hdmi cables

[Mianrtcv]

Disclaimer: yes, I searched it and did not see a thread...

Anyway. I see some very affordable hdmi cables on amazon... should I buy them or buy a set off a friend who works at a sony store (and use their discount)? Or drop the loot and buy some other cables?

P.S. I'm poor... Headed to Vegas this summer....

[joedick]

What you need are $200 gold plated monster cables, otherwise you might as well be using an SD TV set.

Nah, not really. As I understand it there's little (if any) difference between cables. Perhaps a videophile can prove me wrong, but you might as well go with the best price.

[megasdkirby]

Get cheap, premium cables. 1.3b (a or c or whatever, since I don't remember).

I got mine from Ebay, three of them. I currently use two, one on the PS3 an done on the Xbox 360, and they all work perfectly. Looks fantastic too.

In my opinion, and I know some will debate, I rather get cheap cables than spend $50 on a cable that can do basically the same thing. Besides, those really expensive cables cost pennies to make anyway.

[PC-ENGINE HELL]

With HDMI, most any normal cable will do the job. You don't need anything fancy.
http://cgi.ebay.com/10ft-HDMI-Cable-Male-Male-HDTV-V1-3-1080p-M-M-/130379699034?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e5b3c535a

I have one of those, from the same seller, works and was built just as well as the fancy Philips one I have.

[megasdkirby]

These are the cables I use:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Premium-HDMI-1-3-Cable-Gold-6-FT-Bluray-PS3-HDTV-1080P-/350354051787?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5192ba92cb

and this one

http://cgi.ebay.com/3FT-3-FT-Premium-Gold-HDMI-1-3-Cable-PS3-HDTV-1080p-/220605591264?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item335d1e2ee0

At least 6 feet for each. They work fantastic.

[Bojay1997]

I would highly recommend monoprice.com for inexpensive and good quality audio and video cables. I have purchased just about every cable there in the last three years and I know lots of audiophiles and videophiles do as well.

[Kitsune Sniper]

I would highly recommend monoprice.com for inexpensive and good quality audio and video cables. I have purchased just about every cable there in the last three years and I know lots of audiophiles and videophiles do as well.

I was just coming in to say this. Their cables are very high quality for a fraction of the name brands sold at big stores.

[alec006]

What you need are $200 gold plated monster cables, otherwise you might as well be using an SD TV set.

Nah, not really. As I understand it there's little (if any) difference between cables. Perhaps a videophile can prove me wrong, but you might as well go with the best price.

Being that it is a digital signal,there really isn't too much difference,but I wouldn't buy no cheap $5 cable for my TV. I would least spend $20 to $40 on one depending on the source that its being viewed on. And again even thou,it is a digital signal,its nice to have gold for better conductivity so the 0's and 1's can get there smoothly.

[Nionel]

Personally, I've had more luck with the cables I bought from Amazon. When I got my HDTV back in Feb I got two cables, one that I paid a few dollars for on Amazon and one that I paid about $30 for a Target. Long story short, only one of them still works and it's not the one I bought at Target, said cable has since been replaced with another that I bought from Amazon and no trouble so far.

[skaar]

It's digital. The signal is either on or off. There is NO difference in cables other than maybe a sturdier connector or a prettier cable.

www.monoprice.com is your friend.

Drop $30 on there and you'll wire up your entire home theater, shipped.

[majinbuu]

Yep, you definitely don't need to spend any more than $10 for a 2m/6 foot HDMI cable. I have 6 from an ebay seller called jamellcables that were around $7 each, gold plated and all work perfectly after at least a year of usage. Not so for a more expensive cable (around $70) I managed to get free with my new TV, that one died about 1 month after purchase.

I really feel sorry for people who drop $300 for ultra premium super charged fancy design cables that do exactly the same thing. But really, people should do their homework first and not give in to unscrupulous salesman who swear on their mothers grave that if you don't buy their $300 cable your TV/blu ray player/360 etc... will explode.

[The 1 2 P]

I got Psyclone's 360 hdmi cables on clearance at Target for $10 and they work fine. However, there is sometimes sound distortion during very loud sequences. I've been meaning to try out another pair of cables to see if that problem is common in them as well.

[sahetapy0609]

I usually get my HDMI cables from Play-Asia (http://play-asia.com). They are really cheap and affordable, comes in 1.5m (http://play-asia.com) or 3.0m (http://play-asia.com) which goes for $4.70 and $7.50 respectively.

Or if you want higher graded ones, you can try the HDMI Cables from HORI. Available in Black (http://play-asia.com) or White. (http://play-asia.com) This one goes around $24. :)

[nebrazca78]

I got my HDMI cables from eBay. I went with the cheapest I could find from a reputable seller located in the U.S. They were well under $10 shipped and work perfectly. But like others have said make sure to get the most up to date revision, which I believe right now is 1.3 which provides compatibility with lossless audio compression.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

Like everyone says, buy cheap.

Here's a CNET guide explaining the difference in HDMI standards, in case you're a little confused by 1.2, 1.3, etc.

http://reviews.cnet.com/hdmi-guide/

I've found that you can still get HDMI deals under monoprice's if you shop around. www.dealnews.com is a site updated daily with deals around the web from reputable sellers. I've personally gotten 2 HDMI cables for under $9 after being alerted by dealnews.

[megasdkirby]

Being that it is a digital signal,there really isn't too much difference,but I wouldn't buy no cheap $5 cable for my TV. I would least spend $20 to $40 on one depending on the source that its being viewed on. And again even thou,it is a digital signal,its nice to have gold for better conductivity so the 0's and 1's can get there smoothly.

You do know that most cables are the same. A company makes a cable for pennies (a few cents) then hikes up the cost not because they are "special", but to make a massive profit.

An OEM cable (no brand) can sell for less than $10, but once a company puts their brand on it (say Sony), it hikes up to $40? But it's the same darn cable! LOL

[portnoyd]

You don't need Monster cables unless you are buying a 30+ feet long HDMI cable. That's the only time you need a "quality cable". I.e. you don't ever need Monster.

As said, monoprice.com rocks your face.

[sisko]

Disclaimer: yes, I searched it and did not see a thread...

Anyway. I see some very affordable hdmi cables on amazon... should I buy them or buy a set off a friend who works at a sony store (and use their discount)? Or drop the loot and buy some other cables?

P.S. I'm poor... Headed to Vegas this summer....

I actually own 3 of these amazon branded cables:

http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-High-Speed-Meters-Frustration-Free-Packaging/dp/B001TH8UUA/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1273853711&sr=1-4

I couldn't be happier with them.

[diskoboy]

monoprice.com

I always order my A/V cables there. Cheap prices, and good quality.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

Here ya go. 2 6ft HDMI 1.3 cables shipped for $3.31.

http://dealnews.com/6-Foot-HDMI-Cable-2-Pack-for-3-free-shipping/364857.html

What are you waiting for?

[exit]

I got a 12'' Philips HDMI cable for about $10 a few years ago at work, it was on clearance because Philips changed the packaging. Needless to say it's longer than I'd ever need it to be, but the price was right.

[csgx1]

You don't need Monster cables unless you are buying a 30+ feet long HDMI cable. That's the only time you need a "quality cable". I.e. you don't ever need Monster.

As said, monoprice.com rocks your face.


Stay FAR away from Monster Cables unless they are free or dirt cheap. They are overpriced garbage with great marketing. They "look" like quality cables but they are not.

I had a number of $50 composite and component Monster cables just go bad for no reason.

monoprice.com or meritline.com are good choices for cheap cables.

[Flack]

One more on the dog pile for Monoprice.

[davepesc]

I use the $2 cables from monoprice.com and couldn't be happier.

[BHvrd]

Sadly I bought Monster Cables and within 2 months they stopped working, go figure. Overpriced bullshit. I say stick with something more affordable as with the more expensive brand really all you get is jack and shit.

[SPAZ-12]

I got a 12'' Philips HDMI cable for about $10 a few years ago at work, it was on clearance because Philips changed the packaging. Needless to say it's longer than I'd ever need it to be, but the price was right.

I can hardly imagine twelve inches being too long in any situation! ROFL

Seriously though, cheap cables for the win.

[Mianrtcv]

Thanks for all the input.

[whoisKeel]

Thanks for all the input.

NO!
One more for monoprice.com :)

But seriously. Have you ever seen a DVD skip, or you digital cable start skipping? You are going to know without a doubt whether a cable is broken or not. Other than that, there's no difference. Digital signal either works, or it doesn't. It's not like the analogue days where maybe it was worth it to spend more because your buddy with 20/20 who sits a few feet closer to the TV can kinda tell the difference.

And you will be surprised at the build quality of the stuff from monoprice. It definitely does not feel cheap.

[Vlcice]

Just a note re: all the Monoprice recommendations - my credit card was recently stolen due to a Monoprice database break-in. While I've always been happy with the quality of the products from them, I'm pretty leery of shopping with them again for security reasons.

Luckily, my credit card company caught it before any major fraudulent charges.

[NayusDante]

I get my 6' HDMI cables on Amazon for about $4 each.

Cable quality actually matters with analog signals, because there's more information. Bad cables will degrade the signal. With digital, all that matters is that it gets through. If anything, they should be even cheaper. Radio Shack had HDMI plug ends last time I was in, but they wanted $20 each.

If you look at new devices, they're starting to include the HDMI cables. I have a feeling that we won't see these high-priced cables anymore in a few years, and Monster is probably going to focus on other products like power conditioners.

[duffmanth]

Monster cables in general are grossly over priced, and especially HDMI cables at retail. If you can find some Monster online for dirt cheap, I would go with them. Sony also makes some nice HDMI cables, but they're all pretty much the same.

[kedawa]

The super expensive cables are actually among the worst you can buy, especially monster cable.
Their cables are often excessively rigid, which leads to breaks in the conductors because they are so inflexible, and their connectors fit way too tight which can cause damage to the ports on your equipment.
Those power conditioners are just a crock of shit. Nothing they filter out would actually affect anything to begin with, and besides, you could just get an uninterruptible power supply for the same price.

[Poofta!]

I got Psyclone's 360 hdmi cables on clearance at Target for $10 and they work fine. However, there is sometimes sound distortion during very loud sequences. I've been meaning to try out another pair of cables to see if that problem is common in them as well.

you have shitty speakers. are you using the tv ones? those suck 99% of the time. i am assuming you are indeed using the tv ones, otherwise you would route the audio signal through an optical cable to your receiver.

back to OP's question:
as mentioned, digital is either on or off. there is no distortion, there is no data loss. it will either work or it wont.

having said that, there IS a difference in quality of the cable.
what you want to consider is gauge and isolation (for running it through a wall).

isolation will only matter if you are running it for dozens of feet and behind your wall, signal may be lost if there is interference.

certain hdmi switches are finicky with the voltage so they wont work with 28+ gauge hdmi cables general. you want 24 gauge. none of this matters unless you are ordering from monoprice.com (most cable are already 24- gauge). the price difference between a 28 gauge and 24 gauge is like 5-10$ for 6ft (ie a 28 gauge cost like $4).

my recommendation:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10240&cs_id=1024004&p_id=3661&seq=1&format=2

(look at that, under 10 bucks a cable thats even gold plated lol!)

rule of thumb for monoprice: shipping sucks for 1 cable, order everything you need, may need, your friend may need and looks cool right away. nothing wrong with having spare cables and adapters around for when you need em. the more you buy the cheaper itll be (with bulk discounts and shipping)

[Poofta!]

Just a note re: all the Monoprice recommendations - my credit card was recently stolen due to a Monoprice database break-in. While I've always been happy with the quality of the products from them, I'm pretty leery of shopping with them again for security reasons.

Luckily, my credit card company caught it before any major fraudulent charges.

same here, actually. it was my amazon visa card. got charged like 600$ worth of shit onto it via amazon site. all i had to do was call the CC and they debitted all the cash back without even a 2nd question. i think i will be using paypal next time i order online.

[Nesmaster]

Monoprice or fail.

You've been warned.

[Viper187]

I vote for Monoprice too, despite their security issue a month or two ago. I heard they invested in some better security after the incident. I didn't know anything happened until I got a new card in the mail. I can't stand when my credit card number changes for any reason though. I memorize the thing cause I only use it online.