HDMI, worth the $$$?... what about "cheap" cables... (1 Viewer)

[Jeff Holton]

My HD box has DVI out, and my TV has HDMI in. I was thinking of getting a DVI/HDMI cable to see how the picture improves... but they want $200+ for a 10 foot cable... yikes!

Can anyone tell me difinitively whether or not the picture is "significantly" better?

I have heard that it depends on the source/display device. I have a Toshiba 57H94. Anyone have an experience to share?

Also... I have found several "comparable" cables on ebay for $20. The sellers seem to have good ratings... but $20 for a cable that costs $200 at Hi-Fi buys... seems fishy. Anyone have any experience in this department?

Thanks

 

[Kelvin Tucker]

Jeff,

My box comes tomorrow, so maybe I will have a definite answer. Meanwhile, $200 is a bit pricey for me. In the analog world my (not too precise) eyes/ears can agree that cables can make a significant difference. However, for these purposes HDMI = DVI = Digital, and bits is bits, so its a 0 or a 1.

This seems like a better price to me, but I'm a novice so buyer beware -> 15 Foot DVI - HDMI Cable

As I said, I'll know a little more tommorow, when I get my HD box, and my cheap 10 foot DVI-HDMI cable.

 

[Thomas Nichols]

If you want good quality cables for a decent price, you may want to check out cablewholesale.com I have purchased almost all of my cables there. I have had very good service from them.

 

[Mitch N]

Thats what you get if your buying Monster Cable.

Try the above link mentioned, or www.bluejeanscable.com. It's less then half what you saw.

 

[Evan M.]

The only cables I buy are "cheap" cables. I bought a 30' component video cable from www.cablesforless.com and was shocked at how it compared from a PQ standpoint to much more expensive cables that I had and seen. Sure from a quality standpoint they really can't compare but when it came to PQ....I could not see a difference on my front projector at all. I do not have my FP hooked up via HDMI/DVI yet but will soon.....I also plan to go the cheap route first. Good luck to you

 

[Jeff Holton]

Well... I went with a $30 cable from on online retailer, and I hooked it up last night. I kept switching back and forth from component to HDMI... and to be honest with you, I couldn't tell much of a difference. The picture with HDMI was still great but it didn't look that much better than component to me.

I know there are several factors at work here... it's possible that the broadcast I was watching was just of a poor quality... or maybe the HDMI mode on my TV isn't that great.

I'll probably just leave both sets of cables hooked up, but most likely I'll do most of my watching on component so that I can get my sound through the TV... since I'm converting from DVI to HDMI, using the HDMI setting means that I must run my audio through my stereo (which is cool, but for most casual TV watching... I don't want to mess with it).

My conclusion... HDMI is great and all... and the picture may be a little better... but it is certainly not worth spending $200+ for the cable.