HDMI cable - £5 vs £55 (discussion)

e00c

Howdi -

I was about to post on another thread but then thought it might hi-jack the thread.

People where discussing HDMI cables.. the quality or lack of quality comapred to price.

Some say no matter what cost the cable - they all the same?
Some say - thats wrong - more £££ = better quality?

A few quotes:

streather wrote:

......it doesn't really matter how much you spend on one the resulting picture will be identical, the expensive cables are just manufacturers getting extra money from you because cables that use analogue signals used to be better if you spent more on them......

alienrik wrote:

Massive split down the middle this one. Ive tried expensive ones and they DO mkake a difference (to MY setup)
Im trying to get a hold of some abx blind tests to at least show there is something in this

I thought it'd be a good idea to discuss this so people can take in all the info (without hi-jacking another thread lol)


(I'll post my thoughts on this in a moment... just not in first post )

[Deleted User]

Uh oh..

My experience involving my not so high end set up (Sony 32" LCD, Xbox 360, Virgin V+, Sony 5.1 System) is that the cables I bought for a fiver in Wilkinsons are working flawlessly. They are all a meter in length as no cable has far to travel. I only watch/play in 720p.

The justification in spending an amount of money on premium cables would not give a noticeable, or marked improvement over the set up as it is, therefore would be uneconomical for me to do so.

I think I've got a splinter in my !!!! from sitting on this fence :P

[Deleted User]

This is my view of it.

There is no such thing as a 'digital' electrical signal. It's more like a signal that is either 'very prominent' or not. Processors decide if there is enough of a signal to decide if an incoming 'bit' is 0 or 1. Yes - the 'content' of the signal may be digital, but the signal itself isn't.

Now, make this assumption - a cheap wire will not hold it's signal quality over distance as well as an expensive one. Modern digital signal processing does not require 100% of the 'bits' to get through to create a picture/sound. However, if too many are lost, you'll get blockyness (think freeview 'static')

So... i suspect that expensive HDMI cable is only required if the signal degradation over a set distance is enough to kill enough 'bits'.

I'm sure someone could experiment with this - but over a short distance (e.g. 1m), i expect you would see no visible difference in quality. However, as distance increases, you would need a better metal in your wire to maintain the validity of your bits.

Just my thoughts though

JonnieHACK

The gadget show did a test on this, and they found no difference in the cheap ones and the expensive ones, check out their website you may be able to read more or watch the test.

JemJam

We've gota cheap asda one (not sure if it was asda brand or just one they sell) but it was no more than a tenner, use it for Sony Bravia to PS3 and its perfect; wouldn't bother getting another one cos its great as it is!

e00c

"Uh oh" lol.

Similar kind of thoughts...

My opinion in short is: Yes they do make a difference...

If you get a free hdmi cable with equipment.. you SHOULD always upgrade the cable. (I'm not saying get a £60 one btw! Even a cheap £5 basic gold plated one would be better!) Some FREE cables often 'cut out'.

Over a short distance (2m). You should only spend enough money on a cable that you don't see the "sparkles" on the picture. This won't happen too much over this distance... but if your feeding your cable through the wall to the TV mouted... then spend a little more money and get a 'better quality' one.

With cables - you do need to think about the materials used... some metals are better then others regardless of whether it's digital or not. Makes sense?

---

I believe there is ALWAYS a difference when using different cables but - it's down the individual (and set up)as to how much they notice. Over longer distances! Short distance - not so much!

The above part is the most important. Don't be fooled by displays in shops... they often use long cables anyway... your own set up at home will be 100% different!

---

Saying that - If you want to 'future proof' your set-up... buy an expensive one with a 'faster speed'.

Technology is advancing all the time... the more advanced it gets - the faster cables will need to be to perform. (my theory! lol)

Plus the fact is - e.g: monster cables come with a LIFETIME warranty. Cheap cables may only run the sprint... not the marathon (it break.. you buy a new one).

:edit: forgot to add - because my equipment is less then 1m away... I would only buy one for realiability reasons. (lifetime warranty)


Just my 2pence!

esuhl

I was going to post a long message, but ringo_24601 has said almost exactly what I was going to say!!! Unless you've got a dodgy signal or need to transmit the signal over a long distance, I strongly suspect cheapo cables will be indistinguishable from pricey ones...

sei1925

I had been running a 42 " plasma tv sky box and xbox 360 with normal scart leads and other leads and i was constantly being told tu use hdmi leads so looked into buying them but was put off by the price. Then brought a home cinema system and decided to go on the cheap route first and brought 3 hdmi leads off ebay at a cost of £1.99 each and they were gold plated. My first impressions were wow the difference was quite impressive so much so that i wished i had brought them when i brought the tv, as for cheap vs expensive i am more than pleased with the leads i brought off ebay.

aliEnRIK

I said what I said as my setup is far and beyond most peoples. Im sure a lot of people wouldnt tell a difference in THIER setups. So on the whole, a cheapie ebay lead will do.
If however you have a top quality tv thats setup correctly then you WILL see a difference (Eyes pending of course )

Nilrem

Generally as long as the cables are certified (iirc they have to be to carry the hdmi logo's for example), they should be fine.

From what I remember for digital signals over short distances almost anything that will conduct decently will do.
Over longer distances the shielding becomes important, but any HDMI 1.3a or 1.3b logo'd cable will be shielded correctly for it's length.

It's a bit like Ethernet cabling - the spec is very basic and will run to 100meters as as a minimum if that spec is met, yet some people will pay a fortune for a branded "gold plated premium" one, when in reality a 50p one would do the job.

What does vary a lot with cheap cables is the build quality - if you're going to be plugging/unplugging or moving the cable around a lot, then a more expensive one will probably be a bit more robust, however if like most people you rarely unplug/move the TV/blu-ray player etc around then the cheap ones are just as good

I'm currently using a cheap (sub £10) 5 meter HDMI cable to hook my TV (1080P) up to my computer without any problems, and we're using a couple of equally cheap 5 meter ones for other connections in the house without an problems.

skippi90

It is only over long distances where a higher quality cable should be used.

Mine was £2 from eBay and my PS3 looks stunning on my HD TV in full 1080p.