HDMI Cables

[guitarist155]

when it comes down to it monster is really just used in the consumer world which should tell you something.
i have monster cable for my guitar rig and the only reason was for the warranty and being able to test it my self.

pro recording studios do not use monster they use mogami and canere, some even use gepco, why, because mogami and canere are better than monster, they are some of the best cables money can buy and they just happen to be cheaper than monster.

i have seen alot of studios: radio,tv,audio, and not one of them used monster.

[guitarist155]

my point is monster is not better just because it is more expensive, there are higher priced cables out there and lower priced cables out there, i would be happy to say monster was great if i saw some data to back it up.

that being said 1's and 0's ether get there or don't BUT they can get there at different times within a time frame, so on very low end cables the picture might not be as accurate over distance.

however i think this is to minor a problem to dwell on when alot of people on here are still running signal and power lines together, thats going to cause a much bigger problem.

[emacs]

Originally Posted by guitarist155

... the picture might not be as accurate over distance

for cable lengths less than 15 metres (49 feet) the only difference between Monster and Monoprice cables is the price.

[chunkymoonkey]

Hello all.

I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice.

I have read lots of different reports on weather you should get an expensive HDMI cable. Lots of people seem to thinks its a waste of money, whereas all the technology magazine I read say its vital to spend at least £50 ($100) on getting the right HDMI.
I wonder if anyone could tell me once and for all what is the right way to go..

Thank you

[un4gvn94538]

most will tell you to buy cheap cables from monoprice.com

[Bango]

Originally Posted by chunkymoonkey

Hello all.

I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice.

I have read lots of different reports on weather you should get an expensive HDMI cable. Lots of people seem to thinks its a waste of money, whereas all the technology magazine I read say its vital to spend at least £50 ($100) on getting the right HDMI.
I wonder if anyone could tell me once and for all what is the right way to go..

Thank you

I bought a $149.99 Monster 1000 Cable when I got my tv....WASTE OF MONEY. I switched it out with a cheap one that was included in my HD DVR...SAME PICTURE QUALITY. THe only advantage I see to expensive cables, is their durability as they are made of better materials...but if my $10 cable craps out..I can buy another $10 cable...and spend a whopping $20...I do like the lifetime warranty from Monster. I can get a new one if anything ever happens to it for free, but for $149.99...and the chance of it crapping out pretty slim...I basically threw away my money. monoprice.com is the way to go

[Sonny]

Monoprice.com! i have not paid more then 5$ for an HDMI cable & I have 30+ I do have a very expensive 1 I got for 25$, it was originally a 125$ cable & guess what theres is NO!!! F'n deferents in PQ at all.

[blindcat87]

Basically, I decided not to waste my time saying the same thing I have already said on this and other threads on this topic. There is a vast collection of facts and opinions developed from long experience about Monster out there. But no matter how many times one provides the same links and the same forums for people to look at to back up what we are saying, zealots simply dismiss them without bothering to even read them, look at their references, or consider anything that might conflict with their opinion.

I've provided these links many times, including earlier in this thread. The information is out there. Monster is a company that has built a name through hype and litigation. There are good reasons why the brand is high on the list of "didn't know any better" brands in the audiophile community. There is nothing wrong with their products, the issue lies in that one can get the same or better performance for less money and that for the money they charge, there are other brands that provide more. This is why I try to get people interested in learning more about interconnects to read the interconnect forums on Audiocircle, Audioholics, AVSforum, and others.

The HDMI issue is even more absurd and one can understand why by reading the HDMI guide maintained at bluejeanscable.com. Note that they do not use this guide to further hype their own products. Also note that, despite some facts there that Monster and other companies might not want to see posted, Monster's massive legal department has not been able to force BJC to take the information down, change anything, or to exclude Monster in any way from having the information on the pages apply to them. There are very few facilities for fabrication of HDMI cable. Among those facilities, only a certain number are capable of fabricating 1.3A certified cable. With the exception of one line of HDMI cable sold by BJC, all HDMI cable sold in the US is manufactured at one of these limited number of plants in China. BJC openly discloses that even their US made cable is sent out to China for termination because there are no cost effective options for this in the US. Again, does this mean that Monster cable is bad because it is made in one of a limited number of Chinese plants? No. What it means is that the difference between Monster HDMI cables of a particular class and other brands' HDMI cable of the same class is the branded sheath. As long as the cable you buy is certified for 1.3A, has good solid termination and decent shielding, and the company is willing to warranty their product, you've got a cable that will work. If you just can't deal with the fact that you can get the same length of copper and plastic with the same performance at such a low price, if you absolutely must spend more to feel safe, there are lots of companies out there that sell HDMI cables for more than Monoprice but less than Monster that are much more reputable and much more open about their products. BJC and Bettercables.com just to name a couple. The latter has been heading off into the realms of cable esoterica of late, but the company was founded by an engineer who was sick of seeing people ripped off by Monster and has a philosophy of making sure to give something concrete for their higher priced lines. BTW, they have a line of guitar cables that are supposed to be very good. I am considering getting one as a birthday present for my brother.

As I've already said, there are reasons for the widely held opinion of Monster among the audiophile and videophile communities. If one seeks out forums that go beyond the casual hobbyist it does not take too much effort to uncover the reasons. Like I said many times in discussions on the format war, one does not have to take my word for it. The data is out there, the documentation and references of the articles on the topic are out there. People can dismiss the links and information posted so many times in this and other threads. It doesn't change the facts.

Chris

Originally Posted by guitarist155

there is somewhat of a point, i think, and i have read the whole thread so there are some people who read this stuff, say whatever is on your mind. no point in a statement retraction

[BFRedrocks]

Someone on here once told me "search is your friend."

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=33168

[guitarist155]

Originally Posted by emacs

for cable lengths less than 15 metres (49 feet) the only difference between Monster and Monoprice cables is the price.

correct but i wasn't saying monster was good over distance, all i said was a very low end cable would not be as good as a high end cable over distance. like passing a very high bandwidth signal over a 28awg cable compared to a 22awg cable. it is like sending dmx 512 protocol over cat5 it works great but only to a certain length, after that it becomes unreliable and can miss interpret the signal. this is a downfall of hdmi it is an unstable interface over distance.

alot of hdmi cables are probably maid by the same company and have different names put on them, i personally am getting ready to buy the series-1 cable from bjc for a 40 foot run. i know who makes the cable, i know who has them assembled and i have seen the test data to back up there claims. if monster were to make that cable it would cost me a grand

[krazeyeyez]

i understand the one and zeroes part, but after dropping serious cash on your tv, blu, etc..... do you really wanna go the cheap route on your wires? i understand apples and oranges since this is digital, but it does seem kind of like the people who use lamp wire for their speaker wire

i dont have monster and understand they are a hyped up brand, but a certain amount of bandwidth is required to pass the 1080/24p, lossless sound, etc.... has anyone here ever actually tested this say on a computer to verify, or did you just switch out cords and judge by the eye.

curious because i have seen some severely differing bandwidths out there?

so my tributaries 5dh cord, will pass my 1080/24p and lossless audio at full 1080p yes, without sacrificing quality?

[crackinhedz]

after dropping serious cash on your tv, blu, etc..... do you really wanna go the cheap route on your wires?

yes. my wires sit behind my setup out of view...doesn't make a difference how much they cost. (and im not advocating going onto ebay and buying a .50 cent cable that was made in someones garage...but...)



people, please try not to fall into the mind trap that price = quality.

price = profit for company. Quality = customer satisfaction.

....and quite frankly, cheaper cables can still be quality believe it or not.

Originally Posted by Bango

I bought a $149.99 Monster 1000 Cable when I got my tv....WASTE OF MONEY. I switched it out with a cheap one that was included in my HD DVR...SAME PICTURE QUALITY.

[eChopper]

Anyone heard of KORDZ master series HDMI 1.3b cables?

Wonderful company :

diligently adhere to HDMI specs and quality control

The box arrived most impressively: lovely silk lining, impressive Gold plated connectors

yes the pic quality is nice into my 1080p plasma. I cannot be happier with its performance and meticulous construction

then i swapped it with my regular cheap shit HDMI cable that i had lying around

Difference?

F*** all.

Though I presume the marketing manager of KORDZ drives a better car than I do

[obiwopkenobi62]

After buying a 35.00 cable from walmart I decided to try cheaper cables at Amazon.com and HDMI.com. The ones I got from Amazon were 6 footers. I got 2 for 1.87 each. After hooking them up there was absolutely no difference. What a bargain. I have since had to run slightly longer ones with my new TV so I got three 15 footers from Amazon for a grand total of 32.00. As usual, no difference in quality. I have friends and coworkers that just can't be convinced. They really believe that the expensive cables are better.
I know people that have bought a 300.00 HTIB and then spent 500.00 or more on monster cables. Ridiculous.

[househead]

Just switched out a skinny el cheapo HDMI cable that was hooked up to my DirecTV box. I'm not even sure why I was using it because I had a brand new monoprice one in the house (I guess just lazy).

I can see a noticeable improvement in PQ with the monoprice cable vs the freebie I got.

And here I always thought it wouldn't matter:
"it's digital"
"ones and zeros"
"either gets the signal or doesn't"
"etc etc etc"

Well I was wrong! Very glad my lazy ass pulled out the stand and made the switch. Less blocking, better colors, and the image is more enjoyable. And here I was just putting it off to being the Directv signal. NICE!!

[trey]

When I was recently redoing my set up, either me or a friend kicked the cable box that was plugged in. The hmdi cable pulled right out of the port, leaving the connector in the box!! It was a freebie cable, and I was only using it cause I used to have 3 or 4 hdmi sources going into my TV, now on the new one I have lowered it specifically to the playstation and the cable box (I wish cable cards had never gone away and they could have bettered the technology.

[NJMetsFan]

It could've been an early HDMI cable (non v1.3a), and the monoprice cable is probably the v1.3a.

[guitarist155]

those free ones are probably not even the right kind of wire, they are like 2 cent hdmi cables so of course the $4 expensive cable will work better . this is what i have been saying all along there are cheap cables and then there are CHEAP cables. one is the price the other is the cable itself

[Sonny]

All my $h!T's monopriced.......CAUSE THERE THE BEST!!!!!

[NJMetsFan]

Originally Posted by Sonny

All my $h!T's monopriced.......CAUSE THERE THE BEST!!!!!

All my cables are monoprice as well...granted I don't need nearly as many cable as you do.