HDMI cables - Are they a rip-off?

[admin_exported]

My question is simple...

HDMI cables relay a digital signal. You will either have signal loss, in other words artefacts or no image/sound, or you won't have signal loss.

Any 100% working cable should be as good as the next, yet you can pay through your teeth for some brands. Is this marketing? Or to satisfy some comsumers' obsessive impulse to have "the best you can afford"?

Example : EXAMPLE REMOVED BY MODS for House Rules violations

You're thoughts on this?

 

[CnoEvil]

Only if you think they are...or mabe not :~ .

 

[chebby]

90 percent of the first post is about to disappear.

Just shows you don't need a cable at all to experience significant data loss.

 

[Craig M.]

hahaha!!

 

[Anonymous]

Apologies for not reading the rules properly.

The removed quote was a certain group claiming that above a certain (fairly cheap) price level there is nothing to be gained from paying more for an HDMI cable.

Let me be clear, i'm playing devil's advocate here. I don't agree 100%. I've read quite technical articles about testing in labs where clear signal loss was demonstrated. How this translates into the real world and where the loss becomes indetectable to humans is the question. I suppose I did ask for thoughts, and that's what I got. I never claimed this was my viewpoint or belief. Just to clear that up.

Personally i'm buying the best I can afford while keeping within the justified price range according to the rest of my equipment.

I just thought someone would have thoughts (or articles proving or backing up claims) on how much you can spend before the price hike becomes out of proportion to the conceiveable quality gain = "rip-off" for lack of using a more euphimistic term.

I can understand how my 1st post was met with some sarcasm, hope this one brings my point across more clearly.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Let me be clear, i'm playing devil's advocate here.

Let me be clear: try searching for 'HDMI cables' on these forums.

We don't need no dev'ls nor no avocados to get a feud goin' on this subject.

 

[Anonymous]

It's a figure of speech that's all. I can also say i'm merely stating boh arguments. And why would a fued ensue?

Clearly i've been misunderstood. If I'm unwelcome here you may go ahead and delete my account.

I'm just not used to this kind of responses... It's obviously a sensitive subject.

Let's leave it there then.

I will search the forum (and elsewhere) for answers as suggested. Thanks, and apologies for getting off on the wrong foot. (I would have liked a more tactfull reply though, even if if I was in the wrong - which I will admit to.)

 

[The_Lhc]

You're not unwelcome but cable debates are, generally speaking. They always end badly, have been done to death and most of us don't really want to go through it all again.

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you for that polite and simple explanation. It makes me want to respond much more positively!

I've gathered this much... I had a quick glance at the search results and I see where your are coming from. I can also understand the replies I got better now. It's a common mistake, being new to a forum and asking before searching.

Just to repeat, thanks for the polite reply!

 

[Andrew Everard]

No-one's wrong here, but if you're going to be Satan's guacamole, you really have to be prepared for a robust reaction, and not get all precious about the responses you get.

 

[Anonymous]

it's official, the_lhc is actually a very polite person

 

[The_Lhc]

it's official, the_lhc is actually a very polite person

That's what nuns teach you...

 

[Anonymous]

Figure of speech Andrew! Figure of speech! My choice of words is killing me...

No it's fine really. I completely get the picture now. Unknowingly opened a can of worms!

To be honest I would in all likelyhood have reacted rather harshly myself had I been in your shoes.

Isn't retrospect wonderful?!

(PS - Decided to let my eyes do the decision making. My own "blind" trial with the help of a friend.)

 

[Anonymous]

fwiw in my opinion all hdmi cables are the same, because there is no such thing as digital data loss...

 

[Anonymous]

fwiw

Did you lose some digits there?

 

[Anonymous]

I did get a very affordable one, and will compare to my much shorter more expensive one, without knowing which one my friend has connected. I'm sort of hoping I'm not able to identify the cheaper one...

Thanks maxflinn, but let's call it a day rather!

 

[Anonymous]

fwiw

Did you lose some digits there?

 

[The_Lhc]

fwiw

Did you lose some digits there?

For What It's Worth.

We'll make a nerd of you yet Max...

 

[Anonymous]

By the way, not sure if I may do this, but I have a question about pairing speakers to my amp...

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/home-cinema/best-speakers-for-denon-avr-1910

Any advice/opinions to help the decision making will be appreciated. Some experienced ears out there i'm sure!

 

[Anonymous]

I have a topic relevant question i've just thought about. Can't seem to find the answer anywhere....

Say I use a long (>10m) HDMI cable that is quite cheap, and it's not able to transmit full 1080p. Will the system switch to 720 (or whatever lower res it can do) automatically? Will I get a black screen in 1080p? Or will I merey get a poorer image than with a cable that can transmit the data fully over the distance?

 

[Anonymous]

I'm not wanting to start anymore agro, but if a digital signal is 0's and 1's and say I'm using the DAC in my amp or an external DAC then does that mean the quality of a CD player doesn't matter, as long as it reads the 0's and 1's of the disc then the amp/ DAC is doing the rest of the work.
Like I say I'm not trying to cause more debate just this Is something that's puzzled me for a while now.

 

[professorhat]

If 0s were 1s and 1s were 0s, where would we be then? I thought I saw a 2... But there's no such thing as 2. (rocks back and forth in chair)

 

[f1only]

That would be the O2 then, hence the rocking, depending whats on of course

 

[Andrew Everard]

fwiw

Did you lose some digits there?

It's probably something he read somewhere and is just repeating. It usually is...

 

[Anonymous]

a little unfair mista e..

after all,these thoughts are my own, you won't read them anywhere else..

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/home-cinema/my-thoughts-on-hdmi-cables-and-the-randomness-of-potential-data-loss