difference in HDMI cables

[guitarist155]

Originally Posted by Mouse

All I got to say is I don't trust cables that only cost $5. It seems like the cost to manufacture them should be more. It's like the old saying, "You get what you pay for." ... in other words "Cheap price equals cheap quality." I have all Sony equipment so I went with Sony HDMI cables that are certified for 1.3a even tho they are only 1 meter long (3 feet). Except the official Sony PS3 HDMI cable... it's a bit longer than 1 meter and is also extremely good quality.

price will not always reflect quality think of it this way when you buy a blu-ray at best buy you pay more than amazon but it is the same blu-ray. now it is not just a matter of getting there or not as hdmi does not have error correction so the color might be a bit off, but, at short distances this is not likely. just like sound, use your eyes if it looks great to you it is great. i say mono price is great, but if you are not sure about really cheap cables and want to spend a little more money still stay away from bestbuy for cables. go to bluejeanscable and pick up a series -1 hdmi they have the tests to prove it is one of the best, it is great and alot cheaper than BB

having said that as a comparison to every day life, people get taken, alot, like shopping at walmart, their tires, lawnmowers, and sewing machines are made for walmart and are made with pig metal and cheaper parts and yet people still shop there. these same people will go out and say that there 1000 dollar cable is better than a $50 one. but will chew you out if you say anything about where they shop.

so take all advice with a grain of salt, even the pros, if you like it it's fine but that does not make them wrong when they give you a way to save money

[Sonny]

Originally Posted by obiwopkenobi62

You read the thread too, I was agreeing with you. Damn.

F'n kids...

[Sonny]

Originally Posted by Grif32

At first you didnt but then you edited your post to make it look like you did.

Thats why he responded...

Your quote

"Unless you have tested the cables like I have you can't sit there and tell people they are suckers for buying cheaper cables"

He was calling the guy buying Expensive cables a sucker.

Thanks "Grif" at least you 'follow'

[obiwopkenobi62]

Originally Posted by Grif32

At first you didnt but then you edited your post to make it look like you did.

Thats why he responded...

Your quote

"Unless you have tested the cables like I have you can't sit there and tell people they are suckers for buying cheaper cables"

He was calling the guy buying Expensive cables a sucker.

I did not try to edit my post to look a certain way. I was agreeing with him because I use cheaper HDMI cables too. If it read that way, then that's my bad.
Boy some people just can't help but attack on forums.
It was directed at the other person.

[obiwopkenobi62]

Apologies to sonny. My post was not directed at you. I was agreeing with your post.

[Mxr5150]

Notice how I said "I think", as in it's my opinion. Settle down, please.

How do you feel about speaker wire?

I trust monster because I play guitar, and I have to say I do notice a difference with their guitar cables.

[BStecke]

If you don't feel satisfied buying monoprice cables , you can go to bluejeanscables.com.


I always buy from them just because I always have . . . great quality products, great service. But realistically the performance won't be any different.

[Sonny]

Originally Posted by obiwopkenobi62

Apologies to sonny. My post was not directed at you. I was agreeing with your post.

No problem, I just like attacking people

[obiwopkenobi62]

Originally Posted by Sonny

No problem, I just like attacking people

Attack away, I can handle it. Anyway, I always love a good debate.

[Sonny]

Originally Posted by Mxr5150

Notice how I said "I think", as in it's my opinion. Settle down, please.

How do you feel about speaker wire?

I trust monster because I play guitar, and I have to say I do notice a difference with their guitar cables.

All there guitar cables are very good , just like all there analog wires/cables. They should just not be able to screw people over with the 100$+ price tags on there HDMI cables . Thats where "we" informed HDMI users come in ,cause we know there is NO difference when using HDMI , its all DIGI baby !!

[Mouse]

Originally Posted by guitarist155

price will not always reflect quality think of it this way when you buy a blu-ray at best buy you pay more than amazon but it is the same blu-ray. now it is not just a matter of getting there or not as hdmi does not have error correction so the color might be a bit off, but, at short distances this is not likely. just like sound, use your eyes if it looks great to you it is great. i say mono price is great, but if you are not sure about really cheap cables and want to spend a little more money still stay away from bestbuy for cables. go to bluejeanscable and pick up a series -1 hdmi they have the tests to prove it is one of the best, it is great and alot cheaper than BB

Blu-ray movies are not a good analogy. They are all manufactured the same just some retailers mark up the price higher than others. But cables have many different companies making them and some companies do a better job. Now the signal may be digital and may get there all the same but what happens if you try to unplug that cable and the end connection just falls off because it was so cheaply put together? What if you slightly bend the casing and the cables on the inside break apart so the signal can not get thru? I'm not saying people should get Monster cables, I agree that they are extremely over-priced. But I just personally do not trust $5 cables due to the costs involved in making them. Now you may have tested cables but I have made them. If you don't get a good connection then your cable is worthless.

[jibucha]

Hello

I hope that this HDMI cable information is helpful here.

Belden Wire & Cable some months ago, introduced the first high quality HDMI cables; at least to my knowledge. I waited for a very long time before purchasing HDMI cables, as verified quality was my primary concern; including reasonable affordability.

Remarkably, these cables are quite reasonably priced, at least as I perceive things; for a 1M cable, they are $20.36. Most importantly, they are verified HDMI 1.3b Compliant, which is the most up to date HDMI standard; at least to my current knowledge.

Performance wise, they are without qualification, as HDMI 1.3b compliant, means that they meet the most recent testing qualifications available by the HDMI Organization for optimal performance.

What may be interesting, is that 1080p is only guaranteed to 13ft. as I recall; which by the way, is representative of all HDMI cables. As far as any audio codec issues; they support everything without qualification, meeting the most current specifications for HDMI.

It might be helpful to anyone not knowledgeable of Belden Wire & Cable, that their cables are widely used in the broadcast industry, representing unparalleled cable performance and quality for decades.

Additionally, I should mention, that while I do not have the actual test results of their cables handy at the moment, I did view actual performance test data, which included comparison of generally available HDMI cables; the test data was quite informative and definitive of their obvious superior performance. I will try to locate the test data for anyone that might require it.

I am providing contact information here for where I was able to acquire these remarkable cables, as I am confidant that they are not widely known or available; I hope that this information is helpful and not interpreted otherwise.

Joseph Electronics
www.josephelectronics.com
800.323.5925 l x308 l George Chiappetta

Ask for George, as to my knowledge, he is the individual most knowledgeable of these cables at this company.

Thank You

[BStecke]

Originally Posted by Mouse

Blu-ray movies are not a good analogy. They are all manufactured the same just some retailers mark up the price higher than others. But cables have many different companies making them and some companies do a better job. Now the signal may be digital and may get there all the same but what happens if you try to unplug that cable and the end connection just falls off because it was so cheaply put together? What if you slightly bend the casing and the cables on the inside break apart so the signal can not get thru? I'm not saying people should get Monster cables, I agree that they are extremely over-priced. But I just personally do not trust $5 cables due to the costs involved in making them. Now you may have tested cables but I have made them. If you don't get a good connection then your cable is worthless.

Heh . . . have you ever seen a Monoprice cable, or especially a Blue Jeans cable? I'd put the build quality of either up against Monster ANY day. It may not look as fancy, but functionality over form.

A Lancer Evolution will put the smack down on MANY cars that are more than twice its price . . . it may not look as good, but it's performance is still as good or better.

[Y3k Bug]

Originally Posted by Mouse

... but what happens if you try to unplug that cable and the end connection just falls off because it was so cheaply put together? What if you slightly bend the casing and the cables on the inside break apart so the signal can not get thru?

That is a very good point. I can say however that the Monoprice cables are extremely well made in that regard...they really are a ridiculously good value.

[PaulGo]

When it comes to analog cables, construction quality and shielding can make a difference for long cable runs. HDMI cable are digital and the same philosophy does not apply. For long runs (over 6 feet) HDMI cables you may need a heavier gauge wire (that Monoprice also sells).

What you are paying for in the "expensive" cables is window dressing - heavier and sexier connectors and heavier rubber around the wires. With the current HDMI connectors I actually find this detrimental. The logic if my equipment cost $30,000 I must spend at least xxx dollars on cables really doesn't hold water in the digital world. Of course you can always get a defective cable but don't blame it on the price as long as you get it from a reputable source such as Monoprice.

[obiwopkenobi62]

Originally Posted by Y3k Bug

That is a very good point. I can say however that the Monoprice cables are extremely well made in that regard...they really are a ridiculously good value.

I agree. I also bought a Monoprice HDMI switcher. It was 4-5 input/1 output. It cost me 50.00 compared to other companies(bigger names) that had less inputs and were like 200.00 or more. The 50.00 switcher worked perfectly just like their cables.
One other thing I did notice about some of the more expensive cables is that they are bigger and heavier where they connect. I worry that the added size and weight would pull on the unit itself. have you ever seen a connection on something(TV, VCR etc) get broken because of a heavy connector pulling on it? I have.
To each his own, but I will stick with the cheaper lighter HDMI cables.

[Blinkman987]

Anybody remember the piece in a Home Video and Audio Journal- "Monster Cable vs Wire Coat Hanger. It's a tie!" That one was pretty good.

Wires and connections mattered when things were analog. Now that most signals are digital, you just have to be careful about cable quality when running long cables- about 10 ft for video and (I think but I'm not sure) 50 ft for audio.

[obiwopkenobi62]

I don't remember where I saw the article, but someone had come up with some high dollar HDMI cables that actually had LED's built in to the connectors. They said something about the light showing the cable was working better(better speed of signal). Someone tested it and said that the LEDs did something to the signal and it made the picture quality worse. I also remember seeing something about different speed HDMI cables(I think Monster)

Anyone else heard about this?

[SlapnutsGT]

I work at a service center and service home theater units. When buying a cable the only thing you should really look for is whether or not its stamped with HDMI on the ends, that means the HDMI committee, or whoever the hell does it, has approved the cable.

For instance, at best buy they sell 4 brands of cables: Monster, AR, Dynex, and rocketfish, that I'm aware of. Dynex, and Rocketfish are both best buy private label brands. Of the 4 brands, only Monster and Dynex are certified. Being Employee I have tried 3 of the 4, Monster is just too expensive even with my discount. AR and Rocketfish are crap, the shielding around the connector is only glued on, Monster and Dynex the shield is set down into the plastic around the connector, make it a lot more durable.

So all and all, look for the stamp, it says ALOT about the durability of the cable. I went through 2 Rocketfish cables, and 1 AR cable because the sheilding around the connector broke off.

Now as far as 1.3 compliant and all that I'm not sure. Guys that I work with over in the LCD/Plasma area swear up and down the PQ difference that Monster claims to have is unnoticable to the naked eye.

BTW I got this 'HDMI stamp info' from the service technician rep over at Denon for the Atlanta area, so I'd like to think the guy knows his stuff.

[brett_day]

get the cheap ones! Correct me if i am wrong but there was an article not too long ago where someone setup to identical systems one was using monster cables for the sound and the other was using wire coat hangers to make the connections and nobody could tell the difference...does anyone remember reading that?

I use Cheap HDMI cables v1.3 cost me $10 a piece and my system sounds amazing. as everyone else has said digital is either on or off, so if it is on then you will be golden!