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Why you should never pay more than $10 for an HDMI cable (Infographic)

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Re: Why you should never pay more than $10 for an HDMI cable (Infographic)

#11

Post by thmz »

vital101 wrote: post #6

I always thought that the "high end" cable market was a rip-off. Even as someone who loves high quality audio, its REALLY hard to tell the difference between a moderately priced cable and a high end one.

Wiki page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-end_audio_cables There is a nice quote on it: "no other product is as shrouded in hype and mystery as the audio cable!"

I also like high quality audio. But most of the time just a good thick electric copper cable will do the job. Also saves you a lot of $.

Re: Why you should never pay more than $10 for an HDMI cable (Infographic)

#13

Post by mansr »

There's a bit more to it than that. An HDMI cable contains three serial data links, each operating at roughly 1.5Gbps. At rates that high, some shielding is required, or the cable will pick up enough noise to damage the signal. The HDMI link has some error correction (contrary to a comment on that site) whereby 8 data bits are transmitted using 10 bits on the wire, so minor errors are tolerated.

The important thing, and the central argument of that article, is that with a digital link, once there are no bit errors, no further improvements can be made, and even a cheap cable is plenty good enough for a short HDMI connection. Gold-plated connectors are still a good idea. Corrosion is as much of a problem there as anywhere.

Should you use a truly awful cable, and those do exist, you will probably notice an occasional "spark" on the display.

Re: Why you should never pay more than $10 for an HDMI cable (Infographic)

#14

Post by TheBranca18 »

Frazzydee wrote: post #9
singer wrote: post #2

Monoprice.com. That is all.

Just make sure you pay by google checkout or paypal. I'm surprised people don't seem to be angry about the way they've handled the data breach issue.

You mean the fact they store your password in their database as plaintext? Yeah kinda scary to be honest.

Re: Why you should never pay more than $10 for an HDMI cable (Infographic)

#15

Post by Retric »

edd wrote: post #8

How can companies still get away with not shipping these cables in the box with displays?

A) Not everyone is going to use a HDMI cable. (Wrong length, already have one etc. EX: How often did you use the phone line that came with a new phone?)

B) It costs them money.

C) It helps suport big box retail.

Re: Why you should never pay more than $10 for an HDMI cable (Infographic)

#16

Post by mseebach »

micks56 wrote: post #10

My patience for the line, "It is digital. It either works or it doesn't" ended a long time ago. "Digital" signals are analog signals, but the only difference is that they are restricted to being above or below some threshold. But around that threshold there is a gray area where you can't really tell whether your signal will be interpreted as 1 or 0. I am not defending the need for high-end HDMI cables. But saying "It…

I think "It is digital. It either works or it doesn't" in the context of A/V refers to the quality of the converted analog signal - what comes out of the speakers or is visible on the screen. And the signal getting through can either work or not, no matter how well engineered the cable is, isn't that correct?

Re: Why you should never pay more than $10 for an HDMI cable (Infographic)

#17

Post by smokinn »

Retric wrote: post #15
edd wrote: post #8

How can companies still get away with not shipping these cables in the box with displays?

A) Not everyone is going to use a HDMI cable. (Wrong length, already have one etc. EX: How often did you use the phone line that came with a new phone?) B) It costs them money. C) It helps suport big box retail.

I think it's mostly a combination of B and C. I have enough monitor and pc power cables to last me the rest of my life at this point but they still package new ones whenever I buy a power supply or monitor.

Re: Why you should never pay more than $10 for an HDMI cable (Infographic)

#18

Post by mrcharles »

joezydeco wrote: post #7
singer wrote: post #2

Monoprice.com. That is all.

Except when you're buying a new TV and you're at the checkout, you realize you need a cable to finish your hookup. This is why you never see a $10 cable in a retail store, like the poster above mentioned. It's all about the psychology of needing it now instead of being able to wait 4 more days.

This is why you use monoprice.com. Every time you need a cable, you actually order 4. It's still 1/4 the price of buying it from a retail store, and then when a friend needs a cable for that new tv he just bought, you can hand him one, for 1/4 the price of what he'd pay in stores, and he thanks you, AND you've just paid for your own cables.

Really, just don't ever buy a cable in a store. Ever. Getting a TV? Plan it ahead of time. Buying new tech? Make sure you have the cables already.

We're talking about an average 20x price markup on these cables, and sometimes significantly more (network cables I'm looking at you!).

Knowing your options is the first step in not getting screwed.

Re: Why you should never pay more than $10 for an HDMI cable (Infographic)

#19

Post by mrcharles »

micks56 wrote: post #10

My patience for the line, "It is digital. It either works or it doesn't" ended a long time ago. "Digital" signals are analog signals, but the only difference is that they are restricted to being above or below some threshold. But around that threshold there is a gray area where you can't really tell whether your signal will be interpreted as 1 or 0. I am not defending the need for high-end HDMI cables. But saying "It…

The point is not that you can use anything, the point is that you only need a certain level, and then it's good enough. All my HDMI cables are from monoprice.com, I don't think I paid more than $4 for a single cable, and I can't imagine what kind of EM interference I'd need to mess with them. I have so many electronics in my house I'm probably on a watch list.

Re: Why you should never pay more than $10 for an HDMI cable (Infographic)

#20

Post by micks56 »

mseebach wrote: post #16
micks56 wrote: post #10

My patience for the line, "It is digital. It either works or it doesn't" ended a long time ago. "Digital" signals are analog signals, but the only difference is that they are restricted to being above or below some threshold. But around that threshold there is a gray area where you can't really tell whether your signal will be interpreted as 1 or 0. I am not defending the need for high-end HDMI cables. But saying "It…

I think "It is digital. It either works or it doesn't" in the context of A/V refers to the quality of the converted analog signal - what comes out of the speakers or is visible on the screen. And the signal getting through can either work or not, no matter how well engineered the cable is, isn't that correct?

But the reason why your digital TV shows the correct screen is because the cable transmitted the "digital" bits between your DVD player and the TV correctly. If you have a poorly made cable you will get bit errors. Electromagnetic interference from other A/V equipment could also cause bit errors. A well made cable with twisted pairs, proper shielding (few people do this correctly), and well formed connector crimps will prevent those bit errors. With bit errors, what your awesome Blu-Ray player decodes off of the Blue-Ray disc will not be what is shown on the screen (assuming there isn't bit error correction in the TV, etc.).

And your speakers are playing an analog signal. Cable quality matters even more there.

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