expensive hdmi cables

[mikeyb]

So my question is regarding HDMI cable quality. I read things on the packaging such as 120hz, 10.2 ghps speed rating, 12 bit, and for 1080p and up. I found the salesman at my local electronics shop really pushing for the expensive 120 dollar HDMI cable. it is a digital signal so wouldn't the 39$ cable do just as good of a job? even though it states up to 720p? I feel as if it is a scam. I know cable quality would matter with analog signals. but if an HDMI cable is already digital is my eye and ears going to notice a difference? I hope I explained myself clear enough.

thanks!
mike

[desijatt]

the best thing to do is to find a person who works there and can buy the thing for you at emplyee discount, Company's like best buy make alot of profit through the Hdmi cables, It only costs about 3-4 dollars to make them, and they sell it for hundreds,
For example: this Rocketfish 12 feet long HDMI cable is for 89.99 and the employess get it for 11.50,

http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/prodde...23&catid=23216

I know this because i have a friend that works at best buy.

[WilliamM2]

So my question is regarding HDMI cable quality. I read things on the packaging such as 120hz, 10.2 ghps speed rating, 12 bit, and for 1080p and up. I found the salesman at my local electronics shop really pushing for the expensive 120 dollar HDMI cable. it is a digital signal so wouldn't the 39$ cable do just as good of a job?

Both cables you looked at are way overpriced. Either of these will work just as well:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=181-774

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

They have other lengths as well, I use both the above in lengths up to 18 feet without any issues.

[Keiko]

I'm quessing the sales person probably gets a commission on the cable he was pushing on you. This is where the Big Box stores make their profits and selling consumers the extended warranties. That being said, you can get an HDMI cable from an online retailer for a fraction of what's available from stores like Best Buy. I have 3 of these in my system and they work just fine.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

If you need different lengths or colors, here's everything HDMI that's available from MonoPrice. Good cable, good customer service, good prices and they ship fast.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/su...02&cp_id=10243

I've noted some HDMI cables are prettier than others and some us different wire gauges, but in my experience, it either works or it doesn't.

[sTiLlLeArNiNg]

I have tried a bunch of different HDMI cable's at different price point's and in various configuration's in my system as i was always having some kind of "handshake" or similar issue. The best one's i have found are actually Emotiva branded, must be that synergy thing One thing with the Emo cable's is they are flat instead of round so keep that in mind....

Side note: Why is it that people regularly and vehemently advocate the use of "big" dollar speaker & IC cable but suggest the cheapest HDMI's

[Montoya]

I like the audioquest cables. That's all I have in my system.

[Keiko]

Why is it that people regularly and vehemently advocate the use of "big" dollar speaker & IC cable but suggest the cheapest HDMI's

Because they are entirely different. haVeN'tULeArNtThAtYeT?

[sTiLlLeArNiNg]

Because they are entirely different. haVeN'tULeArNtThAtYeT?

Lol NO i haven't.

Don't start saying "but HDMI is digital and it's only 1's & 0's" The principle's are still the same.

If you can't tell the difference between a quality HDMI and a cheap HDMI good for you! I on the other hand have experienced the difference. For refference i have noticed an improvement with EVERY cable upgrade i have made :)

[Montoya]

I had nothing to compare to other than monster hdmi cables. I only upgraded because I got them at more than 75% off when tweeter went out of buisness. I also upgraded all
my power cords.

[Keiko]

Don't start saying "but HDMI is digital and it's only 1's & 0's" The principle's are still the same.

Well, aren't they?

If you can't tell the difference between a quality HDMI and a cheap HDMI good for you! I on the other hand have experienced the difference. For refference i have noticed an improvement with EVERY cable upgrade i have made :)

And which cable upgrades might those be?

Lol NO i haven't.

Will you please make up your mind?

[kevhed72]

Isn't the "handshake" issue more related to the AVR...I don't know if its necessarily the cables. Also, I have found that picture quality has little / nothing to due with price of video cables.

I have the 24 AWG monoprice cables and find them somewhat difficult to work with (although the picture is fine) , so I would stick with the standard / 28AWG for short runs.

[bigaudiofanatic]

Correct the handshake is between the device and or the tv or receiver. I am using a dynex 25 dollar cable and I am happy with it. I MAY upgrade in the future but it will be one of the last things I upgrade. I see no difference in the hdmi cables. And yes I will say it is a digital signal 1's and 0's. I will say the crappiest cables I have used were the Philips ones. There ends are shorter than others and sometimes to not make the full connection. OP if you were at a best buy than there is the problem right there. They will try to sell you everything and anything they can.

[concealer404]

A quality HDMI cable is a quality HDMI cable. Just grab one from monoprice.

[grimmace19]

I used the cheapest cables from amazon I could find. They worked fine for picture but the build quality is terrible. The rubber casing tore very easily and the head bent on one. With those issues I bought the mediabridge cables from amazon priced at 10 bucks. They work great and are about twice as thick as the previous ones. There is a very snug connection and haven't had a single issue.

[Movieman]

Here is an excellent test showing there was no difference between a $12 hdmi cable and a $260 hdmi cable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDw2ZSDzlMw

[timpeace]

I grabbed a $12 6 foot hdmi cable from Big Lots (lifetime warranty) and hooked my boy's PS3 to my Sharp aquos 52" 1080P. Watched District 9. My first BLU-RAY experience. Blown away! Can't imagine a much better picture. Try cheap cables. They may surprise even the most hardcore videophile. What have you got to lose?

[Krazyz1]

There is a difference between HDMI certified , and HDMI performance. Take 1080p video with advanced 12-bit ( or higher ) color , also called Deep Color , available right now from Play Station 3 , and several HDTV makers. To expierience this level of high performance , your HDMI cable must exceed the requirements of the HDMI 1.3a , CAT 1 specification and support an astonishing cable data rate of 6.68 Gbps. That's more than six billion bits per second , six times the data rate required for standard DVD playback. Also HDMI performance has a conductor for future generation of HD components. 14.9 Gbps-1440p and beyond.

[Serendipity]

If it works well, you should be fine.

[mantis]

Don't waste your money on HDMI cables. Once they are 1.3a certified , there is nothing to make better except for long runs. You will not gain anything with short high end HDMI cables. NOTHING!!!

[mikeyb]

okay, thank you everyone, that more than answered my question. I actually found a company in my city that makes HDMI cables for about 10 dollars. they seem like very good quality.
It says:
-supports all HDMI devices, including 1.3b
-supports resolutions up to 1080p
-10.2gb per second audio and video transfer rate
-26 gauge
-triple shielding
-cpsia, en-71wg compliant (not sure what that means)
-24k gold plated connections
-ferrite core

and that was 10 dollars for about 3 meters. Thank goodness I didn't buy anything else. I think I spent about 25 dollars for all the HDMI cables I needed. Jeez what a rip-off those 120$ cables were. And it was only 2 meters worth!

[wutadumsn23]

Well done. I have 3 different HDMI cables in my rig ranging from free to about $40 and I can tell no difference between the 3. They are all 6 feet or shorter and as has been said many times, if it isn't a 100ft run, you will be just fine. Oh btw cpsia, en-71wg compliant is fancy for Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act so you can feel better about your cables being safely improved, lol.

-Jeff

[dvran]

Monoprice.com

Any cable made to the HDMI 1.3a standard is fine.

[kuntasensei]

Monoprice's cables are awesome. I did a 35 foot run in-wall to my projector with wall plates for less than $100, including all cables for each device to my receiver, and it carries 1080p flawlessly even over that length.

[Des Moines]

Here is an excellent test showing there was no difference between a $12 hdmi cable and a $260 hdmi cable.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDw2ZSDzlMw

Was intrigued by the hdmi discussion and clicked on the link to see the comparison... and got this error message

"This video contains content from Canadian Broadcasting Corp., who has decided to block it in your country."

Looks like CBC is following China's lead in censorship. lol

[xcapri79]

Was intrigued by the hdmi discussion and clicked on the link to see the comparison... and got this error message

"This video contains content from Canadian Broadcasting Corp., who has decided to block it in your country."

Looks like CBC is following China's lead in censorship. lol

The CBC is a Canadian Crown Corporation, as such it operates independently from the Canadian government on day to day basis. However it ultimately is responsible to the Canadian government. The decision by the CBC not to allow broadcast of CBC program video segment outside of Canada is a corporation based decision which they have every right to do as a corporation.

The CBC also blocks NHL game video outside of Canada, although it does allow the "Don Cherry Coach's Corner" segment the last time I checked.
In no way is this equivalent to the government of China blocking general internet communications.

[Movieman]

Was intrigued by the hdmi discussion and clicked on the link to see the comparison... and got this error message

"This video contains content from Canadian Broadcasting Corp., who has decided to block it in your country."

Looks like CBC is following China's lead in censorship. lol

I had no idea that CBC would block their Youtube posts from being seen by someone south of the border. They bought two flat screen and had them calibrated so that they were identical. They then had a group of guys watching hockey (yup - very Canadian, I know) to see if they could spot the difference between the $260, $110 and $12 HDMI cables. The guys couldn't tell the difference. They then took the cables to the head technician at CBC and he plugged all of the cables into his Flux-Capacitor-tester-thingamajig and he found that all of the cables performed to the same level - with no degradation of the signal by any of the cables.

Save your money and buy a less expensive cable.

[jinjuku]

There is a difference between HDMI certified , and HDMI performance. Take 1080p video with advanced 12-bit ( or higher ) color , also called Deep Color , available right now from Play Station 3 , and several HDTV makers. To expierience this level of high performance , your HDMI cable must exceed the requirements of the HDMI 1.3a , CAT 1 specification and support an astonishing cable data rate of 6.68 Gbps. That's more than six billion bits per second , six times the data rate required for standard DVD playback. Also HDMI performance has a conductor for future generation of HD components. 14.9 Gbps-1440p and beyond.

Doesn't CAT2 cert make the cable good for 1440p?

[cwilliams]

I bought a couple 6' cables for $4.99/ea from Fry's and they work perfectly. The brand is Atlona and they claim to have a lifetime warranty. Why pay more? My cable company (Charter) gave me a 9' no name brand and it also works fine.