Need help on which HDMI lead to choose

[admin_exported]

Hi,

I have a new Samsung UE40C7000 television and a Samsung BD-C5900 blu-ray player.

My problem is that I need an HDMI cable but the choice seems massive! OK,so I want to get the best out of my system and buy a lead that will give me a good sharp picture with natural colours and good deep blacks.There seems to be so many pitfalls and flicking through some back issues of WHFS&V, a reviewer advises not to pay under £60 if you want decent,deep blacks .So if I where to go for a £40 cable is it going to soften my details,compromise blacks and mess up my colours.I'm in your hands guys!

Oh,nearly forgot. My budget is £100 or I might go a little higher.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi dude,

Can recommend Chord Supershield £50 for you. I have two-Sky HD & DVD recorder. Also a Peerless Delta HDMI (v1.4) between blu-ray player & TV. This cable to my eyes gave more vibrant colours etc. An ace cable available between £30-£50 online.

Peace

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Gravity G,

Thanks for the recommendations.Sounds good to me.I'll check 'em both out if I can.

 

[michael hoy]

GadgetMan23:
Hi,

I have a new Samsung UE40C7000 television and a Samsung BD-C5900 blu-ray player.

My problem is that I need an HDMI cable but the choice seems massive! OK,so I want to get the best out of my system and buy a lead that will give me a good sharp picture with natural colours and good deep blacks.There seems to be so many pitfalls and flicking through some back issues of WHFS&V, a reviewer advises not to pay under £60 if you want decent,deep blacks .So if I where to go for a £40 cable is it going to soften my details,compromise blacks and mess up my colours.I'm in your hands guys!

Oh,nearly forgot. My budget is £100 or I might go a little higher.

If you are wanting a decent cable capable of 3D and are not bothered about the ethernet side, I would recommend the outgoing Chord Active, currently going for about £39.00 at various places but I bought mine from here and excellent service.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Michael,

Thanks for the recommendation.I must admit to still being a little cautious after reading advice given in a back issue of WHFS&V.I don't remember who wrote the piece but they were advising a reader that he shouldn't expect decent,deep blacks from a sub £60 HDMI lead.

Your thoughts on this one please chaps?

 

[Hi Fi Decision]

The Chord Active rrp is £115 so is in excess of £60. However I bought mine from Peter Tyson £40.99 for 1.5m. This is because this cable has been replaced with one that has an ethernet return - you don't need this.

In terms of results I think it's a matter of taste. I had a Panasonic HDMI which the Chord replaced which got 1 out of 5 stars in this magazine. However the picture is sharper than the Chord HDMI. In fact I'd go so far as to say that relatively the Chord Active is slightly soft. However it has a very good colour palette (including strong deep blacks) which makes the picture have added depth and dimension. So in this instance the toss up is between extra sharpness or better colour palette - a question of taste. I would prefer both but there you go.

 

[idc]

GadgetMan23:

Hi Michael,

Thanks for the recommendation.I must admit to still being a little cautious after reading advice given in a back issue of WHFS&V.I don't remember who wrote the piece but they were advising a reader that he shouldn't expect decent,deep blacks from a sub £60 HDMI lead.

Your thoughts on this one please chaps?

That comment will have come with no evidence by testing cables and no explanation as to how a cable can make blacks deeper. I have a £5 ThatCable HDMI with a 5 star WHF recommendation and I would recommend them.

HDMI cable testing has found that the signal passing either works or does not work. Over certain distances (and there different cable do fail at different lengths) there will be signs of signal corruption will will appear as lines or sparkles or complete failure. If it works, there is no measureable difference between any cable and any other. Blind ABX testing of cables finds that without knowing which cable is which, people can no longer see or hear a difference between them.

I would recommend you go with the results of testing and save yourself money to buy DVDs instead.

 

[hammill]

idc:GadgetMan23:

Hi Michael,

Thanks for the recommendation.I must admit to still being a little cautious after reading advice given in a back issue of WHFS&V.I don't remember who wrote the piece but they were advising a reader that he shouldn't expect decent,deep blacks from a sub £60 HDMI lead.

Your thoughts on this one please chaps?

That comment will have come with no evidence by testing cables and no explanation as to how a cable can make blacks deeper. I have a £5 ThatCable HDMI with a 5 star WHF recommendation and I would recommend them.

HDMI cable testing has found that the signal passing either works or does not work. Over certain distances (and there different cable do fail at different lengths) there will be signs of signal corruption will will appear as lines or sparkles or complete failure. If it works, there is no measureable difference between any cable and any other. Blind ABX testing of cables finds that without knowing which cable is which, people can no longer see or hear a difference between them.

I would recommend you go with the results of testing and save yourself money to buy DVDs instead.
Agreed. I love the idea that a cable can be unable to pass the code that says render this pixel black. I foolishly bought a 5 * HDMI cable and it is no different from the free ones on my system.

 

[Cookie Monster]

I have several different makes of HDMI cable. Chord Active, Wireworld, Thatcable, QED and an Alba one. Have done endless swaps on several occasions both with 2 flatscreens and a HD projector.

At least with my kit there are vast differences between each cables performance.

Sky works best with my Wireworld yet the Thatcable left it looking 'flat' with unsaturated colours and less edge control.

Yet the Thatcable is the only cable i have that seems to get the best from my Sony BD player!

My Alba cable works best with my PS3, great edges and strict control of motion on 19" lcd, i have a spare Chord Active cable i could use here but the control of motion just isn't as strict. Yet tried the same Alba cable with my Sky HD box and clarity faded and edges were awful.

I try to look where my system could improve, motion, edges, colour etc. then match with a suitable cable looking at the pros/ cons from reviews. As you can see i can't claim more expensive = greater performance, just a suitable cable. Length definetly makes a difference though, keep as short as possible.

If all things digital were all the same then surely all the bitstreams of audio from BD players would sound the same regardless of player!!

 

[Cookie Monster]

I have several different makes of HDMI cable. Chord Active, Wireworld, Thatcable, QED and an Alba one. Have done endless swaps.

Sky works best with my Wireworld yet the Thatcable left it looking 'flat' with unsaturated colours and less edge control.

Yet the Thatcable is the only cable i have that seems to get the best from my Sony BD player!

My Alba cable works best with my PS3, great edges and strict control of motion on 19" lcd, i have a spare Chord Active cable i could use here but the control of motion just isn't as strict. Yet tried the same Alba cable with my Sky HD box and clarity faded and edges were awful.

I try to look where my system could improve, motion, edges, colour etc. then match with a suitable cable looking at the pros/ cons from reviews. As you can see i can't claim more expensive = greater performance, just a suitable cable. Length definetly makes a difference though, keep as short as possible.

If all things digital were all the same then surely all the bitstreams of audio from BD players would sound the same regardless of player!!

 

[Cookie Monster]

I have several different makes of HDMI cable. Chord Active, Wireworld, Thatcable, QED and an Alba one. Have done endless swaps.

Sky works best with my Wireworld yet the Thatcable left it looking 'flat' with unsaturated colours and less edge control.

Yet the Thatcable is the only cable i have that seems to get the best from my Sony BD player!

My Alba cable works best with my PS3, great edges and strict control of motion on 19" lcd, i have a spare Chord Active cable i could use here but the control of motion just isn't as strict. Yet tried the same Alba cable with my Sky HD box and clarity faded and edges were awful.

I try to look where my system could improve, motion, edges, colour etc. then match with a suitable cable looking at the pros/ cons from reviews. As you can see i can't claim more expensive = greater performance, just a suitable cable. Length definetly makes a difference though, keep as short as possible.

If all things digital were all the same then surely all the bitstreams of audio from BD players would sound the same regardless of player!!

 

[audioaffair]

Chord Super Shield is a nice, safe bet within your budget - excellent cable, award winner and very well made.

 

[Hi Fi Decision]

I sent my Chord Active HDMI back. It did make a difference but not one I liked. Colours were vivid but motion control was blurred and resolution appeared soft compared to my existing cable - the 1 star Panasonic HDMI. The biggest difference I noticed in blu ray is when I changed my player to a pioneer LX52.

 

[Tonya]

Yep, short cables will offer the least resistance without a doubt.
One tip if I can offer if I may be so bold:
When using a long run of HDMI cable to a projector, check if there is a menu item on your projector to adjust and compensate for the cable length used.

I use the excellent Mitsubishi HC3800 and there is a hidden service menu where you can calibrate the cable length exactly.
Using a ten metre cable on my setup, I initially got "sparklies" on the picture until I adjusted the gain value via the projector menu and after that the picture is perfect.

By the way, the ten metre cable cost me a tad under £20 when I was visiting the UK, if I remember correctly . . . .

 

[D3CYPH3R]

I bought 3 of these for my system as they are High Speed certified and 100% of the dosh went to charity, 1 cable was DOA but they have an excellent customer service and had a new one on my doorstep within a day. Can't say i notice any difference from the freebie in the box on my SKY HD, but all my cables now match

 

[Anonymous]

8) I have 3 Cambridge Audio HDMI cables and they do a great job £29 each from RS.

 

[CustomCable]

Having experienced differences between different HDMI cables I would not personally advise Chord Supershield but instead an Audioquest HDMI. Something such as Forest or even Pearl. For me noticing differences in picture quality is harder than hearing differences in the audio reproduction. Between the likes of Chord, QED, ThatCable etc, the AQ's generally offer sonics that are preferable.This is a personal choice though and really a home demo should be organised.