Is it really necessary to unplug devices from the wall before connecting HDMI

hdmi

I was under the impression that HDMI was built to be hot-swap ready, like a USB device. I was told recently that unplugging HDMI while devices were powered on was risky and could actually cause hardware damage.

Sure enough, my PS3 manual states that you must turn off and completely unplug both the TV and PS3 before connecting/disconnecting the HDMI cable. Same instructions in my digital camera's manual.

Is this really necessary to completely unplug devices from the mains, or are they just covering their butts?

Turning the power off is easy enough, but it would be a huge hassle to unplug my wall mounted TV just to connect my camera for a slideshow.

Best Answer

Wikipedia states that it is indeed hot swappable. No need to worry when plugging it in. Sony is just "covering their butts".

Hot pluggable Yes

HDMI also has a pin for detecting when it's plugged in:

Pin 19 Hot Plug Detect (All versions) and HEC Data+ (Optional, HDMI 1.4+ with Ethernet)

cec-client -l

Install(debian/ubuntu)
```
apt-get install cec-utils libcec-dev
```
Run
```
cec-client -l
```
This will list all cec device on the system. If there is no CEC supporting device, cec-client -l will return Found devices: NONE, which is correct.

Please keep in mind that most PC video card (Nvidia, AMD) do not support CEC(see PS2,PS3). The one known(have clear documentation/specification) GPU that support CEC is VideoCore, found in Raspberry Pi.

PS1: libcec-dev is needed on Ubuntu 12.04 for cec-client to function correctly.

PS2: Base on online forum post, Nvidia (GF, GT(ION), GTX) never claim to support CEC, nor deny. Nvidia website has no info about CEC. It basically don't say anything regarding this. I just take that as a "NO".

PS3: For few AMD PDF DOC that mention CEC, it is clearly stated that it is not supported.

xrandr --prop (This may or may help, my video card don't have cec to verify)

Following is a sample output

#xrandr --prop
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 2560 x 1024, maximum 8192 x 8192
VGA1 connected 1280x1024+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 376mm x 301mm
    EDID:
        00ffffffffffff0010ac194050435341
        281101030e261e78eeee95a3544c9926
        0f5054a54b00714f8180010101010101
        010101010101302a009851002a403070
        1300782d1100001e000000ff00434333
        3838374136415343500a000000fc0044
        454c4c20313930374650560a000000fd
        00384c1e510e000a20202020202000d9
   1280x1024      60.0*+   75.0  
   1152x864       75.0  
   1024x768       75.1     60.0  
   800x600        75.0     60.3  
   640x480        75.0     60.0  
   720x400        70.1  
HDMI1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
    Broadcast RGB:  Full
        supported: Full         Limited 16:2
    audio:  auto
        supported: off          auto         on          
DP1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
    Broadcast RGB:  Full
        supported: Full         Limited 16:2
    audio:  auto
        supported: off          auto         on          
HDMI2 connected 1280x1024+1280+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 376mm x 301mm
    EDID:
        00ffffffffffff0010ac204045375241
        2811010380261e78eeee95a3544c9926
        0f5054a54b00714f8180010101010101
        010101010101302a009851002a403070
        1300782d1100001e000000ff00434333
        3838374136415237450a000000fc0044
        454c4c20313930374650560a000000fd
        00384c1e510e000a2020202020200090
    Broadcast RGB:  Full
        supported: Full         Limited 16:2
    audio:  auto
        supported: off          auto         on          
   1280x1024      60.0*+   75.0  
   1152x864       75.0  
   1024x768       75.1     60.0  
   800x600        75.0     60.3  
   640x480        75.0     60.0  
   720x400        70.1  
DP2 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
    Broadcast RGB:  Full
        supported: Full         Limited 16:2
    audio:  auto
        supported: off          auto         on

Best Answer

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cec-client -l

xrandr --prop (This may or may help, my video card don't have cec to verify)

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