Today, carrying and transmitting electronic information has become faster and more efficient than ever, but some older types of wires, cables, and information formats have fallen behind, most notably standard definition videos and TVs (such as cathode ray) while others have risen to become industry standards for both commercial and private use. Among these computer accessories and electrical components stands the HDMI cable and its related gadgets, such as an HDMI plate or HDMI plates for walls. With some basic know-how and the right set-up, anyone can enjoy high-definition, high-quality video and sound in the home and business for television, Power Point, gaming, and more.

The Basics of HDMI

HDMI, or High-Definition Multimedia Interface, is a major player in today’s tech scene. It is an electrical format that supports high definition videos and sound, such as 16:9 aspect TV video, often at 1920×1080 pixels that are all shown together instead of interlaced like older television, making a 1080p video. This technology is also used for personal computers such as laptops with an HDMI port, and gaming consoles such as the PlayStation 3 and Xbox One, which also use high-definition images for games and other features. These audio visual needs are carried out with HDMI cords, which come in a variety of lengths and types, and can be plugged into HDMI ports on machines, or even in walls. An HDMI plate is an HDMI port on a wall plate (like a light switch) and allows a user to connect devices across the building through HDMI cables in the walls, instead of these cables being loose.

Who Needs HDMI the Most?

Any home theater or video game enthusiast today as ample use for HDMI technology, with the option of either an HDMI plate for long-distance connections or basic category 5 or category 6 HDMI cables for short-distance connections, such plugging an Xbox One into an HDTV. Bigger businesses and groups also have use for this feature, since they often use digital media for intra- and inter-business work, such as Skype meetings, Power Point, and data entry. Nine out of ten adults use the Internet in general, business or not, and some of them want even more from HDMI. There is the HDMI 1.4 option, which can carry videos of resolutions up to 4K, or 4096×2160, the best that money can buy. Dedicated gamers and home theater enthusiasts can get the most out of this high-end tech, and an HDMI plate can make plugging in this hardware easy and quick.

Churches, for example, have become eager customers for this tech, especially since many churches today (about one third of them) use videos during services, and even more use Power Point to enhance sermons and other group activities. This calls for HDMI for the best-quality videos and sound, and in bigger churches, installing an HDMI plate, or several, could make this system easy to use. Any computer, digital projector, or television in the church could connect to each other with HDMI cables in the walls, plugging right into the wall plates without needing long cables running along the floor.

In general, churches are more inclined to technology; 77.32% of them use Twitter, and a staggering 98.97% of them use Facebook to connect to members and reach out to the community. It is clear, then, why churches would take an interest in HDMI: to keep pace with today’s tech-oriented crowd and reach out to them in new ways, online and in the building.