What is the difference between a $17 and a $150 HDMI cable? (1 Viewer)

[Sumnernor]

I paid circa 10 Euros for a 3 meter HMDI cable at Conrads in Munich and its works fine. The two ends were in gold,

 

[Number1AVdork]

There is no such thing as a high end HDMI cable. It either works or it doesn't. There is absolutely no in between. Binary code is nothing more than code. A good cable works, a bad one doesn't it's that simple.

 

[JordanM]

I use 6' and 12' HDMI cables from Fry's Electronics that cost $3 to $8. Why? Simple, I won a $200 HDMI cable years ago, and it goes to my TV from my AVR. I tried a 12' one with a new HTPC into the AVR and it was gorgeous, so I will not buy expensive HDMI cables.

 

[freedomj]

In 2008 got my HDTV, HT audio and blueray player from Bestbuy. Being new to hdmi back then, the sales assoc. sweet talked me to get the "required" hdmi and toslink cable from monster brand for $150 bundled. It was explained to me in order to enjoy and maximize my viewing experience of high definition i should get these pricy stuff. After a year and setting up two more HT system in the house i research and learned my lesson well. Now, i am using $9 6ft. Hdmi cables from a local electronics store that source their stuff from China. And i can say quality by 1080p standard has no difference with those branded overpriced cables. The only difference i can see is the price caused by branding and marketing. That's simple how it is with HDMI cables. my .02 cents.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Steve Tannehill]

I have a couple of esoteric component cables, which I no longer use, and HDMI cables that either came bundled with the player or were purchases from Monoprice and Amazon Basics.
My TV dealer told me I needed better cables than what Amazon provided. The Amazon Basic cables are as good as anything out there--well constructed.

 

[Sam Posten]

I got a trio of the Amazon HDMI Basics. Highly recommended. Anything more expensive is a waste of money.+

 

[Bobofbone]

I got one of my HDI cords from Blue Jeans Cable. It runs in my soffit, comes out into the next room to my projector and the end plugs in, with the projector suspended from the ceiling, over my head. On that basis, I think I can say I have a "high end" for my cable. Works great.

 

[Pete K]

huh ? that wasn't hard--had it within a handful of guesses---69 is the cube root.

$133. That was easy.
Here's a harder one: What's the cube root of 328,509?

 

[Brainwasher]

I have all high end monster cables, and although I did not drop huge dollars for them, I still get handshake issues with my uverse box. Seems unavoidable, and rarely occurs. I just disconnect the end on the box. It corrects itself and I move on my marry way.

 

[David Willow]

Originally Posted by Brainwasher /t/236092/what-is-the-difference-between-a-17-and-a-150-hdmi-cable/90#post_4016681
I have all high end monster cables...

The fact that the Mon$ter marketing machine has people calling their cables "high end" proves that it works on even those who know better. "Well built" is a better way of describing differences in cables. The cable is either well built and works properly or it is not.

I will never call a cable high end. Even the cables we use for our guitars are not high end. They are well built and able to take the abuse we tend to give them. For that quality, I do not mind paying a few dollars more. Just not hundreds more like Mon$ter wants...

BTW Luke, please don't take my response the wrong way - I do not mean to pick on you (or anyone). This "high end cable" phrase is just another one of my pet peeves. I blame the Mon$ter.

 

[Brainwasher]

No offense taken, I paid average 30 dollars per cable, and by high end, I only meant the higher 1000 series they sell. I just fell on a great deal on the cables. And goes to show you, even monster branded cables can have some issues.

 

[zoetmb]

There is no such thing as a high end HDMI cable. It either works or it doesn't. There is absolutely no in between. Binary code is nothing more than code. A good cable works, a bad one doesn't it's that simple.

This. Those who think that pricier cables will somehow give a better picture or better audio do not understand digital physics. Either the 1s and 0s get there or they don't. You can't somehow make a better looking "1".
However, there are other aspects to cables that come into play:
1. Fit: IMO, the HDMI plug and jack were poorly designed. The pins and/or outer band are not deep enough and there's no locking mechanism, so they fall out too easily. This was a poor choice for a cable for which the primary use is going to be plugged in behind a component. So a cable that has a tighter fitting plug would be better, IMO. But there's no way to know which cables might be "tighter" based on the price.
2. Flexibility: I made the mistake of buying a very heavy duty (but still inexpensive) HDMI cable for the main run from the receiver to the TV. But because that cable was so stiff, it put pressure on the HDMI jacks on the components and because it was so heavy, it kept falling out. I switched it for a much narrower gauge cable which works perfectly well.
But neither of those factors mean you have to pay more. In fact, the 2nd one (generally) means you can pay even less. I've tried a variety of different HDMI cables and while some are "prettier" than others, none have made any difference whatsoever to picture or sound quality and I've never had a handshaking issue due to a cable issue. I suppose you can have a bad solder joint or poorly designed strain relief in some cables, but price doesn't seem to be a factor in this regard. So if one wants "pretty" cables behind your components because it makes one feel good, be my guest, but otherwise, any decently made cable will do. I think the Monoprice cables, which are remarkably inexpensive, are fine.
Retailers try to sell you expensive cables because they actually make far more on accessories than on primary components. Manufacturers have squeezed retailers margins to the point where I don't really understand how most stay in business. But they still make terrific markups on accessories. And especially in chain stores, the salespeople don't actually know very much about the technology, it's easy for them to buy into the hype. But I have to give the esoteric cable manufacturers credit: they're really great at writing copy that make you think that the cable is actually doing more than making an electrical connection. I once wrote a satire in the same style as their copy about how my car runs better after I take it to the car wash.

 

[pghdave]

I get all of mine from Five Below. $5, no issues and well made. Can't complain.

 

[DaveF]

I've bought Blue Jeans previously. $20 for 6' cables. But I need a few more, and I may have to go with mono price, this time. At $5 a cable, the savings add up. And BJ may be too well made: they are relatively stiff, and put a bit of pressure on the device inputs.

 

[Mr645]

I have noticed that name branded cables, like Straight Wire and Audio Quest are well made, plug in securely and do a great job of providing a reliable, long term HDMI connection. As far as image and audio quality? If the cable works then it works. I cannot tell any difference in picture quality from my Tartan cables and a $99 15' Audio Quest. Signal quality seems the same, but the Audio Quest does snap into place with a more secure feeling connection, especially with some really cheap generic cables I have. (those work fine as well, although one cheap cable from mono price, 75' failed, I sent it back and paid for the next level up in quality, still pretty cheap and that one works fine)

 

[JordanM]

The fat cable I plugged into my HTPC/BD player falls out. The inexpensive one from Fry's Electronics works fine,

 

[Andrew Lu]

Actually it really depend on what you are looking for, if you talk about quality then of course, the $17 and $150 will have difference since the material that they make is different, however, if you are talk about the performance of the cable, I would say it's pretty much the same since it's digital, but it is also depend on which version of hdmi cable that you are talking about, the 1.3 cable and 1.4 cable will be pretty much the same, however, for hdmi 2.0 vs hdmi 1.3, it would be different!!!

Check the info for hdmi 2.0: http://www.cnet.com/news/hdmi-2-0-what-you-need-to-know/
I usually order from primecables because it's the only certified retailer in Canada http://www.primecables.com/topics/92-hdmi-20-released

but if you live outside the canada I am sure that you can check amazon for more detail, I hope that this helps !
http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=hdmi%202.0

 

[craigolio1]

I have all high end monster cables, and although I did not drop huge dollars for them, I still get handshake issues with my uverse box. Seems unavoidable, and rarely occurs. I just disconnect the end on the box. It corrects itself and I move on my marry way.

Get an HDMI splitter and another short HDMI cable. Put the splitter in between your Uverse box and your TV/AVR.

 

[craigolio1]

I use these cables exclusively for shorter distances. For longer runs that have a thicker cable I'll often attach one of these to the end with a coupler and hide the thicker cable in the wall.

http://www.vanco1.com/catalog/Cables_101/Ultra-Slim-HDMI-High-Speed-Cable-with-Ethernet_1396


They work great, are reasonably priced and the thickness, or should I say "thin-ness", means no more broken connectors on components, no more Apple TV that won't sit flat, fits easily behind ultra-low profile TV mounts, easily slide components back into a shelf. Cheap-o cables are often very thick and stiff. Actually so are a lot of high end cables.

Craig

 

[Phteven]

although theres not much difference necessarily by price there are differences to look for: for example a $17 HDMI cable may be a standard one not great for real 3D or 1080 applications. Also it depends on whether you want ethernet as well. If you get into 4K applications you should look for high speed HDMI cables. Its not so much price that should set your mark but rather application. Theres probably very little defference between a $150 High speed HDMI and a $30 High speed HDMI other than the inspection and tolerance during manufacturing. And if your interested in ethical and patriotic reasons look at company and country.