Gold Plated HDMI Lead for Full HD/HD Ready TVs

Francesanne

Hi, could anyone explain the purpose of a Gold Plated HDMI lead & are they vital? Not a techie person so please make it nice and simple for me. Many thanks in advance.

dg1dd1ngs_2

Gold conducts electricity better than most other metals, so in theory a gold cable will give you a better picture. You won't really be able to tell the difference on a shorter cable though... but on a longer one it will make a noticeable difference

A.Penny.Saved

It won't give you a better picture because it's digital. With Analogue connections it could make a difference. But with digital HDMI it either works or it doesn't with very little in between.

That said, I saw in Aldi 2x2mtr Gold HDMI cables for I think it was £6.99 but it's whether they still have any left.

Toxteth_OGrady

dg1dd1ngs wrote: »

Gold conducts electricity better than most other metals, so in theory a gold cable will give you a better picture.

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Below is reproduced from http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/long-hdmi-cable-bench-tests

At lengths less than 4 meters you can just about use silly string (OK, not really) and get HDMI to pass at any current resolution. At less than 3 meters you'll even extend that to 12-bit color and possibly the next crazy idea HDMI Licensing decides to throw at consumers. Don't spend a lot on these cables and if you want to save money you won't let anyone at a big box store talk you into buying from them.
At long lengths (over 10 meters) you really need to pay attention to the manufacturer if you don't want to risk running into potential problems with 1080p and future formats such as Deep Color. With that said, just about any cable at or under 10 meters will pass 720p/1080i and nearly everyone will pass 1080p at 8-bit color as well.
If you have an existing HDMI cable and are running into problems, we'd suggest at least attempting the insertion of an active component at the sink (display) side. This is going to be far cheaper than ripping out your walls and re-running new cables - and likely just as effective.
HDMI has proven to be a moving target and there is no telling what crazy (likely unnecessary) format they will try to push down the cable next. Due to this, it's always good to "overbuild" your cable install, especially if it's a longer distance and going to end up behind drywall.
If you're not prone to upgraditis and think 1080p will be your maximum resolution for the life of your install, don't sweat it...


There are going to be exceptions to all these "rules" but in the end I'd have to say that I really thought I'd see more differences in the real-world performances of longer-length cables. Since we're all basically pinned at 8-bit 1080p, I didn't. It's likely you won't either. So all those people saying "buy any cable you want, it doesn't matter" are, for the most part, correct - at least until manufacturers advance to 12-bit software and signal transmission. Where they are not accurate is in assuming HDMI (since it is digital) is either "on" or "off" (it either works or doesn’t). HDMI signals can be partially corrupted as you saw above. The other area in which they are off concerns the future. If and when 12-bit "Deep Color" video truly comes to market (as more than just a listed spec) individual cable situations can (and likely will) change. For this reason take all of the above measurements and principles into account and make sure you build your installation wisely.

John_Gray

Francesanne wrote: »

Hi, could anyone explain the purpose of a Gold Plated HDMI lead...

Easy answer: to make £lots for the manufacturer and seller!

Shorter than Mr O'Grady's post, but a similar conclusion...

scottishblondie

Just get a cheap one. And by cheap I mean in the vicinity of £1.

steve1980

Most 99p stores sell them. I use one on my laptop and one from the Sky HD box to the TV

KillerWatt

scottishblondie wrote: »

Just get a cheap one. And by cheap I mean in the vicinity of £1.

Seconded.

Cheap & cheerful 20m HDMI lead costing £13 from Amazon works just as well as the so called "super conducting gold c@rp" that sells for 4 times the same price.

Although it is possible to introduce interference to a digital signal, digital (unlike analogue) is either on or off, there is no inbetween.

fwor

scottishblondie wrote: »

Just get a cheap one. And by cheap I mean in the vicinity of £1.

Generally I agree that the £30 ones are a waste of money, but you have to be careful going that cheap, as the connectors themselves have to be made with a fair bit of precision, and if you go too cheap the maker will have skimped on plasticiser, so the cable will be like a coiled spring.

Personally, I'd go as far as £4-5 for one that's going to fit properly and not fall apart after a few weeks use.

penrhyn

I bought a couple of HDMI cables from ThatCable, they seem well made and not too expensive.

http://www.thatcable.com/

Amazon do their own brand which I've used.

Dave_C_2

Cheapskates. These are the cables to buy

In the real world I think they are $995 too expensive.