HDMI CABLE ?? Silverserpent... (1 Viewer)

[steveGamble]

Is Silverserpent reference series (there best one) ,, better than Monster 400 series ?

I plan to go 10 meters ,32 feet from High def source to panny ae900 projector.
Anyone think a booster is needed ?

I plan to use a switcher so I can use a DVD player as well as High Def. Satelite.
Does Higher end switchers make a difference in Picture quality , or they work or don't work in the digital world ?

I know Cheap Long cables can hurt P.Q.
But not necessarily true with a switch.?? to my knowlege.

I appreciate any feedback.

 

[Stephen Tu]

Overpriced just like Monster IMO. Try www.monoprice.com. People on AVS forum report using that length here, and longer with a switch here, zero problems. There is no mechanism for subtle degradation in picture quality due to the cable when using digital connections. You either get a picture, or get no picture or picture with "sparkles" indicating dropouts. The bits either get there accurately or they don't.

 

[steveGamble]

Well I got the HDMI cable from silver serpent. $249.99 + 65.00 shipping plus exchange rate.
oh well.... but for the switcher, I'll try Mono 2x1 manual. on sale for 25 bucks.
That is unreal, hard to believe it isn't total Junk, but I'll it try for that price.
There must be a reason High price cable(monster) companies are so successful ? ...performance..?

 

[Alf S]

Wow...I guess when ya go the semi boutique cable route, ya do pay out the nose for the name.

Newegg.com has 50' and 35' stuff for a fraction of the cost.

35' is $70 $6 for 3 day shipping..sure it isn't as pretty, but I'd bet it does the job just as well.

 

[Alf S]

MARKETING MARKETING MARKETING...and that's about it...

 

[Stephen Tu]

Marketing + placebo effects + low science knowledge of general public. Spew out a bunch of technical mumbo jumbo that might contain small grains of truth, but ignore that in the end the microscopic differences would be totally filtered out by the receiving equipment and/or never make enough difference to be detectable by human senses. Make it look slick & fancy, slap a big price tag on it, people will think they see & hear subtle improvements that aren't really there.

To me, what's unreal is the price on the monster et al cables, not that cheap cables / switches aren't necessarily junk.

 

[steveGamble]

well...when I switched out the hdmi cable that came with the panny DVD player, for a 1M Monster at 149.99, the difference was not subtle.
It was day and night, Just simply 100% more clearer, sharper image.

My parents who bought with me still use the free cable and every time we go over to visit, we see what they are missing, but my ol' folks have that , "it's good enough for us" attitude.
We bought the same high def satelite, TV, DVD player, same day package deal.
So...I went upstairs and replaced my 39.00 acoustic research, cable with a Monster S-Video at 169.99 and the difference again was night and day.

But with HDMI 1's and 0's.....I wonder if there is as much of a benefit ?

Many Times I have witnessed GOOD Quality cables, improve picture and sound.
Like ol' dolby prologic...vs...Dolby digital, ...night and day.
In my Opinion.

 

[Stephen Tu]

There's zero benefit, none, nada, zilch. What is your proposed theory for how an HDMI cable can make a sharper image? There are zeros and ones travelling across, the only operation you can do is flip bits. How is the cable, without a video processing chip inside, going to make intelligent decisions about exactly which bits to alter to actually make things appear sharper? (such cables with a built-in video processor actually exist now, Belkin PureAV Razorvision, no debate about whether these change the image, just whether the change is worthwhile) It's impossible; if a cable is defective & altering the reception of the bits the effects are going to be random. Just like if one were using a serial port for data transmission & the cable goes bad, you get totally random garbage data, not subtle altered spelling in the words going across.

If you saw differences, either you were fooling yourself (and would not see difference in properly controlled blind testing), or you plugged into a different input on the TV with different calibration settings.

If a digital cable is bad you get sparkles, dropouts, or no picture. There's no way for the resolution to change.

 

[Alf S]

Looks like HDMI cables are gonna be the new "Toslink" of the bits is bits wars in the next coming years..

I agree...I highly doubt the swap out of a boxed cable vs. a $150 cable was a "night and day" difference unless it was used on a different input to test etc...about the only difference I'd bet you'd notice is being $100+ lighter in the wallet at the end of the day.

Bits is bits as they say..

 

[joopiter_89c]

There's nothing wrong with having a discerning taste, if one can actually notice a relatively significant difference in the performance then why not shell out the necessary moolah.

At the end of the day, you're the one who will be watching and enjoying the setup.

*I absolutely abhor monster cables though, despite their high-quality pronouncements but to each his own. That's my preference. I would recommend Ultralink. Good experience with good cables

 

[steveGamble]

PLACEBO ??????
I feel like a fool really, I am glad I found this forum.
I will use it for future, advice and feedback. based on others experience's.
At least buying better cables, only hurt my wallet, and not my H.T.
Thanks for tutorial.

 

[Chu Gai]

Were you getting little sparklies with either cable?

 

[Thorby]

I'd have to agree that with 1's and 0's there shouldn't be a differance with an HDMI certified cable. Pixelization can occur after 75' in length at which point a repeater may be needed. With that said, a $40 cable should work as well as a $200 cable, especially in shorter lengths (eg 6,15,25 feet) A well made GENERIC cable can save you a lot of money without loosing any performance.