Ethereal Aims for First C5 Rating for $1,300 HDMI Cable

Ethereal Home Theater has submitted its Platinum Series PL-HDM2 HDMI cable to DPL Labs for certification, hoping it will become the first to earn a "C5" rating for a cable measuring 2 feet meters in length.

In DPL parlance, that means a Class C, Level 5, where "C" is the fastest class of clock rates, and "5" represents the maximum throughput on the DPL scale.

So far, only one cable – in the Honeywell White Series -- has garnered a C5 rating, but that is only for a 0.5 meter product.

Ethereal product manager Brent McCall says that, in the Platinum Series, the company set out to find "just how good a cable could be."

The cables have conductors made of pure silver, says McCall. "There is no copper."

He explains that silver passes higher frequencies better than copper.

Prepared for the onslaught of 1440p resolutions, the HDM2 has braided shield, double-sided copper foil/Mylar shield, and two single-sided shields. The thick cable measures a hefty 23 AWG.

Silver doesn't come cheap, though. The 2-meter cable retails for $1,300.

For that price, you also get a really cool "aluminum-like" carrying case. Throw some rhinestones on it, and Paris Hilton would certainly carry it down the runway.