Gold Plated HDMI Lead for Full HD/HD Ready TVs

asbokid

Toxteth_OGrady wrote: »

Funny how SATA III connectors, at similar data throughput rates to HDMI, seem to work just fine with plastic connectors. Perhaps AV = snake oil?

it's not specifically the use of plastic, it's the manufacturing quality of the whole interconnect..

of concern is the construction quality of the plug at each end, the strength of the terminals within the plug, the style of the cable grip in the plug, the use of a sheath over the plug and the presence of a strain relief, the gauge and type of wire used in the cable, the thickness of the PVC sheath over the cable, lots of different things.

In general you get what you pay for..

it might be okay to use a budget HDMI cable since it's not usually plugged and unplugged very frequently.. but a professional DJ would always use professional audio interconnects that were resilient enough to take a regular battering, every time he sets up his kit at another venue..


This TOSLINK optical audio cable costs £30

and this TOSLINK optical cable costs just £1

The audio quality will be the same for both cables, but the BBC would never equip its outside broadcast teams with the cable bought for £1 from fleabay.

spakkker

I think the resistance of gold to tarnishing is the selling point , as posted already.
The lesson is not to use rusty/corroded cables.
I don't know what nickel, copper or aluminium oxide looks like tho' !

Toxteth_OGrady

asbokid wrote: »

it's not specifically the use of plastic, it's the manufacturing quality of the whole interconnect..

I was deliberately being tongue-in-cheek and agree that robust connectors are needed, such as Neutrik Speakon, for frequently made connections (which internal SATA usually isn't).

The confusion lies in the fact that, as wt536 pointed out earlier

The metal shell is only a retaining/support sleeve and carries no electrical connection, so does it matter whether it is gold, tin, chrome or silver plated

so I don't see the need for gold other than in the pins on an HDMI cable. There are equally robust materials, as can be seen in the heavy duty Speakon connector.

If the logic of using gold plate for durability in HDMI connectors is sound why is it not more prevalent in other frequently used digital connections such as USB?

mttylad

Its simple, try a HDMI lead from poundland if a 1m long one will reach.

If the picture quality is no good then you can go for a more expensive one (a few quid more).

But to pay more than a tenner for a HDMI cable is IMHO way too much.

wt536

birkee wrote: »

Sigh!
One last try.
Nickel is not a good conductor compared to a number of other metals.
They use it because of it's resistance to wear, plugging and unplugging connectors compared to softer metals, and it's cost.

If nickel, not being a good connector, loses (I'll use arbitrary numbers for indication purposes) 10% of signal at an interface, then that's 10% at the plug pin , and 10% at the socket pin, making 20% loss of signal in total.
If you change one half to gold plated at say 2% loss of signal at an interface, then you have 10% loss of signal on the socket, and 2% loss at the plug, making a total of 12% instead of 20% loss in total.

Finally, if you refer back to my post #16, it was to comment on the benefits of gold plated contacts. It was not advocating the use of it. That's up to the individual.
Before your scream of "TWADDLE" provoked a response, that's where it would have been left.


which shows that gold is about 5 times as conductive as nickel.
But your opinion outweighs science doesn't it?

If you calculate the overall resistance from the receptacle at one end to the receptacle at the other, going through four layers of nickel a few microns thick, two phosphor bronze contacts in the cable connectors and (say) one metre of copper cable, you will see that the effect of different contact resistances is a just drop in the ocean compared to the resistance of that cable.

wt536

Toxteth_OGrady wrote: »

I was deliberately being tongue-in-cheek and agree that robust connectors are needed, for frequently made connections (which internal SATA usually isn't).

The confusion lies in the fact that, as wt536 pointed out earlier so I don't see the need for gold other than in the pins on an HDMI cable. There are equally robust materials, as can be seen in the heavy duty Speakon connector.

If the logic of using gold plate for durability in HDMI connectors is sound why is it not more prevalent in other frequently used digital connections such as USB?

USB, Ethernet RJ45, domestic telephone 431A plugs, handset RJ11 plugs, HDMI plugs etc. are already gold plated where it matters.


The "GOLD PLATED" sales pitch is just to "bling" out of sight behind TVs and other kit.

AirCooledHeaven

dg1dd1ngs wrote: »

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

Yes, and be sure to buy some solid silver mains cable for the TV because that will improve the picture resolution...;)

Toxteth_OGrady

wt536 wrote: »

USB, Ethernet RJ45, domestic telephone 431A plugs, handset RJ11 plugs, HDMI plugs etc. are already gold plated where it matters.


The "GOLD PLATED" sales pitch is just to "bling" out of sight behind TVs and other kit.

I think you are agreeing with me or I haven't made my point very clearly. I agree It doesn't require any gold plating on anything other than the pins for digital connectors like the ones you've listed to work. That's what I was trying to get across with the USB example. :beer:

The exception is consumer audio-visual cables that have to be [STRIKE]gold-plated[/STRIKE] dipped in snake-oil to work.