Cable quality- is it worth it? (Moved) (1 Viewer)

[Jeff_Brown]

I decided to post this cable question here rather than the cable area, since most of us use a DVI connection.

Is it worth the extra $100 or so to go with a high quality monster DVI cable, or will a bargain brand one do the trick? My cable needs to run about 25 feet, so I am curious if I will get much signal loss with a cheap cable over that distance. It seems like since its a digital connection I wouldnt have that problem, but I really dont know. Its hard for me to justify spending more than $100 for a cable, but if the cheap one doesnt work well, then Ill need to get a new one anyway and shouldnt waste my money on it.

 

[Diallo B]

this is exactly correct. you don't have to spend a ton. but at least buy a well built cord. meaning durable with well built connectors.

 

[ChristopherDAC]

Digital transmission suffers a "cliff effect": if the transmission line is shorter than a certain value, which varies according to the cable, the Bit Error Rate is low and increases only minimally with run length. Beyond that critical value the Bit Error Rate increases catastrophically, as a cascade process. So, in effect, if it passes the signal at all you are OK.

 

[Chris]

Ding to the above. I've seen people deck out super-high end DVI cables and I ask.. "Ok, can you show me the improved results"

I then blind test them with a $20 multi-shield 10' cable we keep, vs. their $100+ "Ultimate Electronics" crap. I've never had a single person tell the difference.