevant part is the set of HDMI 2.1 features the manufacturer says the cable passes through: VRR (variable refresh rate against tearing), ALLM (automatic game mode on the TV), QMS and QFT. There is also eARC, which lets your TV send high-quality audio back to a soundbar or AV receiver – according to UGREEN including Dolby Atmos, Dolby TrueHD and DTS:X. HDR is supported too.

Physically, UGREEN uses aluminium connector housings and a braided jacket about 7 mm thick. Both ends are regular, straight HDMI plugs (Type A), so no adapter is needed for TVs, monitors, projectors, AV receivers, a PS5 or a PC graphics card.

Worth knowing: the cable alone won't raise resolution or frame rate – source and display must support 4K120, 8K or VRR themselves, and on many TVs only certain inputs are HDMI 2.1. For eARC, your soundbar needs eARC as well. The braided jacket is a little stiffer than a thin standard cable, so leave some room behind tight wall mounts. Colour descriptions vary between black and grey depending on the source: the plugs are grey, the cable itself is dark.