Rohde & Schwarz engineer Patrick McKenzie explains what “HDMI 2.2 cable compliance” means at the electrical layer: proving an Ultra96 cable can carry multi-lane differential traffic with controlled loss and low coupling, not just “pass video.” The demo frames compliance as a measurement recipe that turns VNA data into the parameters used for certification. https://www.rohde-schwarz.com/us/solutions/electronics-testing/high-speed-digital-interface-testing/hdmi-testing/hdmi-connector-and-cable-testing_258387.html
At the instrument level, a vector network analyzer (VNA) stimulates the channel and measures what returns across frequency, lane by lane. Because each HDMI lane is differential (P/N on each side), one lane measurement typically needs four VNA ports, repeated across the four data lanes. From those sweeps you derive insertion loss, attenuation-to-crosstalk ratio, differential impedance, inter-pair skew, and mode conversion, and you can apply time-domain transforms (TDR-like views) to pinpoint impedance discontinuities, connector launches, and pair imbalance in the setup.
A key practical detail is the fixture stack: HDMI plugs into test-point adapters (TPAs) that break the high-speed pairs out to SMA coax so the analyzer can reference clean planes. The example uses a Wilder TPA, while the other lanes (and the eARC lane when relevant) are terminated so the lane under test isn’t distorted by unterminated stubs. This interview was filmed at CES Las Vegas 2026, so you also see how a compliance bench gets operated in a busy show environment on the expo floor.
On the Rohde & Schwarz side, the platform discussed is the R&S ZNB3000 VNA family (released in February 2025), positioned as a faster mid-range instrument with strong dynamic range for small-signal crosstalk work. Options scale from 2 to 4 ports and up to 54 GHz, which is useful when fixtures, connectors, and cable launches push measurements into the tens of GHz. The UI is Windows-based, with FPGA-backed acquisition and DSP behind the screen, and firmware updates landing on a regular cadence there.
If you build, qualify, or certify high-speed copper interconnect, the takeaway is how modern HDMI validation is basically signal-integrity engineering packaged into a standard: characterize the channel, quantify lane-to-lane coupling, and verify skew/impedance limits before any eye-diagram margin discussion. With HDMI 2.2 pushing the Ultra96 class up to 96 Gbit/s, VNAs plus well-controlled fixtures become the gatekeepers for interoperability and predictable link behavior in real product work.
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