HDMI Cable Quality Concerns

MikeEckman · 11-22-2004, 03:08 PM

I recently looked into getting my first HDMI DVD player and when I saw the retail prices of HDMI cables, I near fell over in the store! I am not paying $150 for a 2 meter cable. Thats almost as much as the player.

I went online and found a couple other alternatives. On average, premium HDMI cables seem to be around $100, which is a lot better than $150, but still more than I'd like to spend.

I found one place that has them for around $40, but they list the gauge of the wires inside as 30 gauge, where as the premium ones are around 24 gauge.

The premium ones also boast how they have lower signal resistance, are subject to less interference, have gold plated connectors, etc.

Now, I am fully aware of the technology involved in passing a high quality analog signal to a device, however, HDMI is purely digital.

We're talking 1s and 0s here. With digital, you either get the signal or you dont. In my opinion, it doesnt matter whether you send it through a 0 gauge cable or a strand of 30 gauge wire, the signal either gets there or it doesn't, and then the device decodes the signal. Its not like a few 1s or 0s will be better 1s or 0s. of course, this is just how my logic is, and I wanted to be sure that is how it is in the real world.

Assuming there is no break in the connection, what is the benefit from spending $150 on a Monster Cable HDMI wire, and a cheapo generic $35 one?

Lee Distad · 11-22-2004, 03:48 PM

well, for starters, the owner of Monster Cable won't be able to buy another Ferrari if you don't.

Ron Boster · 11-22-2004, 05:21 PM

Cast Monster aside and forget about it. HDMI and DVI cables can be found for reasonable amounts at www.bettercables.com, Bluejean Cables (site sponsor-click above) or www.gefen.com. All good companies with great cables. Now there maybe cheaper cables out there too.

The area you want to stay away from the cheap cables are for the longer lengths.....some companies like Pacific Cables maybe fine for short lengths, but get into 10 meters and you could suffer from sparkles and other problems. The quality of cable does make a difference (along with source signal strength and the projector). On long runs, some have used switchers (which boost the signal to help)...knowing they will use the switcher down the road.

Ron

Kevin T · 11-22-2004, 05:43 PM

i agree with ron. i purchased my dvi and hdmi cables from gefen. nice quality cables at a reasonable price.

kevin t

Richard_B · 11-22-2004, 05:55 PM

I picked up a monster dvi cable on ebay for less than half of what they cost in the store. At the time I bought mine monster seemed to have the best build. I have noticed more and more companies starting to come out with these types of cables now. As for the monster dvi cable, I have no complaints with it, but if I had to pay full price then I would have looked elsewhere.

**HTF Ads**

MikeEckman · 11-22-2004, 06:05 PM

I wouldnt need any more than a 2-3 meter cable, and my point is, the signal either gets there or it doesn't. If the signal quality degrades to a point where the TV can no longer decode the signal, then I would a majorly corrupted picture with obvious defects.

Thanks for the recommendation on the above e-tailers. I would gladly support a site sponsor than Monster Cable anyday!

Adam Gregorich · 11-22-2004, 08:24 PM

Depending on the DVD player, it may come with an HDMI cable (Toshibas do). It's a digital signal, so if you get picture and sound w/o drop outs I would stick with a free or cheaper one. If the extra cash is really weighing you down, I can take some off your hands

.

Nick V · 12-07-2004, 03:07 PM

I bought this one
http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/D...s.html#hdmi-r2

It gave me peace of mind that I was buying a "high quality, heavy gauge silver coated copper wire" and it's also realatively inexpensive at the same time.

Rob Bird · 12-07-2004, 06:35 PM

Actually, a smaller diameter cable is better. Resistance is a virtual non-factor within reasonable distances on low-current connections like that.

Take something like Serial-ATA cable. It's certified for 3 Gbps transfers over a couple of meters and uses 26-30 gauge conductors, no problem (im not saying you can build your own). If that interests you, the trick is really just finding the connectors. You should be able to find whatever cable you need from www(dot)spectra-strip(dot)com (can be bought at mouser(dot) com).

Ray Tsui · 12-14-2004, 10:43 PM

I am having problems with my setup, and people are telling me it's a cable issue. If I didn't see it with my own eyes, I would never have guessed that a digital signal can degrade.

I am running a Panasonic S97 to a Sanyo Z2. I used the freebie HDMI cable and bought a Monster HDMI-DVI adapter. I got sparkles all over the place at 720p. I returned the adapter, and got a different and I still have sparkles, but fewer. So it seems the quality of the connection does matter.