What is the difference between a $17 and a $150 HDMI cable?

Re: What is the difference between a $17 and a $150 HDMI cable?

$133. That was easy.

Here's a harder one: What's the cube root of 328,509?

Re: What is the difference between a $17 and a $150 HDMI cable?

Seriously, Jeff, look at this thread. Monster cable is overpriced stuff built on sheer marketing hype, NOT on any real improvement.

Re: What is the difference between a $17 and a $150 HDMI cable?

I concur with the "$133" answer. HDMI is a digital format which is not subject to jitter (as if that matters ). Any cable that meets or exceeds the HDMI spec is going to get the 1's and 0's to the display/receiver. An extra $133 is not going to make those 1's and 0's any faster, brighter, or 'spatially superior'.

As an example - The SPDIF specification for digital coax audio was made to use a standard 75 Ohm video cable for transmission. All you need is a $5 video cable, one of which comes with every DVD player made. Yet, people still buy $30-100 "digital" coax cables because they think they need a "digital" cable for digital coax.

Edited for atrocious spelling.

Re: What is the difference between a $17 and a $150 HDMI cable?

I think you are wise to stick with the less expensive cable. Don't worry about cables unless you see a glaring error. Just enjoy.

Re: What is the difference between a $17 and a $150 HDMI cable?

My pleasure, Jeff. I always enjoy enlightening people on this issue.

Re: What is the difference between a $17 and a $150 HDMI cable?

Maybe. Pick one.

Re: What is the difference between a $17 and a $150 HDMI cable?

Eh, I did have some problems doing this once. I had some audio dropouts with my equipment using the el-cheapo freebie cable. I didn't go overboard and spend mad money to replace it. I just went to Radio Shack and got a 1/2 way decent replacement for probably $12.00 or so.

I might have just had a bad cable....who knows.

Re: What is the difference between a $17 and a $150 HDMI cable?

It may have been an audio instead of video cable. Video cables are definitely 75 Ohms, while audio cable do not have to be. Then again, it could just be a bad cable.

I bought three $5 HDMI cables when hooking up my new Home Theatre.  Had so many problems and couldn't figure out what component was giving me the grief.

I finally went out and got the Monster cables ($180 each!!!).  I asked the guy if i could return them no questions asked if they didn't give me a better picture - he said yes.

After using Monster, everything was working good with the new cables, except the surround sound - I'm returning that component.

The problems i was having:
1.  When changing channels on my cable box, i would get a 3 second dely (sound and video)
2.  I would get what looked like fuzzy blue pixels on the HDTV Screen
3.  I would get crisp white dots on the HDTV Screen
4.  No sound would come through ont he first channel i tunned into.  I would have to change channels to get the sound and video.

With Monster, i got non of these problems.  Keeping everything the same and just changing the cables did it.

(I know in the states you have an assortment of cables with various prices, but not here in canuck-town; it's either cheap cable or Monster-Like cable.)

With $5 cables from who-knows-where there is a chance that the sheer build quality and materials were so lousy that there were broken wires inside the bundle or poor terminations.  So yeah, that sort of thing will give you the kind of drop-outs that you're talking about.   But a $15 or $30 cable would have solved you're problem just as thoroughly.

Problems 1 and 4 on your list above are obvious handshake issues - the communication between your TV and your video source broke down, probably because the ultra-cheap cables had electrical transmission issues or bad connectors.  


Well, you obviously have an internet connection, so Blue Jeans Cable and Monoprice are as much an option for folks in "canuck-town" as they are for those of us below the 49th parallel.  Even with shipping and import fees they'd be a much better deal than spending as much on three cables as you'd spend on a good AV receiver and a quality sub.  Any chance you can still return those cables and buy something reasonable? 

Regards,

Joe
Edited by Joseph DeMartino - 12/19/09 at 5:27pm

With all the talk about in-expensive cables working well enough we have to remind ourselves that cables are not un-like anything else. Buy cheap ones from an un-known retailer or the local flea market and you could experience problems. But buy them from a well known parts house and chances are they were put to the test before being put up for sale.

A perfect example is this optical cable from MonoPrice.com. At $6 for a 6 ft cable it's better than any $30+ cable I've seen in any store.

Monster makes good products they're just way over-priced. Too bad you couldn't find a better compromise locally. As Joe said, buy on-line and save  bunch.

Try this link for all your cable needs www.monoprice.com  Their prices are great and their products are even better.
Edited by Blu4ever - 12/21/09 at 12:44pm

But Gene, the ends of that Monoprice Toslink aren't gold plated, how could it possibly be as good as a Monster Cable Toslink with it's superior gold plated tips that aid in conductivity! (of optical data) :)

Because I said so!

Besides, the Monoprice cable has...

• 
  
  Quote:
  

  PRECISION POLISHED FIBER TIPS for Maximum Signal Transfer (includes tip protectors)
  
  Also known as..."metal fancy connectors". So there. 

Gold plated terminals have better conductivity and will not corrode easily.
Edited by Blu4ever - 12/21/09 at 12:05pm

I recently found 2 feet HDMI cable from blockbuster video. the price was 9.99. I bought a bunch of them. seem to work fine. thought you could be interested.. if looking locally for cheap and not going online for it.

Jacob

Corrode?  Gold?  Where the heck does this kind of stuff come from?  Fact:  Gold is one of the most corrosive resitant metals known.  It's why you can drop a gold coin in the a highly corrosive salt-water ocean and have it come up shiny and new 400 years later.

Basically gold is added to the ends to prevent corrosion...ok
Edited by Blu4ever - 12/21/09 at 12:41pm

Which contradicts your other post..

No, I'm comparing gold to gold (and of course gold plating is gold, if it was anything else they'd call it "anything else plating!")  Now if the plating is defective, you are left with exactly what you have without plating.  Then again, you didn't say defective plating can lead to corrosion, you said gold plated terminals will corrode faster . . . and the fact is, gold does not corrode.





Have you changed your mind now?

1) You're missing the joke.  Optical cables don't get gold (or gold plated) connectors for the simple reason that they use light to transmit data, thus electical conductivity is irrelevant to them.  to gold-plate an optical cable would be almost literally to gild the lily - assuming the plating didn't bock the optics and render it useless.  Everyone was poking fun at the pretenses (and deceptive claims) of "high end" cables.

2)  As noted by others, gold is significantly less subject to corrosion than other metals - hence its association with immortality and incorruptability since ancient times.  (The alchemist's quest to turn base metal into gold was part and parcel of their quest for eternal life.) 

3)  Gold is used for critical electrical connections because it is both highly resistant to corrosion and an excellent electrical conducter.  Among common metals only silver and copper (both of which corrode rapidly) are rated higher for electrical conduction.  (The relative figures are silver 105, copper 100 and gold 71.  Iron, by contrast, is 17 while steel rates a 15 on the same scale.) 

Regards,

Joe

Here is the answer.  What is your requirements.  What is the refresh rate of your HD TV.  Is it 60, 100, 200, or 400 Hz and is it your intention to use 8, 16, or 24 bit color?  As you go up in refresh rate and/or color bits you need a lower impedence cable.  The higer priced cables should be lower impedence and should indicate that they are for higher information rates.  The one I bought to go bwtween my Blu Ray player and my HDTV with a 200Hz refresh rate at 24 bit/channel had a guaranteed transfer rate of 2 gig bits per second.  Look on the package label and see what refresh rates it supports.

 

Aubrey

 

WRONG!!!  Refresh rate of your TV has absolutely NOTHING to do with the signal going from your source to the TV.  Nothing higher than 60 Hz is EVER carried from your Blu-Ray to the TV.  The conversion from 60Hz to 120, 240, or 600Hz is done COMPLETELY within the TV itself, so it's completely irrelevant to the HDMI cable.

 

There is no performance-related reason to pay exhorbitant prices for HDMI cables.

 

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/speed-rated-hdmi-cables.htm

http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/hdmi-cable-speed

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38731070/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/

Edited by Jason Charlton - 10/21/10 at 12:14pm

The 133$ answer is (more or less) correct. There are flavors of HDMI as the technology has improved (ie 1.2, 1.3a, 1.3b, 1.3c, etc.) that provide increased performance --e.g. lip sync issues minimized with 1.3c. When you buy an HDMI cable, they should be certified to carry the official HDMI mark/logo. With really cheap imported items, this label can, of course, be used without authorization. 

 

I have noticed the stores now branding items "STANDARD" HDMI and "DIGITAL" HDMI. To be safe, I'd say go with the digital HDMI. I've seen the data listing that they are certified to 1080p, while the standard are 720 or 1080i.

 

Monster is overpriced (even for the higher cost of materials utilized) but does exist for a reason...so do gold plated tail pipes. I won't, however, rip on anyone who chooses to use them... they are just an upscale sort of luxury item. While there may be slight differences, they likely do not (given modern television mfg) provide a significant performance enhancement.

Assuming we aren't talking the marketing surcharge attached to some cables, some of the reasons a cable can cost more are a higher gauge of wire and if it is rated for in wall use (CL2/CL3 fire rating).  Non CL rated cable can act as a fuse taking fire from one wall section to another, so don't save a few bucks if you are planning on putting it in the wall.

 

I really like Blue Jeans Cable.  They are a very well built cable for not a lot of money.  I just received a 40ft HDMI cable to make a second run for a 3D BD player (my AVR can't pass through 3D) and it was $27 for a very well built, high quality CL2 rated cable.