what the sales man told me about hdmi cables - Page 4 - Blu-ray Forum

SatinKzo · 12-07-2008, 11:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Driver_King

ObiTrentKenobi and SatinKzo, you guys have never even tried Monoprice have you.

PanasonicPlasmaMan (a.k.a. Circuit City) was once misinformed like you guys are and look at where he is now...

Whoa, how did I get grouped into this? I am one of the biggest supporters of Monoprice, I recommend it to everyone I know... Go back and read my post (#10), you will see I am responding to people claiming that the pricier cables are better, actually I am just responding to the examples that Obitrentkenobi posted. I have only posted once in this thread, so I assume you have got me mixed up with someone else.

Driver_King · 12-07-2008, 02:33 PM

I must have got you mixed up with someone else then.

mnfish · 12-07-2008, 03:19 PM

All are equal but?? Let me throw this in. I used some cables (in more than one situation) to hook up bd players, direct tv rcvrs and stereo rcvrs to all different tvs all via hdmi. The cables that I got from direct tv...not all work in all situations. Cables from Liberty cable...no all worked...both manufacturers of those cables I had issues where the picture would black out then come back in or audio was there but no picture. When I swapped to a Monster cable..I had no issues at all. I still use the cheap cables but if I get issues I swap to the more expensive ones. And yes...I've swapped out the same cable manutfacturer to same cable manufacturer and still had issues. I work for Geek Squad Home Theater install and it's frustrating having to go back to do a service call just to swap out the cable. Especially when it's in the wall. That's why we reccomend the Monster cables. More expensive but less repeats. And yes...they can still be bad but less a chance than the cheaper cables. And yes again..we do make sure it's working before we leave but sometimes they can go out afterward. Just my 2 cents.

My_Two_Cents · 12-07-2008, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mnfish

All are equal but?? Let me throw this in. I used some cables (in more than one situation) to hook up bd players, direct tv rcvrs and stereo rcvrs to all different tvs all via hdmi. The cables that I got from direct tv...not all work in all situations. Cables from Liberty cable...no all worked...both manufacturers of those cables I had issues where the picture would black out then come back in or audio was there but no picture. When I swapped to a Monster cable..I had no issues at all. I still use the cheap cables but if I get issues I swap to the more expensive ones. And yes...I've swapped out the same cable manutfacturer to same cable manufacturer and still had issues. I work for Geek Squad Home Theater install and it's frustrating having to go back to do a service call just to swap out the cable. Especially when it's in the wall. That's why we reccomend the Monster cables. More expensive but less repeats. And yes...they can still be bad but less a chance than the cheaper cables. And yes again..we do make sure it's working before we leave but sometimes they can go out afterward. Just my 2 cents.

I don't think anyone would doubt that you would have a high problem rate with cables supplied by the cable/sat companies. These cables are the definition of cheap (not inexpensive, there is a difference). When you swapped-out the cheap cables for Monster, and everything worked fine, did you try swapping out the cheap cable with a high-quality inexpensive cable from Monoprice or BJC?

Your experience only proves Monster cables are better than the lowest-of-the-low "included" cables. "more expensive, but less repeats"? I would rather go with less expensive and high quality, myself.

SlmShdy1 · 12-08-2008, 07:18 PM

I sell HDMI cables all the time and never hear about them "going out" on people. And when I do sell the cables, I try to sell them the least expensive ones because they're all the same unless it's going to be 25ft or more. If they need a cable over 25ft, I usually refer them to MonoPrice.com.

mnfish · 12-08-2008, 11:30 PM

"When you swapped-out the cheap cables for Monster, and everything worked fine, did you try swapping out the cheap cable with a high-quality inexpensive cable from Monoprice or BJC?"

Yes I did...Liberty cables. That is our main supplier behind Monster. And same thing happened with them...they failed, too. I'm sure though, that the fail rate is low compared to how many cables are sold. if it's man made it can fail.

Driver_King · 12-09-2008, 12:45 AM

You need to try Monoprice cables or whatever you said is meaningless.

mnfish · 12-09-2008, 02:01 AM

Cadrian · 12-09-2008, 03:26 AM

Monoprice is the best.... I can buy cables and give them away as gifts

People think I spent a lot. I've probably bought 12... Kept 4. No one ever reported any problems.

BTW they haven't failed me in over a year now....

MJ_KC · 12-09-2008, 05:03 AM

I was talking to the salesman at the nearby Best Buy and he told me that I had no need for the Monster cables and that the cheaper ones they sell would be plenty good. I agreed, but bought the more expensive of the two cheaper brands because of better mechanical construction.

As an electronics engineer and service technician, I have had to work on a lot of different cables and in my opinion I paid for the level of quality that I wanted. The salesman told me that the monster cables are probably not needed even on the new 480 Hz HDTVs.

Blu-ray Fanatic · 12-09-2008, 05:28 AM

There's absolutely no need to spend a lot on HDMI cables because I bought a top-of-the-line HDMI cable from ebay for $10

ascian · 12-09-2008, 06:36 AM

Build quality is certainly worth something. Wal-mart/Phillips brand cables are especially bad. I've had a lot of broken ends, bent pins, etc.

As for the installer switching out cables... I hope you're checking everything before you leave. I also hope that you're not putting monster cables with their mesh jackets through walls. I know for a fact that Best Buy corporate will tell you not to do that.

Blu-ray Fanatic · 12-09-2008, 06:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ascian

Build quality is certainly worth something. Wal-mart/Phillips brand cables are especially bad. I've had a lot of broken ends, bent pins, etc.

As for the installer switching out cables... I hope you're checking everything before you leave. I also hope that you're not putting monster cables with their mesh jackets through walls. I know for a fact that Best Buy corporate will tell you not to do that.

+1

allstar780 · 12-09-2008, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ascian

Build quality is certainly worth something. Wal-mart/Phillips brand cables are especially bad. I've had a lot of broken ends, bent pins, etc.

As for the installer switching out cables... I hope you're checking everything before you leave. I also hope that you're not putting monster cables with their mesh jackets through walls. I know for a fact that Best Buy corporate will tell you not to do that.

if you're referring to the 400 series, that was actually the only older monster HDMI that was CL2 rated, aka to code.

crackinhedz · 12-09-2008, 11:29 AM

Quote:

The salesman told me that the monster cables are probably not needed even on the new 480 Hz HDTVs.

480Hz is internal processing, has nothing to do with the HDMI signal.

altetz · 12-09-2008, 06:36 PM

As was mentioned previously, the cable is carrying digital information and the receiving device either "sees" the data stream or not. Signal strength isn't an issue unless long cable lengths are required.

The Wal-Mart cables work just as well as any others and they're far cheaper!

Xerious · 12-09-2008, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blu_world

he said when he used the cheap ps3 cable that came in the box,he could get 1080P picture but not uncompressed sound and only dolby surround sound.

bad cable?..or trying to trick me into thinking the expensive 120 doller energy is a good buy...also he gave me a discount for the sale price of 80 bucks for it later on...

the cable design was nice,one of those clothe covered ones..but still!...
i want to hear what you guys have to say about this shady sales guy.

All PS3s come with COMPOSITE cables... which yield only 480i and STEREO sound... stupid lair.

www.monoprice.com

$4 HDMI cable works just as good as $199 monsters. how do i know? i have the $99 gamelink PS3 monster cables connected to one ps3 and monoprice cables on the other... no difference in image or sound...

SlmShdy1 · 12-09-2008, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xerious

All PS3s come with COMPOSITE cables... which yield only 480i and STEREO sound... stupid lair.

Yeah, I hate lairs too. All those steps. It's just too much work. What I hate even more are liars

.

HeManster03 · 12-13-2008, 01:53 PM

just so everyone knows, i do purchase almost all of my cables from monoprice.com, unless i am in need of a cable right now, then i grab one from work (circuit city) before i leave for the day. i will also say that i agree that cables, by in large, are equal across the board for 99.9% of the situations out there. working in retail as long as i have, i have heard enough people having problems with all types of cables, hdmi included. whether it was bent pins ( as commonly found in walmart/philips cables ) or the connector ends coming loose from unplugging and replugging in ( 4 different rocketfish cables i have seen in the last year ), 90% of the cable brands i have tried have had some type of issue. the only issue i have with monster cable is the price. now as far as recommending monoprice.com or bluejeanscable.com, i can do that for my friends and family, but do you honestly expect me to do that at work, where they pay me to sell products from our store? that would be equal to working at a gm dealership, but telling them to buy a nissan altima. its never gonna happen. we sell a $100 monster cable at 56% margin, and people do need cables for what they buy in our store. do they have to buy them from us? no they don't and since i dont make a commission i dont care regardless, but to say that we are horrible people for offering them a product that we sell as a store is just asssanine.

Thundarr · 12-13-2008, 10:18 PM

I got a cloth covered Belkin 8' HDMI at Sam's Club they tried to rip me at Best Buy for $71 for the cheapest one. The picture is magnificent. As far as expensive cables go the worst ones I have ever had were Monster Cables. I bought 2 expensive S Video cables and they both failed and my cheap RCA is still working fine. I think that most people spend a lot on a cable and don't want to look foolish so they say it makes a difference when 99.9% of it is mental.

12-09-2008, 06:36 PM	#76
altetz New Member Member since:Dec 2008 Location:Central Texas	HDMI Cable As was mentioned previously, the cable is carrying digital information and the receiving device either "sees" the data stream or not. Signal strength isn't an issue unless long cable lengths are required. The Wal-Mart cables work just as well as any others and they're far cheaper!

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12-07-2008, 02:33 PM	#62
Driver_King Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Jan 2008 Location:Tampa Bay, Florida Home Theater Gallery:96 Blu-ray collection:28 Trading Score:10	I must have got you mixed up with someone else then.

12-07-2008, 03:19 PM	#63
mnfish Active Member Member since:Dec 2008 Blu-ray collection:242 Trading Score:7	All are equal but?? Let me throw this in. I used some cables (in more than one situation) to hook up bd players, direct tv rcvrs and stereo rcvrs to all different tvs all via hdmi. The cables that I got from direct tv...not all work in all situations. Cables from Liberty cable...no all worked...both manufacturers of those cables I had issues where the picture would black out then come back in or audio was there but no picture. When I swapped to a Monster cable..I had no issues at all. I still use the cheap cables but if I get issues I swap to the more expensive ones. And yes...I've swapped out the same cable manutfacturer to same cable manufacturer and still had issues. I work for Geek Squad Home Theater install and it's frustrating having to go back to do a service call just to swap out the cable. Especially when it's in the wall. That's why we reccomend the Monster cables. More expensive but less repeats. And yes...they can still be bad but less a chance than the cheaper cables. And yes again..we do make sure it's working before we leave but sometimes they can go out afterward. Just my 2 cents.

12-08-2008, 07:18 PM	#65
SlmShdy1 Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:Nov 2007 Location:Honolulu, HI PlayStation® PSN: SlmShdy1 Home Theater Gallery:39 Blu-ray collection:292	I sell HDMI cables all the time and never hear about them "going out" on people. And when I do sell the cables, I try to sell them the least expensive ones because they're all the same unless it's going to be 25ft or more. If they need a cable over 25ft, I usually refer them to MonoPrice.com.

12-08-2008, 11:30 PM	#66
mnfish Active Member Member since:Dec 2008 Blu-ray collection:242 Trading Score:7	"When you swapped-out the cheap cables for Monster, and everything worked fine, did you try swapping out the cheap cable with a high-quality inexpensive cable from Monoprice or BJC?" Yes I did...Liberty cables. That is our main supplier behind Monster. And same thing happened with them...they failed, too. I'm sure though, that the fail rate is low compared to how many cables are sold. if it's man made it can fail.

12-09-2008, 12:45 AM	#67
Driver_King Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Jan 2008 Location:Tampa Bay, Florida Home Theater Gallery:96 Blu-ray collection:28 Trading Score:10	You need to try Monoprice cables or whatever you said is meaningless.

12-09-2008, 02:01 AM	#68
mnfish Active Member Member since:Dec 2008 Blu-ray collection:242 Trading Score:7

12-09-2008, 03:26 AM	#69
Cadrian Active Member Member since:Apr 2008 Location:Columbia, SC Blu-ray collection:147 Trading Score:5	Monoprice is the best.... I can buy cables and give them away as gifts People think I spent a lot. I've probably bought 12... Kept 4. No one ever reported any problems. BTW they haven't failed me in over a year now....

12-09-2008, 05:03 AM	#70
MJ_KC Junior Member Member since:Oct 2008 Blu-ray collection:14	I was talking to the salesman at the nearby Best Buy and he told me that I had no need for the Monster cables and that the cheaper ones they sell would be plenty good. I agreed, but bought the more expensive of the two cheaper brands because of better mechanical construction. As an electronics engineer and service technician, I have had to work on a lot of different cables and in my opinion I paid for the level of quality that I wanted. The salesman told me that the monster cables are probably not needed even on the new 480 Hz HDTVs.

12-09-2008, 05:28 AM	#71
Blu-ray Fanatic Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Aug 2007 Location:San Antonio Blu-ray reviews:1	There's absolutely no need to spend a lot on HDMI cables because I bought a top-of-the-line HDMI cable from ebay for $10

12-09-2008, 06:36 AM	#72
ascian Active Member Member since:Jan 2007 Location:Arkansas Blu-ray collection:1	Build quality is certainly worth something. Wal-mart/Phillips brand cables are especially bad. I've had a lot of broken ends, bent pins, etc. As for the installer switching out cables... I hope you're checking everything before you leave. I also hope that you're not putting monster cables with their mesh jackets through walls. I know for a fact that Best Buy corporate will tell you not to do that.

12-13-2008, 01:53 PM	#79
HeManster03 Senior Member Member since:Oct 2008 Location:Northeast Ohio Home Theater Gallery:49 Blu-ray collection:4 Blu-ray reviews:1	just so everyone knows, i do purchase almost all of my cables from monoprice.com, unless i am in need of a cable right now, then i grab one from work (circuit city) before i leave for the day. i will also say that i agree that cables, by in large, are equal across the board for 99.9% of the situations out there. working in retail as long as i have, i have heard enough people having problems with all types of cables, hdmi included. whether it was bent pins ( as commonly found in walmart/philips cables ) or the connector ends coming loose from unplugging and replugging in ( 4 different rocketfish cables i have seen in the last year ), 90% of the cable brands i have tried have had some type of issue. the only issue i have with monster cable is the price. now as far as recommending monoprice.com or bluejeanscable.com, i can do that for my friends and family, but do you honestly expect me to do that at work, where they pay me to sell products from our store? that would be equal to working at a gm dealership, but telling them to buy a nissan altima. its never gonna happen. we sell a $100 monster cable at 56% margin, and people do need cables for what they buy in our store. do they have to buy them from us? no they don't and since i dont make a commission i dont care regardless, but to say that we are horrible people for offering them a product that we sell as a store is just asssanine.

12-13-2008, 10:18 PM	#80
Thundarr Member Member since:Dec 2008 Blu-ray collection:15	I got a cloth covered Belkin 8' HDMI at Sam's Club they tried to rip me at Best Buy for $71 for the cheapest one. The picture is magnificent. As far as expensive cables go the worst ones I have ever had were Monster Cables. I bought 2 expensive S Video cables and they both failed and my cheap RCA is still working fine. I think that most people spend a lot on a cable and don't want to look foolish so they say it makes a difference when 99.9% of it is mental.

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