HDMI cables?

ssparry

Morning all.

I apologise in advance, but I don't have a clue about these cables we need.

Basically have bought a 50" plasma, PS3 and home cinema system. My boyfriend, after having lengthy chats with the guy in Currys seems to think we need to spend £40 per lead, x 4 (1 for Sky, 2 for surround sound and 1 for the PS3). Not sure if this is correct, but just wanted to double check with one of you saving experts. Do we really need to spend £160 on cables?!

BillScarab

In my opinion no, just get ones for a fiver or so.

I can't think why Curry's would want you to spend £160 on cables, can you? :think:

Some people say they can see and hear a difference with more expensive cables but I wouldn't bother. Digital signals either work or don't work.

Just buy cheap ones and if you're not happy you could always experiment with pricier ones later. That's what I did and I'm still using cheapies.

Redman30

No, there's absolutely no difference in the expensive cables to the cheap ones. Except the margin the currys rep will make.

JasX

These will do you fine,
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/130508

or these if you need a longer one
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/158989

you'll not notice a difference,

(at least for a good few years until HMI standards/bandwidth requirements go up substantially)

if in any doubt at all buy 1x £40 cable and the rest £4 ones to prove it for yourself

slipthru

No need for expensive cables. I've bought cheapies from ebay and amazon. They all work the same.

aliEnRIK

Id go with this ~
http://www.whathifi.com/Review/ThatCable-HDMI/

James240

Yep weve got a £9.99 HDMI lead for out PS3 and the picture quality is amazing Currys sales rep just wants to make comisson .....

jimbms

Giving you an opinion from an electronics engineer viewpoint, the cheap cable for TV viewing are no different than the expensive ones, without going into detail the way HDMI transmits data means you either get a signal or you don't, there is no loss to consider due to noise or resistance. The only time a cheap cable may and note I say may be a very minor problem is when transmiting high speed pure data, to date I have never seen a domestic machine capable of sending this fast. The only thing I would say is clean the ends with a fine womens nail emery every 12 months one or two wipes should suffice.

lucylucky

One of the great scams/rip-offs of the digital age sadly.

Get some cheap ones install them and tell him you spent a fortune

Crazy_Jamie

£40 HDMI cables and the like have some of the biggest profit margins in Currys, hence why they try to ship as many as they can with new purchases. The simple fact of the matter is that you will notice no difference with an HDMI cable regardless of whether it costs £40 or £4. Any Currys rep who says differently (and they do on occasion to force the sale) are quite simply wrong.

aliEnRIK

HDMI facts
ALL digital cables have a 'cliff edge', the point at which they fail
HDMI cables have been measured to produce errors but not completely fail (ie, theres still a picture)
The longer the cable the more likely you are to reach its 'cliff edge'
Ive know 1m long cables fail

Why am I posting this? To tell everyone that all HDMI cables are NOT equal