Cheap HDMI cables are just as good... Don't waste your money. | FerrariChat
Buy

Cheap HDMI cables are just as good... Don't waste your money.

Discussion in 'Technology' started by darkalley, Jan 1, 2009.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. darkalley

    darkalley Formula Junior

    Aug 17, 2004
    826
    Full Name:
    Jim
    #1 darkalley, Jan 1, 2009
    I got into an argument with the guy at bestbuy regarding hdmi cables and happened to see this tonight. Given that CNET evaluates TV's every day, I take their real world testing over the snake oil salesman....



    http://reviews.cnet.com/hdmi-cable/?tag=mncol;txt
    What HDMI cable should I buy?

    Let's cut to the chase:

    CNET strongly recommends cheap HDMI cables widely available from online retailers instead of the expensive counterparts sold in your local electronics store.

    Here's why:

    Expensive cables aren't worth it
    If you walk into your typical electronics store to buy an HDMI cable, you're likely to see prices upward of $50 with promises of better performance and faster speeds. Do you really need to spend that much money on a single HDMI cable?

    Absolutely not--those cables are a rip-off. You should never pay more than $10 for a standard six-foot HDMI cable. And despite what salesmen and manufacturers might tell you, there's no meaningful difference between the $10 cable and the $50 cable. Unless you see something obvious, such as dropouts or a flashing screen, the digital information transmitted by both cables is exactly the same--no cable can make the picture any better or any worse. We've used cables from many different companies in the past--such as Belkin, Accell, Monoprice, Monster, and SimplayHD--and have not run into any consistent issues with any brand of cable. With working cables and solid connections, we've seen no dropouts and "sparklies"--just consistent, dependable, high-quality audio and video. It's that simple.
    Even a heavy-duty, high-end Monoprice cable cost us less than $20. But feel free to buy a cheaper one for a standard home theater.

    The editors at CNET are so confident that cheap HDMI cables offer identical performance, we've been using inexpensive Monoprice HDMI cables in the CNET Home Theater Lab for more than a year with no issues. That's saying a lot, especially when you consider that our video experts are constantly swapping in new products and changing configurations, which means our cables take much more abuse than they would in a normal home theater. We're also accustomed to making long cable runs, and many of our cables from Monoprice are 15 feet long. We also use even longer 20-foot cables from a generic maker with no appreciable loss in video quality. If cheap HDMI cables are good enough for the eagle-eyed video professionals at CNET, we're betting they're good enough for your home theater.

    And don't get hung about other cables that offer a lifetime guarantee, protecting you in case your cables are technologically obsolete in the future. If in a few years there are consumer video products that output higher-than-1080p video signals (an admittedly unlikely scenario), you can always buy another cheap $10 cable online that can handle more data. And you've still saved yourself $30 over that $50 cable in the store.

    Cheap HDMI cables sound great! Where can I get them?
    The best way to score a cheap HDMI cable is to order over the Internet. Here are a few of our favorite resellers, all of which offer solid return policies in case you do get a bum cable.

    Monoprice.com sells all other kinds of quality AV cables at very reasonable prices. As we mentioned before, we use Monoprice cables in CNET Labs, and several CNET editors use Monoprice in their personal home theaters as well.

    Amazon is especially convenient if you're already buying electronics from them and just want to "add to cart" an HDMI cable. We've done hands-on testing with a $2.10 HDMI cable from DVI Gear and haven't had any issues. Return policies vary by reseller, however, so do your research first.

    Newegg.com, another online retailer with whom CNET editors have had good experiences, has several HDMI cables for less than $10.

    CNET itself lists numerous inexpensive cables as search results for the term "hdmi cable"--as long as you sort the results properly (lowest price first). Again, return policies vary by reseller.
     
  2. ExoticSpotter

    ExoticSpotter Formula Junior

    Jun 1, 2008
    685
    #2 ExoticSpotter, Jan 1, 2009
    I could not agree more. I have seen $20 HDMI cables that looked the same as the $250 cables.

    However, if you just can't bring yourself to get the lesser name brand stuff let me tell you a quick story. After purchasing my most recent TV (42" LCD) I was offered one single 4' Monster Cable HDMI cord for $220. I, of course, declined and went home, pulled up eBay, found the EXACT same cable BIN for $25 with free shipping.
     
  3. WJHMH

    WJHMH Two Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Sep 5, 2001
    26,471
    Panther City, Texas
    Full Name:
    WJHMH
    #3 WJHMH, Jan 1, 2009
  4. MurcieMurcie

    MurcieMurcie F1 Rookie

    Jan 31, 2004
    3,100
    #4 MurcieMurcie, Jan 1, 2009
    I bought mine off ebay, I was told the only time it makes a difference if you run a 50+ft HDMI source to TV....I use walmart brand to connect the uverse to the tv but use a higher end cable to connect my bluray player to my tv.
     
  5. desmomini

    desmomini F1 Rookie
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    Nov 18, 2003
    4,111
    Upstate SC
    Full Name:
    Jeff
    #5 desmomini, Jan 1, 2009
    Absolutely correct. I work in TV post-production. Buy the "cheap" HDMI cables - sleep easy, save money.
     
  6. agup48

    agup48 Two Time F1 World Champ

    Apr 15, 2006
    28,633
    Phoenix
    Full Name:
    AG
    #6 agup48, Jan 1, 2009
    Last edited: Jan 1, 2009
    I bought a cable for about ~$3. It was actually like .01c and 2.99 something shipping. I <3 Amazon :D :D

    Some good sites:
    www.dealextreme.com (Only downfall I had when ordering, took about 1 and a half months to get here, shipped from China)

    www.cablestogo.com/ (Some stuff might be overpriced, but they sometimes have some good deals)

    www.monoprice.com (Haven't used them, but the other thread has some good reviews for them.)

    Ebay, Amazon are also good sometimes, although I don't trust Ebay still.
     
  7. rollsorferrari?

    rollsorferrari? F1 Veteran

    Jun 5, 2006
    9,984
    St. Louis
    Full Name:
    Scott
    #7 rollsorferrari?, Jan 1, 2009
    i bought an 8' one yesterday for 20 bucks, i guarantee you if you had 2 of the same exact setups, 1 with the $250 cable and the other with the $20 cable, the majority of people wouldn't see a noticeable enough difference (if any difference at all) to justify the extra cost.
     
  8. Etcetera

    Etcetera Two Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Dec 7, 2003
    24,005
    Full Name:
    C6H14O5
    #8 Etcetera, Jan 2, 2009
    I have very nimble pupils, and even I cannot see the difference in audio between two different brands of cables.
     
  9. teak360

    teak360 F1 World Champ

    Nov 3, 2003
    10,065
    Boulder, CO
    Full Name:
    Scott
    #9 teak360, Jan 2, 2009

    Ahhhhhh, but can you hear the subtle color differences?
     
  10. Etcetera

    Etcetera Two Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Dec 7, 2003
    24,005
    Full Name:
    C6H14O5
    #10 Etcetera, Jan 2, 2009
    I can smell the brown note.
     
  11. rollsorferrari?

    rollsorferrari? F1 Veteran

    Jun 5, 2006
    9,984
    St. Louis
    Full Name:
    Scott
    #11 rollsorferrari?, Jan 2, 2009
    i was using av cords to hook up my blu-ray player to my old tv before i bought my new one, and i can tell a very noticeable difference even in just dvd's now that it's hooked up with an hdmi cord. i haven't bought an actual blu-ray movie yet, but that's on my to-do-list for today, and i'd imagine it's only gonna get better, :)
     
  12. Mrpbody44

    Mrpbody44 F1 Veteran

    Jul 5, 2007
    7,899
    St Augustine Florida
    Full Name:
    Steve Metz
    #12 Mrpbody44, Jan 2, 2009
    This has been a scam for 30 years since the days of Monster Cable for your Hi Fi.
     
  13. climb

    climb F1 Rookie

    Sep 19, 2006
    4,866
    Atlantic Beach Fl
    Full Name:
    Stuart K. Hicks
    #13 climb, Jan 3, 2009
    Used to work at Circuit City back in college and the monster cables would pay more commission than an entire stereo system in many cases.

    I didn't care what brand i sold just worried about getting the monster cable sale.
     
  14. nsxnick

    nsxnick Formula 3

    Jul 24, 2001
    1,481
    Detroit
    Full Name:
    Nick
    #14 nsxnick, Jan 7, 2009
  15. buttons

    buttons Rookie

    Jan 2, 2009
    26
    Grand Rapids
    Full Name:
    David
    #15 buttons, Jan 8, 2009
    When HDTV first came out, i got suckered into buying a Monster DVI cable for $110. Since then ive been buying HDMI cables on ebay for $6-20 shipped. They work great and HDMI of any cable type has provided the best possible picture. HD Cables in local retail stores have about 1000% markup
     
  16. frefan

    frefan F1 Veteran

    Apr 21, 2004
    7,370
    #16 frefan, Feb 7, 2009
    2-pack 15' Wirelogic HDMI 1.3 cables + screen cleaning kit @ costco for 25 bucks. still a bit overpriced but a far cry from Monster cables @ Best Buy, one 15' cable is $115!
     
  17. dsd

    dsd F1 Rookie
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Nov 19, 2006
    4,273
    Northern Virginia
    #17 dsd, Feb 7, 2009
    When DVI and HDMI cables first came out at the consumer level, it was hard to find one at the store sub-$100.

    I found a place online that specialized in AV cables. They had a FAQ that basically read:

    Q: Why are your cables so cheap?
    A: The real question is why are theirs so expensive. Are their 1's and 0's better than ours? [Then a technical answer]

    I have been a customer of their for a while after that (http://www.pacificcable.com).

    -dsd
     
  18. Andy348

    Andy348 Formula 3

    Nov 4, 2007
    1,252
    Canada
    Full Name:
    Andy
    #18 Andy348, Feb 8, 2009
    We paid over $200 in Monster cables when we redid a family room. Too bad I didn't catch the CBC "5th Estate" episode on them using $10 cables from China and our exact cables. There were no visual differences.

    But hey, because the cables look better and are available at Best Buy, people buy em'. Smart marketing IMO.
     
  19. djui5

    djui5 F1 Veteran

    Aug 9, 2006
    5,418
    Phoenix, Arizona
    #19 djui5, Feb 8, 2009
    Yep :) They are digital cables. They either work or they don't. Simple enough.

    It's been going on longer than that I believe. Monster Cable is but one of a LOT of people selling cables. Look at this:
    http://www.dedicatedaudio.com/inc/sdetail/168

    Also I somewhat disagree about audio cables. Depending on the situation, a higher quality audio cable can sometimes make an audible difference. Now there comes a point where you get into snake oil, but there are changes that can be made to improve the sound of some audio systems by just simple changing the cables out. I've personally done it, and the effect is most pronounced in car audio, but can be helpful in home/studio audio situations also. I used to work with an Engineer who carried his own cables with him at all times. They were well made and he trusted them. Last I knew he had won 7 or 8 Grammys :)


    When I bought my TV I asked where the HDMI cables were. He pointed to the wall and showed me the whole lot of them. I said which one is the cheapest? He showed me the cheapest one and said we have some better one's over there. I said "they're all the same", he kinda smiled and said your welcome to get what you like. I bought the cheapest one and the TV looks amazing. I'm surprised this didn't happen with Optical cables when they came out.
     
  20. SefacHotRodder

    SefacHotRodder F1 World Champ

    Dec 20, 2003
    11,158
    NJ
    Full Name:
    Chris
    #20 SefacHotRodder, Feb 8, 2009
    Last edited: Feb 8, 2009
    [size=+5]MONOPRICE.COM[/size]



    /thread





    But seriously, the only good thing to come out of that company are their surge protectors because they carry a $250,000 replacement guarentee if somehow your equipment that is hooked up to them gets fried.
     
  21. BwanaJoe

    BwanaJoe Formula 3

    Oct 23, 2006
    1,764
    Former Space Coast
    Full Name:
    Joe Burlein
    #21 BwanaJoe, Feb 11, 2009
    This is interesting and now I am going to have to read up about HDMI cables before I go out and get expensive ones (if I do). However, I have to agree with this gent that it does matter in audio DEPENDING on the equipment you are using in your system. Great equipment performs better with great cables and interconnects. (I use Straightwire myself). I've found a huge difference between the in-the-box consumer junk and audiophile stuff.

    YMMV.
     
  22. SefacHotRodder

    SefacHotRodder F1 World Champ

    Dec 20, 2003
    11,158
    NJ
    Full Name:
    Chris
    #22 SefacHotRodder, Feb 11, 2009
    There is a HUGE difference between HDMI cables and audio/speaker wire. They are 2 different kinds of signal
     

Share This Page