I actually hate HDMI as a connector. It has to do with the way the spade is directly in the middle. I'm more technically minded than the average consumer I gues

I actually hate HDMI as a connector. It has to do with the way the spade is directly in the middle. I'm more technically minded than the average consumer I guess, but with USB A the general rule is to insert the cable with the open side "up". HDMI only keys based on the metal shielding. If you're trying to insert this without looking, it's almost impossible. I've seen that HDMI ports don't really conform to a specific orientation and very frequently get soldered on the underside of boards instead of on top.