HDMI cables

	Premium HDMI cable series from Hong Kongbased D&S features gold-plated contacts, and dark- or silver-gray jacket with plastic braiding

HDMI and DVI dominate R&D and production. Customized products feature improved packaging design and performance.

Greater China manufacturers continue to offer a varied lineup of cables and cable assemblies covering different segments, moving strongly into high-end models and customized products.

Mainland China focuses on high-grade SCART, DVI and HDMI cables and assemblies due to strong demand. Product development, however, leans more on HDMI and DVI segments, as well as customized designs for cables, according to interviewed suppliers.

Taiwan manufacturers focus strongly on high frequency cables and assemblies, including fiber-optic, HDMI, IEEE 1394, RF and USB. Except for fiber-optic cables, the other cable types adopt copper coaxial cabling, although IEEE 1394 technology can adopt either fiber-optic or coaxial cables.

Most Hong Kong suppliers are OEM service providers who specialize in custom-ordered production. Manufacturers still zero in on carrying out customer specifications at predetermined quality and price levels. The highest proficiency is usually possessed by the largest and most experienced suppliers, but small and mid-sized companies often have greater flexibility for accepting low-volume orders.

Companies offer a broad line-up from low-end to high-grade products, such as RCA, DVI, SCART, HDMI, VGA and CAT cable assemblies and coaxial cables. The country's output of cables and assemblies account for about 70 percent of Asian and 40 percent of worldwide output.

Continued growth in various sectors, including FPDs, monitors, TVs, A/V equipment, computers and networks, telecoms portable media player and in-car entertainment have resulted in robust demand for most segments.

Makers are located mostly in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces. Guangdong is the leading manufacturing hub for cable assemblies. The province hosts about half of the mainland companies, most of which are based in Dongguan and Shenzhen. However, lower operating expenses in Jiangsu and Zhejiang have attracted newly established Taiwan- and Hong Kong-based companies.

Jiangsu's A/V cable assembly segment is centered in Changzhou, Kunshan and Suzhou, while Zhejiang's is in Wenzhou and Xiaoshan.

Ningbo Shunsheng Communication Apparatus Co. Ltd offers UTP, FTP and SFTP series of CAT 5e cables, and CAT 6 cables that pass international standards. The company also produces multimedia connectors and cables such as HDMI, DVI and VGA.

Ningbo Shunsheng's HDMI 1.2 cables dominate production of multimedia cables. According to Bill Cheng, general manager, data cables account for over 50 percent of its output while multimedia cables share some 30 percent, the rest being telephone jacks and other accessories.

Ningbo Shunsheng's monthly capacity for multimedia cables is 150,000 units, with actual output of about 100,000 units. Of these, 70,000 units are HDMI 1.2, while 300,000 are VGA. In 2008, the company expects 30 percent growth in output, especially for HDMI 1.2 cable assemblies. To increase capacity, Ningbo Shunsheng is establishing a new plant in Kunshan. The facility will have the same product line-up as its factory in Xiangshan but with twice the capacity.

Ningbo Shunsheng's production fully complies with RoHS. The company also requires all its raw material suppliers to submit SGS reports. The company is also licensed by HDMI Licensing LLC. Its data cables have UL approvals and pass the TIA/EIA568 standard.

Shenzhen East-Toptech Electronic Technology Co. Ltd mainly offers HDMI, DVI, USB and IEEE 1394 cables, as well as other interconnect accessories such as USB hubs, HDD enclosures, and HDMI switches, splitters and extenders.

According to Helen Yin, export manager, Shenzhen East-Toptech plans to improve manufacturing technology and increase production efficiency to minimize production cost of its cables assemblies.

Aoya Electronic Science & Technology Co. Ltd is also a licensed manufacturer of HDMI cables and assemblies. The company specializes in HDMI, DVI, USB, IEEE 1394, and VGA cables and assemblies as well as HDMI/DVI adapters.

David Han, sales manager of Aoya Electronic, says HDMI and USB cables dominate production. Monthly output of HDMI and USB cables reached 100,000 and 200,000 units, respectively. Overall output is 400,000 units. The company's 2007 sales are projected to have reached $3.5 million, registering a 40 percent increase.

Since March 2007, mainland China company Aoya Electronic has been focusing on the development and production of HDMI 1.3 cables. The company has purchased new production and high-grade testing equipment. It launches a new HDMI model per month. The company's focus is on the packaging and cosmetic design of cables, since many clients require cable color to match the electronic device it applies to. Cables with colorful nylon sheaths are also being developed for most of the company's foreign-based clients.

Aoya Electronic also does R&D on fiber-optic HDMI cables as an alternative to the traditional copper conductor. The company claims that fiber-optic cables are more suitable for HDMI cables and assemblies since the material does not have signal attenuation and enhances signal transfer at the speed of light. Aoya Electronic recently has developed an HDMI cable assembly with maximum length of 550m, although mass production of this new product is still not feasible, according to the company.

Shenzhen East-Toptech releases about five new products per month, with delivery lead time of about 10 days. One of its high-end products is the HDMI 1.3 cable assembly with gold-plated connector and 1.8m cable with ferrite cords. The UL-approved and RoHS-compliant product has PE package and use 30AWG cables. Another bestseller for Shenzhen East-Toptech is the DVI-D and DVI-A cable assembly with gold-plated connectors, 1.8m wire with ferrite cords, PE package and use 28AWG wire.

Allocating about 5 percent of its sales revenue on R&D, Ningbo Shunsheng develops two new models according to customer demand. The number of R&D staff is over 50. In 2008, Ningbo Shunsheng's major R&D focus will be in the area of cosmetic design and quality of cables and assemblies. New models will feature transparent sleeve, flat cable form and multicolor.

	Sunny Young from Taiwan offers SATA cable assemblies that have 7-pin to 7-pin with data transfer rate of up to 1.5Gbps

Among all cables, bare copper wires and power cables ranked the top two categories in terms of Taiwan production value. Bare copper wires took up 48.5 percent of the total production value of cables in the island in 2006, while power cables took up 30.8 percent. Manufacturers believe this is a result of the significant increase in the cost of copper that year.

In general, Taiwan-made cables and assemblies are mostly designed as per the requirements of interface associations. Most Taiwan-made cables and assemblies have safety approvals and are RoHS-compliant, but they also have licenses from various associations such as HDMI Licensing LLC, USB-IF, 1394 TA and DDWG.

Worldwide Cable Opto Corp. (WWC) manufactures and develops type A, B and C HDMI cable assemblies, as well as cable assembly solutions such as HDMI-to-DVI cable assemblies and adaptors. Popular length for HDMI and DVI cable assemblies include 3m and 5m, respectively.

WWC produces HDMI cable assemblies that feature bare copper, tinned copper, copper clad steel and silver plated conductors; PVC, PE, foam PE, non-migration PVC and gas injection insulations; PVC and non-PVC outer jackets; and gold and nickel plating connectors. WWC produces high-end cable and assemblies including those with nylon braiding outer layer.

Sunny Young Enterprise Co. Ltd offers various cable types. About 60 percent of its annual sales are from wire harnesses and 20 percent from other types, including HDMI, SATA, RF, DVI, CAT 5 and power cables and assemblies. Its wire harnesses are mostly custom-designed.

Sunny Young has been producing cables and assemblies with fine pitch connectors. Its flat cables feature 0.5mm pitch. Sunny Young has one factory each in Taipei and in Dongguan, Guangdong. The factories are certified to ISO 9001.

WWC's factories are in Taoyuan and Dongguan. These factories are certified to ISO 9001, ISO 9002 and ISO 14001. The company has about 600 production workers. The company plans to add more production workers, R&D and QC engineers in the near future.

WWC has in-house capacity of 200,000 units for HDMI and DVI cable assemblies. All of its cable assemblies are produced in the Dongguan factory while cables are made in the Taoyuan plant. Both factories, however, have the same production and testing machines.

WWC invests in facilities such as chemical and electrical laboratories. It has testing equipment, including ICP Liberty Series II, network analyzer, time domain reflectometer and gas injection extrusion line.

The company also operates several production machines include a braiding machine for HDMI cables, double twisting bunching machines, shielding machines that can shield spiral and braiding. The shielding materialscan be paper, Al-Mylar foil, PU or PVC. Other production machines include cable insulation machines, high-temperature injection machines, jacket extruding machines and a multi-core machine that can produce up to 40- to 50-core cables. WWC offers cable assemblies with braiding rate up to or more than 95 percent.

As cables such as HDMI have limited transferring distance, most Taiwan manufacturers offer cable extenders. HDMI extenders can extend from 5m to 40m. Some manufacturers also offer HDMI/DVI adapters.

Hong Kong has more than 80 suppliers of cables and assemblies, many of them small- and medium-sized companies who combine manufacturing and trading services as one-stop solution providers for various cables and assemblies. A few are large enough to challenge mainland China suppliers in terms of vertical integration and production scale.

The well-experienced manufacturers at one time may have had factories in Hong Kong, but almost all companies currently have facilities on the mainland, specifically in Dongguan, Shenzhen, Huizhou and other cities in Guangdong. A few manufacturers still have warehouses in Hong Kong, where some additional product testing is carried out prior to shipment.

Intense competition from mainland China manufacturers drives Hong Kong makers to produce cables and assemblies with superior quality and reliability, and offer faster time-to-market and dependable after-sales services. Expanding volume capacity is not considered an urgent priority, but rather the enhancement of quality controls, managing costs, compliance with environment regulations and developing higher-value products.

Not all types of cables and assemblies require constant product development from makers. Some models with standard specifications are available for quick custom orders while top-of-the-line models are developed by some suppliers.

In Hong Kong, despite the wide variety of cables and assemblies available, suppliers usually rely on two or three top-selling products and specialize in these. Companies also wait for new technologies or interfaces for products to become market reliable and cost-effective before including them in the line-up.

	The Advanced Series of digital fiber-optic audio cables from D&S, Hong Kong, comes with plastic hood in metallic spray-paint finish

D&S has developed a Premium Cable Series that features gold-plated, corrosion-resistant connectors, precision foam dielectric, 100 percent overlapped foil to protect against noise and interference, and detailed shielding construction. The series comprises HDMI 1.3/1.2 cables, three- and two-plug RCA cables, S-video cables, coaxial cables, component cables, digital fiber-optic audio cables and SCART cables.

D&S also offers other models, such as the Professional Series of semi-metallic cables. Characterized by a combination of metal and plastic molding, the series is designed to offer high performance at low prices. The Advanced Series features artificial metallic designs using metallic spray-paint on plastic hoods. The Economic Series features double molding designs to enable various jacket designs and dual-color molding connectors. The company's Basic Series has single PVC mold cables with gold- or nickel-plated connectors.

D&S uses major connector brands for its assemblies. The company targets to eventually manufacture its own connectors in-house. It can include required certifications to its cables, including HDMI 1.2/1.3, CE, UL, cUL, CSA, CCC and RoHS.

Owl Electronics Ltd distributes major brands of connectors and switches while providing development and assembly services for power cords, A/V cables, computer cables, telephone cords and cables, and networking cables. Its product development efforts are mostly focused on providing product solutions to customers with specific requirements.

Owl Electronics' computer cables include USB, ATA/SATA, LAN and DIN, as well as flat ribbon cables, printer cables, and power cables.

The range of products is still growing, as Owl Electronics develops new models using its own molds. As new models ready for mass production are introduced to customers, new batches are already in the sampling stage. Many of its latest releases, however, are mobile phone and iPod accessories.

Hop Shing Electrical Ltd specializes in A/V, DC power cables and computer cables. It has a wide selection of open models for cables in various specifications for distributors. It is also experienced in working on custom-made projects with OEM clients, many of whom are manufacturers themselves from the United States and Europe who integrate the cables and assemblies into their products.

As an ISO 9001:2000-certified firm, Hop Shing can include necessary safety approvals for its cables and assembles as required by customers, including UL, cUL, CE, GS/TÜV, KEMA, CB Scheme and E-Mark. Aside from its own testing procedures, Hop Shing submits its cables and assemblies to a professional testing center in Hong Kong.

Hop Shing owns a 4,500sqm factory in Dongguan, Guangdong province, with a capacity of up to 2 million patch cables monthly, and about 75 percent utilization. About 400 workers are employed by the company.

Its workshops house production equipment such as plastic injection machines, wire winding machines, crimping machines, electronic loaders, and testing instruments imported mostly from Japan and Taiwan worth more than $800,000. For special procedures that cannot be performed in-house, Hop Shing works with partner factories but supervises the QC and testing procedures. These partners give Hop Shing the flexibility of exceeding its in-house capacity during peak seasons without investing capital on expansion.

Owl Electronics runs a 1,000sqm factory in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, where it employs about 100 workers and houses wire extrusion, cutting and terminal crimping machines. More than $200,000 worth of production and testing equipment enables the company to turn out up to 1 million units monthly, depending on the type, including about 100,000 USB cables, 50,000 ATA/SATA cables and 100,000 LAN cables. It conducts all product tests in-house to shorten lead time.

To raise capacity, Owl Electronics is investing in new production equipment and hiring additional workers in 2008.

D&S has ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications, and operates a 20,400sqm factory in Huizhou, Guangdong province with about 2,500 staff members. The facility is equipped with 14 extruding machines, 84 injection machines, 190 braid machines, power generator, and testing tools such as network analyzers, salt-spray testers, and x-ray fluorescence analyzer.

Ningbo Shunsheng ships mainly to the United States, Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Australia. Aoya Electronic exports all of its output. OEM sales take up 85 percent while the rest comes from own brand sales. Half of exports go to North America; 40 percent to Western Europe; and 10 percent, South Asia. To expand its export market, Aoya Electric has set up two sales offices in the United States and Austria.

Shenzhen East-Toptech also ships all of its output, 60 percent of which go to Europe; 30 percent to North America; and the rest to Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Most of its products are shipped via Shenzhen and Hong Kong ports. OEM sales account for 90 percent of total cables and assemblies business.

Asia, Europe and America are the major export markets for Taiwan cable and assembly manufacturers. Exports to Asia mostly include enameled copper wires, bare copper wires and power cables. For North American and European markets, data, telecom and network cables are among the most popular types.

According to the Bureau of Foreign Trade, the export value of coaxial cables of Taiwan was $51.8 million in 2006, up by 13.4 percent. From January and September 2007, the value was $36.39 million.

For fiber-optic cables, exports generated $25.84 million in 2006, an increase of 68 percent. From January and September 2007, this value reached $13.25 million.

Sunny Young offers OEM and ODM services. The maker mainly exports its products to Europe and the Americas. Its export percentage is about 40 percent.

WWC ships 95 percent of cables and assemblies output. It offers OEM and ODM services, the former accounting for 80 percent of sales, and the latter, 20 percent. Shipment destinations include North America taking up 28 percent; Japan, taking up 27 percent; Western Europe, 25 percent; Southeast Asia, 12 percent; others, 8 percent.

Hong Kong suppliers cater mostly to overseas customers, except a few who have started as mainland suppliers but are currently expanding to overseas markets.

Hong Kong manufacturers are now more diligent in their QCs, both in-house and lab-assisted, to adhere to strict environmental regulations in major export markets.

In recent years, Hop Shing has been experiencing 30 percent annual growth in terms of total shipments, with power cables dominating its output. About 50 percent of the company's output is sold to mainland China customers.

Hop Shing will further expand its mainland sales in conjunction with exports, due to strong demand and improving local currency.

Computer cables dominate Owl Electronics' shipments, accounting for more than 60 percent of its total revenue. It projects more than 10 percent increase in shipments during 2008. The company's main export market is the United States, accounting for 70 percent of overallexports. Europe, Southeast Asia and India are its other major export destinations.

D&S has had customers from more than 50 countries. It currently exports 75 percent of its output to the United States and Europe, with the remaining 25 percent sold to mainland China customers.

Its channels include retailers, integrators, hypermarkets, computer peripherals distributors, gaming device sellers and car accessories stores. D&S aims to expand its overseas markets, including penetrating key Asian countries.

Manufacturers have mixed reactions to the fluctuation of prices for cables and assemblies. The average FOB price for Ningbo Shunsheng's HDMI cables ranges from $2 to $2.5 for products with 1m length and gold-plated connectors. By the end of 2007, the company expects a 15 percent decline in prices.

For Aoya Electronics, average FOB price for HDMI 1.2 version cables is $2.50, and for HDMI 1.3 version, $3. These cable assemblies feature 2m length, gold-plated connectors and three-layer shielding. So far, most of the company's orders are for cables with length of less than 15m. Aoya forecasts that prices will increase by 2 percent in 2008 if raw material costs increase.

Many Hong Kong suppliers expect higher prices in 2008 due to various economic factors such as rising crude oil prices; surging labor and material costs; and the appreciation of the Chinese renminbi.

Hop Shing has been maintaining prices at the same level for the past two years, but it expects to make a 20 percent adjustment beginning Q1 2008. Its DC power cable prices range from $1 to $3 depending on the length and thickness of the conductors, connector plating and shielding. Retractable USB cables are sold for about 75 cents each.

D&S' premium HDMI 1.2 cables with 1.5m length are quoted at $8 to $10 per unit. The 1.3 versions are about 25 percent more expensive. The company has become more flexible with minimum order requirements. It used to require at least 2,000 units, but now accepts 500-unit orders.