New TV And BluRay - Which Cables...?

[Alec]

this is driving me further into indecision with every passing moment, so i thought id risk asking here.

im about to get the panny 37" PX80B and one of their BR players (i havent quite decided on that yet, ill probably have a day of belly aching over those tommorrow - it may depend on when the BD35 and 55 are out, it may not). I already have Sky+.

Am i correct in thinking ill need one SCART and one HDMI? And if anyone has any suggestions thatd be great. We're talking strictly budget level, and i dont want to waste much time ebaying or anything, i just want to find somewhere and get them.

Cheers all.

 

[professorhat]

hificables.co.uk have always given me a very good service. Not sure what budget means, but I don't think you can go far wrong with QEDs range of Scart and HDMI cables personally.

 

[Alec]

professorhat:hificables.co.uk have always given me a very good service. Not sure what budget means, but I don't think you can go far wrong with QEDs range of Scart and HDMI cables personally.

Thankyou Prof!

TBH, it means around the £30 per cable mark.

I take it im right that those are the cables id need then?

 

[Alec]

Ahem. OK. Might consider raising the budget.

Proff (or anyone indeed), do you have any specific reccommendations?

 

[professorhat]

Definitely HDMI for the Blu-Ray - I assume you need RGB Scart for the Sky+ unless it has a component output? I don't have one so not sure on the outputs. Will this be hooked into your NAD as well, or just through the TV?

 

[professorhat]

I know this QED HDMI-P cable is highly rated. The other option for closer your budget is the Cambridge Audio cable.

 

[Alec]

yeah i think i might really think about raising the budget and get the similarly priced scart too. ill check on the component thing tho - would that be better? Thanks for that hdmi recommendation - there were two there and i got confused haha!

ill never go surround sound in the flat im in i dont think, its small and theres no easy place to put rears (it irritates me a bit too, but maybe just because im not used to it - or my senses just overload easily lol!), but yes, i may hook it up the stereo amp at some point, just for a boost. ill probably save that consideration for later tho.

 

[professorhat]

al7478: ill check on the component thing tho - would that be better?
Component's better for video, but it won't carry any audio so you'd need some RCA phono cables from the Sky+ box as well if using it. These could go direct into your NAD though for sound.

 

[Alec]

just a quick afterthought - dont most component leads have to rca leads paired with them as part of the same lead, as it were...?

 

[professorhat]

Not that I know of. If you have a games console or something like that, then their component cable for their console will come with it as that's the only way you could get the sound, but I think if you just buy a component cable, it will generally only have the three cables for the video connections. Certainly the ones I've bought are like that at any rate.

 

[Big Chris]

QED HDMI-P, 1.0 metre, £35 inc. delivery on Play.com.

 

[Alec]

cheers chris.

thanks prof maybe i misunderstood somewhere but im with you.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

al7478:cheers chris.

thanks prof maybe i misunderstood somewhere but im with you.

Sky + doesn't have component connectivity. If you don't have an amp, you might want to forget RGB (no audio) and go for something like this.

http://www.audiovisualonline.co.uk/view/181/ixos-xht611-flat-scart-cable

Go with Chris - £35 for the QED hdmi is a no brainer.

 

[Alec]

Gerrardasnails - thanks.

im confused tho. i thought scart and rgb scart were the same. you seem to be saying that rgb is different and doesnt handle audio...? Also, given the absence of a component connection, is scart my only way of dealing with the sky+ box?

 

[Gerrardasnails]

al7478:Gerrardasnails - thanks.

im confused tho. i thought scart and rgb scart were the same. you seem to be saying that rgb is different and doesnt handle audio...? Also, given the absence of a component connection, is scart my only way of dealing with the sky+ box?

You can get scarts that only give you picture (I thought they are called RGB scart - I may be wrong). If you check the websites you've been offered to look at they state which ones are video only. Scart is not the only way of connecting your Sky + box but it's the best way.

 

[Anonymous]

I have bought optical leads from this ebay shop

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/DigiCable365

ÿ

And they are excellent quality. Not sure how good the HDMI leads are, but they are cheap. In fact at the price I would buy one, then trial a more expensive one too. If its better, keep it, then you have an inexpensive spare.

ÿ

ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

Try QEDs HDMI-P GREAT

2 metres =£58

3 metres=£65 approx

 

[Alec]

Thanks for the suggestions.

At the moment i think im going with a good deal from the shop im getting the telly from, but im undecided so far.

 

[bigblue235]

Gerrardasnails: You can get scarts that only give you picture (I thought they are called RGB scart - I may be wrong). If you check the websites you've been offered to look at they state which ones are video only. Scart is not the only way of connecting your Sky + box but it's the best way.

You can indeed get RGB scart cables with audio. I know you can get video only ones, I guess these are the purist option, but there's plenty on the market with RGB video and audio too. I use the good ole Thor cables, recommended in the mag many moons ago.

A point to remember is that you usually need to enable RGB output in the Sky box set-up. You'll see the difference instantly when you do, I remember getting overly excited by it! I'm easily pleased

It's worth trying to enable RGB output with your current Scart, it may well work.

As for HDMI cables, whilst I'm not quite of the 'But they're digital, they're all the same' way of thinking, I'd never really buy a pricy one. I've tried a few different ones on my TV (which is a pretty decent size) and I can't see a bit of difference between them. The one that came with the Sky HD box is as basic as they come, but I happily use it.

Maybe buy a cheapy HDMI first to get you up and running, then buy a premium one. If you don't see a difference, lob it back! If you do see a difference, keep the cheapy as a spare.

 

[Alec]

bigblue235 - thanyouvermuch for the thoughts. I must admit that where cables are concerned im of the not-sure-im-all-that-bothered persuauion. i cant be bothered to experiment enough, you see, and to really have an opinion, you need to experiment.

Anyway, thats my first real contribution to the cable debate, and its a dangerous thing, so ill stop there and never speak of it again