Will a hdmi 1.3 cable work on a device that is 1.4? Sorry for the noobie question.

It will work but you won't have the 1.4 capabilities (3D, control signals, etc...). Your 1.4 device will simply behave as a 1.3.

What if I use the 1.4 on a 1.3 device? Will it work as a 1.3?

Yes, the cables are backwards compatible. You will always be limiter by the component that uses the oldest HDMI version.

There's (still) a lot of confusion about HDMI cables. The only change from 1.3 that would require 1.4 cables is Ethernet (which almost no devices support). Good quality 1.3 cables will do 3D, and audio return channel.

Thanks for the clarifying guys!