HDMI cables

[instantreplay]

I have a quick question. Are expensive HDMI cables worth it?
I bought a $5 HDMI cable 2 years ago and it was fine but I tripped over it and bent one end. I went to Best Buy and the employee I talked to said more expensive HDMI cables ($30+) are worth buying because they have solid copper wires which have a more reliable transfer. After I got home I read online that there is no point buying an HDMI cable that costs more than $10.

[abe]

Expensive HDMI cables aren't worth it. The employees at electronics stores like Best Buy try to sell you the more expensive ones because they want your money.

[badATchaos]

That's pretty much true. Even if the cord you got is crap you can buy 3 or 4 of them to equal one name brand cable.

[byron]

Expensive HDMI cables are for suckers, and this is why: An HDMI signal is purely digital. An analog signal like composite video is a radio wave that can be degraded and interfered with, but a digital signal is either a 1 or a 0, period. A digital signal works 100% or it doesn't work at all. Fancy gold-plated connectors do sort of make a difference with analog stuff, so people were used to the concept of premium cables when HDMI rolled around. Nobody was going to question it, so they made expensive fancy HDMI cables to take advantage of people's ignorance.

[turf]

Expensive HDMI cables are for suckers, and this is why: An HDMI signal is purely digital. An analog signal like composite video is a radio wave that can be degraded and interfered with, but a digital signal is either a 1 or a 0, period. A digital signal works 100% or it doesn't work at all. Fancy gold-plated connectors do sort of make a difference with analog stuff, so people were used to the concept of premium cables when HDMI rolled around. Nobody was going to question it, so they made expensive fancy HDMI cables to take advantage of people's ignorance.

You beat me too it.  With digital it's all or nothing.  $80 Monster Cables work just the same as a $9 Amazon Basics.

[davifus]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/audioquest-diamond-3-3-high-speed-hdmi-cable-dark-gray-black/2383276.p?id=1218324437192

You're welcome

[pacpix]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/audioquest-diamond-3-3-high-speed-hdmi-cable-dark-gray-black/2383276.p?id=1218324437192

You're welcome

Seems very affordable...

[abe]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/audioquest-diamond-3-3-high-speed-hdmi-cable-dark-gray-black/2383276.p?id=1218324437192

You're welcome

That cable has some pretty funny reviews. This one's great (and long):

What's great about it: Good quality for such a value oriented cable, great for gaming, displays games in 4k
What's not so great: the relatively low cost of this cable makes me worry about its durability, unclear installation instructions

I bought this cable to hook up my recently purchased a Dynex 19 inch color LCD 720p HDTV (WIDESCREEN!). My TV/VCR combo had served me well for many years and I felt it was time for an upgrade. I was disappointed that my new TV did not have VCR playback capabilities, but I was able to retain the ability to play VHS tapes by incorporating the old TV/VCR combo into my setup as a stand for the new Dynex! I researched HDMI cables for several weeks, reading reviews and watching unboxing videos. My friends recommended that I just buy an inexpensive cable and started spewing techno-babble at me about how HDMI cables work. They claimed that it's not possible for a higher priced HDMI cable to improve picture quality because of how digital video signals work. Something about 1s and 0s and error correction. I was skeptical. I mean my friends are very smart, but they aren't Best Buy employee smart. So I went to my local Best Buy to speak to the experts that I trust. A while back, my computer would not boot into Windows ME and instead displayed the message: "Boot Device Not Found." I thought perhaps the hard drive had become disconnected. Well, I'm glad I took it to the Geek Squad. The technician saw the error msg and was able to determine that I needed a new hard drive without even opening it up or running any kind of diagnostic software. What technical expertise! But let me get back to the cable. I told one of the customer service agents about the my home theater setup and my intentions to hook up my gaming console to my new 19 inch color LCD 720p HDTV (WIDESCREEN!). He recommended this cable for its inherent ability to increase the resolution and frames per second in games. So I bought it and brought it home. I went to the living room to hook up my console and I hit my first snag. Nowhere in the documentation did it specify where to hook the cable up to the NES. I was about to give up but I noticed a cover on the bottom of the Nintendo. It turns out that this is where the expansion port is located which is where you connect the HDMI cable. I hooked the other end up to the TV and fired up the NES. Unfortunately, I didn't get a video signal. After much experimentation I figured it out. To get HD output from an NES you have to hook up the analog outputs as well. Apparently the TV combines these two signals to form an image. And what an image! The blacks were so deep that it desaturated all the color from my living room furniture! I had been meaning to apply a darker stain to my coffee table and now I don't have to! My couches were now black, giving my living room a much needed neutral color scheme. Super Mario Bros looked amazing! I hit the info button on my remote and discovered that it was running in 4k 480Hz with a perfectly matched frame rate of 480 frames per second! I wanted to capture some game footage so I hooked the NES up to the VCR. I've never seen such clarity in a VHS recording! It makes Blu-Ray look like an Etch A Sketch! I now realize why my friends were trying to dissuade me from buying a mid priced cable like this one. They probably purchased some cheap $500 dollar cable and didn't want me to get an HDMI cable with over twice the performance of their cable. I no longer speak to them as I don't need people like that in my life. All my friends now reside in the Mushroom Kingdom. One other thing to note is the the Zapper didn't work with the new TV. This is most likely because the Zapper could not detect if it was hitting a target due to the increased resolution and frame rate. While the documentation leaves room for improvement as hooking up an NES wasn't even mentioned, at this price point I can't justify taking away a star. FIVE STAR PRODUCT!!! If I had any friends left, I would definitely recommend them this product!

I would recommend this to a friend!

[betelgeuse]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/audioquest-diamond-3-3-high-speed-hdmi-cable-dark-gray-black/2383276.p?id=1218324437192

You're welcome

I lost half an hour scrolling through some of those reviews!! LOL

[foxhack]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/audioquest-diamond-3-3-high-speed-hdmi-cable-dark-gray-black/2383276.p?id=1218324437192

You're welcome

And now for a real answer:

Monoprice has got you covered.

[retromangia]

Holy shit!! those were the best reviews i've ever read lol... seriously though, I don't think i've ever seen reviewers leave intentionally funny reviews... good to see people still have a sense of humor on the net

[instantreplay]

I returned the HDMI cable and picked up a $5 one. While I was checking out they tried to convince me to buy a $50 one

[dashv]

For AV cables keep this site in your bookmarks:

http://www.monoprice.com

They custom build their cables and often times you can get Monster Quality cables for dirt cheap.

Chain stores make very little off of electronics because the prices are set and controlled by the manufacturers. Most of their money is made on heavily marked up accessories like cables, batteries, etc.

[betelgeuse]

For AV cables keep this site in your bookmarks:

http://www.monoprice.com

They custom build their cables and often times you can get Monster Quality cables for dirt cheap.

Chain stores make very little off of electronics because the prices are set and controlled by the manufacturers. Most of their money is made on heavily marked up accessories like cables, batteries, etc.

Thanks for the link. I need extra long cables to run to multiple rooms. Very good prices on these.

[stethebubble]

The issue with single core over multi is bending.  If you break the single core then you will need to replace it. Multi core you can bend more. This is why electronics tend to have multi core while single is used in your walls.
the difference between the two as far as quality I doubt you could tell. Its the same with gold plated. Get the cheaper one.