HDMI The facts...May Be

[bigboss]

I enjoy demoing and experimenting. I would suggest trying this cable if you really want to experiment. You'll be surprised at the build quality for the price:

http://www.thatcable.com/product/High-Speed-HDMI-Cable-With-Ethernet-V1.4

 

[theflyingwasp]

I already have I found the picture on the WII U and Apple TV home screen much more colourful with the expensive cables I'm watching Ben hur on Blu ray right now I know the transfer of the film is stunning through checking the review and I know the oppo giving me an excellent picture I know the tv is performing to the best of its abilities after it's calibration and to get my point I have extreme peace of mind knowing it's all connected together with my 2m audioquest carbon hdmi cables.

why do people start these threads ......

 

[theflyingwasp]

I don't doubt these cables give good performance .I just can't believe people would spend vast sums of money then purposely just buy the cheapest hdmi cables etc to connect it all together.

its a little off topic but for as long as I can remember I have used the cheap free in ear headphones for listening to my music on the go ,I recently upgraded to in ear headphones 5x the price and I can't believe how stupid I had been all those years using the cheap ones I was missing out on so much.

 

[duaplex]

look at it this way

Currently I'm building a 30k system. Some dealers have advised me to spend 8k on cables alone! Now the real problem here is not whether the cable makes a small improvement (to some yes), but rather will 8k on cables have a better impact on a system or 8k on a better amp/processor etc.

 

[bigboss]

I don't doubt these cables give good performance .I just can't believe people would spend vast sums of money then purposely just buy the cheapest hdmi cables etc to connect it all together.

its a little off topic but for as long as I can remember I have used the cheap free in ear headphones for listening to my music on the go ,I recently upgraded to in ear headphones 5x the price and I can't believe how stupid I had been all those years using the cheap ones I was missing out on so much.

There's a difference between earphones and HDMI cables which are digital.

As I said, buy whatever you're comfortable with. It doesn't mean people happy with their inexpensive cables are stupid. They have a valid reason for their decision.

 

[bigboss]

look at it this way

Currently I'm building a 30k system. Some dealers have advised me to spend 8k on cables alone! Now the real problem here is not whether the cable makes a small improvement (to some yes), but rather will 8k on cables have a better impact on a system or 8k on a better amp/processor etc.

Cables carry maximum mark ups for dealers, as compared to other AV equipment. So they will push it to you.

 

[Paul.]

When buying my hdmi cables I bought the more expensive ones just to be safe. There is always that niggle of doubt in the back of your mind, so I bought the £3.30 gold ones instead of the £1.90 silver ones

 

[bigboss]

When buying my hdmi cables I bought the more expensive ones just to be safe. There is always that niggle of doubt in the back of your mind, so I bought the £3.30 gold ones instead of the £1.90 silver ones

Yes, even I have an affinity for gold plating as opposed to silver ones! I know there's no difference in performance!! :doh:

 

[tele1962]

I think it is down to build quality..............the Amazon ones are excellent, how do they compare to the likes of Chord, Van Der Hul etc i would maybe give the edge to the Amazon for value for money.

 

[mr malarky]

Usually get standard QED ones for about £25. Realise the performance is no better than a £5 cable, but their built to last (cable doesn't kink, and good sturdy connectors that give a nice solid fit into the socket without any wobble or looseness).

 

[cheeseboy]

I already have I found the picture on the WII U and Apple TV home screen much more colourful with the expensive cables I'm watching Ben hur on Blu ray right now I know the transfer of the film is stunning through checking the review and I know the oppo giving me an excellent picture I know the tv is performing to the best of its abilities after it's calibration and to get my point I have extreme peace of mind knowing it's all connected together with my 2m audioquest carbon hdmi cables.

why do people start these threads ......

Nobody is saying buy the cheapest cable you can, except for you

What people are saying is that providing the HDMI cable is built to spec, you won't get any improvements on the picture quality. http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/home-entertainment/1292371/expensive-hdmi-cables-make-no-difference-the-absolute-proof

 

[bigboss]

I already have I found the picture on the WII U and Apple TV home screen much more colourful with the expensive cables I'm watching Ben hur on Blu ray right now I know the transfer of the film is stunning through checking the review and I know the oppo giving me an excellent picture I know the tv is performing to the best of its abilities after it's calibration and to get my point I have extreme peace of mind knowing it's all connected together with my 2m audioquest carbon hdmi cables.

why do people start these threads ......

Nobody is saying buy the cheapest cable you can, except for you

What people are saying is that providing the HDMI cable is built to spec, you won't get any improvements on the picture quality. http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/home-entertainment/1292371/expensive-hdmi-cables-make-no-difference-the-absolute-proof

That's a good article. Quoting from the article: "HDMI cables don’t know what format the data it transmits will get re-encoded into when it reaches its destination, so there’s no way it could adjust colour values, improve skin tone or create better black response."

 

[mr malarky]

I already have I found the picture on the WII U and Apple TV home screen much more colourful with the expensive cables I'm watching Ben hur on Blu ray right now I know the transfer of the film is stunning through checking the review and I know the oppo giving me an excellent picture I know the tv is performing to the best of its abilities after it's calibration and to get my point I have extreme peace of mind knowing it's all connected together with my 2m audioquest carbon hdmi cables.

why do people start these threads ......

Nobody is saying buy the cheapest cable you can, except for you

What people are saying is that providing the HDMI cable is built to spec, you won't get any improvements on the picture quality. http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/home-entertainment/1292371/expensive-hdmi-cables-make-no-difference-the-absolute-proof

That's a good article. Quoting from the article: "HDMI cables don’t know what format the data it transmits will get re-encoded into when it reaches its destination, so there’s no way it could adjust colour values, improve skin tone or create better black response."

its a great article, but it only tells half the story.

It only deals with the question of image quality, overlooking the fact that more expensive HDMI cables can give a "fuller, warmer, more dynamic sound" when relaying the '1's and '0's from the digital output on your BluRay player to the digital input on your AV receiver...

 

[byakuya83]

Of the 3 experts it seems the 1 from Audioquest still thinks there's a difference between HDMI cables. You can always rely on the world of audio to sell you foo. I see the poster who has the hardest time excepting there is no difference has an Audioquest cable... That's fine, I'm sure it's lovely but don't claim it makes a difference, just enjoy it for what it is.

 

[RobinKidderminster]

Are comparisons with cars or headphones etc useful or just rediculous? I too like ThatCable tho my QED is prettier in blue.

 

[landzw]

Ok i have brought in the region of 50 different HDMI cable over the past years from prices starting at £3.99 to £70 ( yes i got caugt by the hole HDMI thing )

This is what i have found

I have had 2 cheaper cables fail me and no longer output a picture, though i had been playing around with them do the comparing thing against more expensive cables.

My plasma did cause interference on a less sheilded cable which was free cable.

Some motion judder was seen on cheaper cables but not all

Sound quality made a big differnece depending on which cable ( at the time i only had a standard pioneer surround sound system with no DTS )

Actual picture quality i really could not say, nothing stood out different, some cables i can say I THINK i sore a difference but it was all to close.

Even after that i still buy £35 cables because i because i want to make i have the sheilding, the sound and less chance of motion judder not to mention some companys will replace the cable if it fails.

 

[ayjaycee]

Unlike some on the site, I would not presume to say that others were either right or wrong about their views on the merits of cheap -v- expensive HDMI cables. All I will say is that I have made direct comparisons with a That Cable 'budget' HDMI cable (£5), a QED (£25), a Chord (£40) and an Audioquest (£60) and could neither see nor hear any difference between them (all were either 1 or 1.5M) - I also tried each with and without a £3 right angle adapter with the same result. I honestly do not know whether spending a further £100 or, indeed, £1000 would make any difference but I for one ain't that bothered about finding out.

 

[theflyingwasp]

There has to be a proper test of some sort to end all these debates over cheap v expensive cables!

 

[Paul.]

There has been lots. Why do you think Monster don't advertise better image quality any more? Only features and build quality.

http://www.monsterproducts.com/hdmi/hdmi.asp

 

[cheeseboy]

There has to be a proper test of some sort to end all these debates over cheap v expensive cables!

did you not read the link I posted??

 

[proffski]

When buying my hdmi cables I bought the more expensive ones just to be safe. There is always that niggle of doubt in the back of your mind, so I bought the £3.30 gold ones instead of the £1.90 silver ones

Extravagant spendthrift! :O

 

[theflyingwasp]

Yes but it still a divided opinion ,by now there should be no "I can see a difference between cheap and expensive cables" it should be proven across the board that you are only paying for build quality and speed.

i don't think people are stupid for paying loads for cables wether it be hifi or cinema .the gentleman on the last page was putting together a 30k system and after spending all that the thought of buying almost the cheapest cables to connect it all together with seems nuts.

I do feel being quoted 8k on cables was a bit much tho! I believe what hifi has the 10% rule on cables.

 

[cheeseboy]

Yes but it still a divided opinion ,by now there should be no "I can see a difference between cheap and expensive cables" it should be proven across the board that you are only paying for build quality and speed.

But there won't be due to placebo effect/expectation bias... The experiment in the link proves the cables are the same, so any difference you may see is not because of the cable itself. That's not to say that those who are experiencing the placebo effect are not seeing any difference, which is where the arguments usually start.

The fact that people can still sell the Brilliant pebbles and stuff goes to prove that people will believe what they want to beleive and their brain will follow. This is proven time and time again when blind tests carry out a control sample and or asking people to talk about the differences between cables when they are not changed, yet the listener says there is a difference. Also there's the buyers remorse fact, whereby some people *please note i said some, not all people* will not want to admit that they can't see any difference if they've just sunk a wedge of cash on a HDMI cable. Same thing can be said for USB/SATA cables, or generally most digital cables. Any time any test is carried out it can be proven that the data received is the same as the data sent, yet people will still swear blind they can see/hear differences, yet in order for those types of differences to happen because of the cable, the cable would actually have to alter the data, which if they did, would be pretty impressive.

Digital is a pretty robust form of data transfer and can degrade quite severly before it stops working. Take things like digital TV for example. When you get really bad weather, the pictures will go blocky and cut out, not degrade like the old analogue signals and recievers did. You can also convert digital signals in to analogue, watch them degrade to quite a degree and then convert them back in to digital again without any information loss. Otherwise early computers (spectrum, c64 etc) and pre broadband internet would never have worked. Imagine saying that you had to purchase a 5k stereo system just to load your speccy games

 

[landzw]

The debate can relate to everything pretty much, we argue about such little things yet someone may pay silly money for a car, phone, washing machine, slimming pills etc etc.

At the end of the day i can only tell you from my experiances but we all see, hear and think differently, if someone is happy who cares how they spend there money even if you don't agree

 

[cheeseboy]

The debate can relate to everything pretty much, we argue about such little things yet someone may pay silly money for a car, phone, washing machine, slimming pills etc etc.

not really. The point here specific to the whole digital world is that it's the same as saying that putting stripes on your car *will* make it go faster. It won't, but some people will swear blind that it does. We can prove it doesn't, but still won't change some peoples belief that it does.

At the end of the day i can only tell you from my experiances but we all see, hear and think differently, if someone is happy who cares how they spend there money even if you don't agree

But I've never disputed that people will see or hear differences :wave: I'm just saying that with the digital world, if you are, it's not because of the cables in the way I said above. Like i've said before, for some people, they *need* to spend extra cash in order to believe that there is an improvement, because as you say, we're all different. If they want to and can afford to, that's entirely up to them.