HDMI standards and capabilities have improved significantly since DVI first evolved into HDMI. All generations are backward compatible. However, not all previous HDMI cables can transmit the full 18Gbps of data required to optimize today’s HDMI 2.0 equipment. While there is currently no 4K/60 4:4:4 software requiring the full 18Gbps capability of HDMI, some sources (UHD Blu-ray players) can be set to “up-sample”, requiring 18 Gbps capability. Up-sampling often should be done in the TV rather than in a previous component — but that’s your decision. AudioQuest HDMI cables with "Exceeds 18 Gbps" on the box front are guaranteed to exceed the requirements for all possible HDMI data streams.