# The HDMI Cable You Use



## 1953 (Feb 7, 2006)

Since I most probably will be buying one or more new HDMI cables thought it might be a good idea to poll you folks regarding the price range category, supposed quality and brand.

Please participate in this poll and followup comment segment.

Thanks!


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## mobandit (Sep 4, 2007)

1953 said:


> Since I'm most probably will be buying one or more new HDMI cables thought it might be a good idea to poll you folks regarding the price range category, supposed quality and brand.
> 
> Please participate in this poll and followup comment segment.
> 
> Thanks!


Unless you have to have the "best" (according to the advertising hype) an HDMI cable from someplace like monoprice will work just fine. I avoid the high end cables as the "better" quality is debatable, especially at the length of cables I use (typically under 10 feet).


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## wilbur_the_goose (Aug 16, 2006)

Monoprice. Inexpensive is the way to go. Stay FAR away from Monster.


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## BosFan (Sep 28, 2009)

Got my last one at a local Menards for 9.95, works just fine. Otherwise I'd go with Monoprice.


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## 1953 (Feb 7, 2006)

wilbur_the_goose said:


> Monoprice. Inexpensive is the way to go. Stay FAR away from Monster.


Why do you advise staying away from Monster Cable?


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## WestDC (Feb 9, 2008)

This HDMI CABLE 10ft 28AWG High Speed HDMI Cable w/Ferrite Cores - $4.95

Ordered from Mono price dot com 

It works great for my wall mounted TV  and the price was a big factor in my selecting it.


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## bidger (Nov 19, 2005)

wilbur_the_goose said:


> Monoprice. Inexpensive is the way to go. Stay FAR away from Monster.


+1



1953 said:


> Why do you advise staying away from Monster Cable?


Have you checked their prices? I refuse to pay more for the cable to connect the Blu-ray player than I paid for the player itself.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

"1953" said:


> Why do you advise staying away from Monster Cable?


Monster Cables are just overpriced. You can't go wrong with Monoprice and with their customer service if anything goes wrong they will fix it for you.

- Merg

Sent from my iPod touch using DBSTalk


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

1953 said:


> Why do you advise staying away from Monster Cable?


Because they have about a 400% markup on their prices. Go with monoprice.com. They have better cables for a lower price.


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## Ira Lacher (Apr 24, 2002)

Stay away from the "better" cables. Unlike analog signals, which can be affected by the cable material's conductivity, HDMI cables transmit a binary signal. That means it's either on or it's not.


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## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

Stick with Monoprice. Great cables at great prices.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

litzdog911 said:


> Stick with Monoprice. Great cables at great prices.


Agree.

I've purchased over 20 cables from them...never one single issue with any of them.

As for the HDMI cables...they vary in length, shielding, thickness, and contact ends (gold coated are nice)....the good news is all are a fraction of the cost of going somewhere else.


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## Jon J (Apr 22, 2002)

Monoprice. Tops.

However, check today's Slickdeals for 2 six-footers for $2.00 with free shipping.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

Price is only one reason. I also don't like their litigious nature. Going after Fenway Park or Pixar over a movie name is bad enough, but going after small businesses or places like Blue Jeans Cable is way overboard.

Personally, I generally get my cables from Amazon, but only because I have prime, so can get them about the same price or slightly more and get them faster. Otherwise, I'd use Monoprice.

Unless you need plenum grade cable, or a really long run, you don't need expensive cables. And that does not mean Monster expensive.


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## hilmar2k (Mar 18, 2007)

Ira Lacher said:


> Stay away from the "better" cables. Unlike analog signals, which can be affected by the cable material's conductivity, HDMI cables transmit a binary signal. That means it's either on or it's not.


100% correct. The beauty of HDMI is that it is impossible to introduce any noise to the signal. Each pixel either works (and it shown 100% accurately), or it doesn't and that pixel is blank. You will never get a pixel that functions and is anything other than exactly what it should be. So if you hook up your HDMI cable and all the pixels are present and accounted for, then the cable is functioning at 100% and no other cable could provide better PQ.

And I buy my cables from Monoprice.


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

I use Blue Jeans cable. I can't say I see a difference, but then, I don't have problems and I like the way they look and feel. Plus they aren't that expensive.


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## TITAN_53 (Jul 23, 2007)

I will echo the others. *MONOPRICE.COM!!!*


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## kiknwing (Jun 24, 2009)

I don't think that I have ever spent more then $7 for a HDMI cable. Have yet to have one fail on me.


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## say-what (Dec 14, 2006)

Here's a recent article from pcmag where they tested various hdmi cables.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2385272,00.asp

I use inexpensive cables without any problems.


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

Ira Lacher said:


> Stay away from the "better" cables. Unlike analog signals, which can be affected by the cable material's conductivity, HDMI cables transmit a binary signal. That means it's either on or it's not.


I've been fighting digital-is-digital battles for years, and sonically, I've always won the argument that that may not be true.

I'm not suggesting to spend a lot of money here, but I've also heard the difference between optical and coaxial digital connections of a CD player to an amplifier, with the only change being the cable, so I'd be careful here.

There is no real-time, input-output, bit-for-bit analysis going on anywhere in our systems. We are always assuming the transfer is perfect, and that error correction will take care of the problem when it isn't. What if that's not the case?

You aren't listening to or watching the bits. You are listening to and watching algorithms that transfer those bits back to analog. Instead of all things being equal, things may not be equal.


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## Go Beavs (Nov 18, 2008)

Yup, as others have said, Monoprice sells some great, low cost cables. I've been using them recently and they all work great.

To spend more on an HDMI cable would be throwing money away.


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## hilmar2k (Mar 18, 2007)

Carl Spock said:


> I've been fighting digital-is-digital battles for years, and sonically, I've always won the argument that that may not be true.
> 
> I'm not suggesting to spend a lot of money here, but I've also heard the difference between optical and coaxial digital connections of a CD player to an amplifier, with the only change being the cable, so I'd be careful here.
> 
> ...


Audio and video are different. For video, digital is definitely better, has to be. What you see when using an HDMI cable is exactly what is supposed to be seen. There can be no variation.


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## 1953 (Feb 7, 2006)

I've learned so much from all of you. I began using expensive Monster cables before the days of HDMI so I assumed there was varying levels of quality hence higher priced HDMI's meant better performance. Even thought I've always been more than happy with Monster it is gradifing to learn about lower price as good HDMI's.

This is one great forum!


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

As others have stated, HDMI is either on or off. No diff. in quality that one can see or measure. For an extra long run, perhaps one would need better and more copper. 

I get mine through Amazon, as low as 10 cents one time.


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## ilikehd2011 (Apr 3, 2011)

could you please post the link to those cables. i looked on slickdeals but didn't see it. thanks


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## B Newt (Aug 12, 2007)

Speaking of expensive cables I need a DVI cable for my new computer monitor. Officemax had just one in stock. It was a 10 footer for $79.00. I laugh at them went to fry's and found one for under $10.00.


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## pfp (Apr 28, 2009)

Under 25' pretty much any brand will do and you really can't beat Monoprice.

The only exception for me was a 35' run in the walls/ceiling where I went with one from Blue Jeans Cable.


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## SuperZ06 (Aug 20, 2008)

litzdog911 said:


> Stick with Monoprice. Great cables at great prices.


+1


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## Carl Spock (Sep 3, 2004)

hilmar2k said:


> Audio and video are different. For video, digital is definitely better, has to be. What you see when using an HDMI cable is exactly what is supposed to be seen. There can be no variation.


You're still assuming the transfer is 100% perfect. Prove to me that is happening. There is no bit-for-bit check in the chain.


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## hilmar2k (Mar 18, 2007)

Carl Spock said:


> You're still assuming the transfer is 100% perfect. Prove to me that is happening. There is no bit-for-bit check in the chain.


With HDMI, if the signal doesn't get to the other end perfectly, the pixel is blank. If the pixel is on, it is perfect.

HDMI uses TMDS error checking.


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## mcbeevee (Sep 18, 2006)

say-what said:


> Here's a recent article from pcmag where they tested various hdmi cables.
> 
> http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2385272,00.asp


Nice article...hopefully it will put an end to the "Monster hdmi cables are better" debate!


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## Wisegoat (Aug 17, 2006)

$4.99 for the 10 footer from Fry's. Have them on all my TV's for DVR, Blu-Ray and PC and all work perfectly. No glitches, errors, color shift, etc. Have used them for plenty of installs. Wouldn't pay anything more.


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## Surveyor40 (Jan 5, 2006)

I am using a myriad of HDMI cable brands, including Monoprice, Vantec, and Monster Cable. When considering purchasing any HDMI cable, the quality of the end connector should be one of your primary considerations. I have purchase a few cables where the end fittings were so huge & heavy, they partially covered up the next HDMI input and tended to pull out. On a few of the inexpensive HDMI cables, the connectors molded end cracked shorting the cable just after a year. With cables you get what you pay for. However, that doesn't mean Monster Cable or any other high performance cable is necessary to connect your Directv dvr to your TV. Unless you own a premium high quality/performance TV, a good gold plated moderately priced HDMI cable should suit you just fine. All the sites suggested thus far have good options to choose from.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

Pretty much all my HDMI cables are either the ones that came with my STB's, or monoprice.com.

I have never (And will never) puchase one from BestBuy or other retailers.
If I must have one now, in an emergency... maybe, but it would be returned as soon as I get a properly priced one from an online retailer.

(I don't normally like doing that, but when they are charing 1000% more then the next guy... )

I haven't had a single problem... My longest cable is 16ft.
Even at longer distances I would probably still go with Monoprice.

I have purchased well over 100 of their network cables, about 2 dozen HDMI cables, and all sorts of other monoprice devices (USB->CAT6 extenders)... and I think I have had had 1 1.5ft network cable go bad.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Earl Bonovich said:


> Pretty much all my HDMI cables are either the ones that came with my STB's, or monoprice.com.


Ditto. I recommend Monoprice products to friends and family.


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## rsblaski (Jul 6, 2003)

pfp said:


> Under 25' pretty much any brand will do and you really can't beat Monoprice.
> 
> The only exception for me was a 35' run in the walls/ceiling where I went with one from Blue Jeans Cable.


I used a Monoprice 35' for in-wall and have no problems.
Actually the run is much longer as I have my sources running into a switch (Monoprice), the switch running to my avr, my avr running to a wall plate (Monoprice), the interior cable running to another wall plate, and then from the wall plate to my tv. All cables are Monoprice and the picture is perfect.
When we built our house, I did all the wiring myself and got almost everything from Monoprice. If I had gotten Monster, I would have needed a second mortgage, lol.


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## ATARI (May 10, 2007)

Going to sound like a broken record here, but monoprice.com.

Been using a 40' HDMI cable since I got my HR20-100, and no problems of note. I have it paired with a monoproce HDMI switch for going between my HR and blu-ray player.


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## Chrismon1001 (Apr 3, 2011)

I use the Amazon Basics there cheap enough and always up to the latest specs, there not to thin and not too thick. I know there are cheaper cables, but once you put shipping usually comes out around the same price as the amazon cables with a prime account.


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## 1953 (Feb 7, 2006)

Talk about over whelmed..........:eek2:


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## Scott Kocourek (Jun 13, 2009)

Monoprice here, no expensive HDMI cables in the house.


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

I got 10 6' HDMI cables from Amazon for $32.40 (that's right, $3.24 per cable) delivered and I currently have six of them in use. The other two I use came with DirecTV receivers. 

Mike


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## prozone1 (Sep 22, 2007)

Monoprice


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## TBoneit (Jul 27, 2006)

Only one HDMI port on my TV set and it is hooked up to the Media player, Other HD inputs are Component.

That reminds me I tried a 4 port HDMI switcher from Monoprice and when I added a BluRay player, neither sound or picture. Something is getting through since I do not get the no HDMI detected message however. I need to get in-touch with them.


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## Athlon646464 (Feb 23, 2007)

http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-High-Speed-Cable-Meters/dp/B003L1ZYYM/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

$9.99 and they work great. If you order $25 worth of stuff from Amazon, shipping is free and there is no tax. You can't go wrong.


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## Jon J (Apr 22, 2002)

ilikehd2011 said:


> could you please post the link to those cables. i looked on slickdeals but didn't see it. thanks


Slickdeals has it greyed out.

This is the link to the product page but the $3.99 coupon (MLCK5D3W1JNL1) on the two-pack has expired...it's now the full $5.99. Free shipping, though.

http://www.meritline.com/3-pcs-of-6...l-av-cable-28-awg---p-26865.aspx?source=s2010


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## TBoneit (Jul 27, 2006)

One other difference in HDMI cables. The mechanical strength can different. I recently moved my media player and the HDMI plug on the end of the cable came off.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

TBoneit said:


> One other difference in HDMI cables. The mechanical strength can different. I recently moved my media player and the HDMI plug on the end of the cable came off.


The cable snapped at the junction with the plug? Or it fell out of the port? Quite a difference! A plug fitting tight in a port doesn't necessarily mean it's robust.... just that it fits tight; same with reverse.


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## JACKIEGAGA (Dec 11, 2006)

wilbur_the_goose said:


> Monoprice. Inexpensive is the way to go. Stay FAR away from Monster.


I use Monoprice also


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## MysteryMan (May 17, 2010)

TBoneit said:


> One other difference in HDMI cables. The mechanical strength can different. I recently moved my media player and the HDMI plug on the end of the cable came off.


What brand was it?


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## bobnielsen (Jun 29, 2006)

When I got my first HD receiver (H20) from Best Buy, they tried to sell me a >$100 Monster HDMI cable. There were no other nearby sources so I got their cheapest (~$60 AR). One of my DVRs came with a HDMI cable and the others I have all came from Monoprice.


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## ndole (Aug 26, 2009)

As far as shortish distances are concerned, ones and zeros are ones and zeros. I use the cheap ones. Very cheap


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

If I happen to need one soon, I order from Monoprice.

However, there's always deals around from various sites (i.e. 6 for $10), so I usually have some on hand.


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## TomCat (Aug 31, 2002)

Ira Lacher said:


> Stay away from the "better" cables. Unlike analog signals, which can be affected by the cable material's conductivity, HDMI cables transmit a binary signal. That means it's either on or it's not.


That is very true. It also means that the picture quality will be identical. If you can get the cheap cable to work, it does exactly the same job as the expensive cable.

Since the signal path is digital usually from the production house all the way past the HDMI receiver chip in your display, nothing bad (or good) can happen to the PQ (assuming no reception issues) at any point within that delivery system, which includes the HDMI cable at the customer end. That means we all get the exact same PQ all the way inside our displays. PQ can't change without a mathematical operation being performed on the binary coefficients that represent the video, which would be something that can't happen due to a hostile environment, only on purpose by equipment designed to do that (which virtually does not exist in the consumer delivery chain).

That means that there are only three places where PQ can be altered; the production arena itself, the secondary compression from the vendor, and the analog or light-engine part of the consumer's display.


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## NR4P (Jan 16, 2007)

Went to Monoprice but didn't get the very cheapest ones. Since I needed 10' and 12' I spent an extra buck or two on the next larger wire (AWG) size. With twists and turns inside the cabinetry wanted to minimize the possiblity of any deterioration of the internal wires.


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## jes (Apr 21, 2007)

wilbur_the_goose said:


> Monoprice. Inexpensive is the way to go. Stay FAR away from Monster.


add one more vote... It's wire! The signal is digital! ... no black magic there...  As long as the connectors are decent, and Monoprices are, the cable is decent. Monoprice HDMI page

For long custom runs, I've used AVCable. Good quality, materials & assembly. The price is more than Monoprice, but way less than Monster.


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## wilbur_the_goose (Aug 16, 2006)

but doesn't Monster use argon-coated stannus wire that provides superior performance in the digital space? Tell me it isn't so!


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## LI-SVT (May 18, 2006)

1953 said:


> Since I most probably will be buying one or more new HDMI cables thought it might be a good idea to poll you folks regarding the price range category, supposed quality and brand.
> 
> Please participate in this poll and followup comment segment.
> 
> Thanks!


I used the cables that came in the box. They work great.


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## Athlon646464 (Feb 23, 2007)

wilbur_the_goose said:


> but doesn't Monster use argon-coated stannus wire that provides superior performance in the digital space? Tell me it isn't so!


From Wikipedia:

"Argon is used to displace oxygen- and moisture-containing air in packaging material to extend the shelf-lives of the contents. Aerial oxidation, hydrolysis, and other chemical reactions which degrade the products are retarded or prevented entirely. Bottles of high-purity chemicals and certain pharmaceutical products are available in sealed bottles or ampoules packed in argon. In wine making, argon is used to top-off barrels to avoid the aerial oxidation of ethanol to acetic acid during the aging process."

So, if your equipment is in a very humid environment, or under water, it might make sense to pay the extra $100 per foot.

Not.


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## Santi360HD (Oct 6, 2008)

For my DirecTV NON DVR HD box...I use the HDMI cable that came in the box..and have not used anything other than that. So I do not know what brand it is no markings on it. It is a 6 foot cable

My Xbox 360 I use the Microsoft HDMI cable
http://www.amazon.com/Xbox-360-HDMI-Cable/dp/B000UODATY

My PS3 I use a Radio Shack 10Foot HDMI 
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11127245&CAWELAID=747645294

Other Room
My Sony Blu Ray player BDP-S580 I use same Radio Shack house brand 10 footer.

My Time Warner Cable Box (yes I have both D* and TWC) the hdmi provided by TWC is a brand called ppc --> again an HDMI i didnt buy one for it. 
http://www.manifest-tech.com/images/ce_gallery/peripherals/PPC-Locking-HDMI-Cable.jpg
Their HD NON DVR box in NYC is made by Samsung..pic below
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.hdbeat.com/media/2006/09/samsung-tuner.jpg

Ive heard all the ramblings on how Best Buy whores you to try and get their HDMI cables (monster in specific) in anything you buy, in one case they scolded me for not buying one I responded to him how Im like I'm ahead of the game so settle down there jr....

I remember once going into the store to buy a RGB cable for my mom...(she is still on a glass TV tube) since her tv actually has red/green/blu connectors and picture looks better than putting the TV to ch3. and the BBuy rep said we dont carry those they're obsolete and tried to get me to $$$get an HD screen..I'm like hmm whats that over there...found red/green/blue connectors along with older school yellow red & white...Bought that too cause I needed audio cables to go with my RGB...the sales guy looked at me like I shouldnt be buying those things im like what planet are you on..I said you should be trying to make money off me any way you can, dont deter me from buying something clearly within eyeball range...you can suggest a new product but dont outright lie when i see it hanging on the rack RIGHT there..

same thing happend once I went looking for a PC fan a 10 dollar item and rep tried to push me a whole new PC.. idiot!

I find I have absolutely no issue with picture quality on my 2 HD sets (both are Samsung 32 Inch and a 46 inch LCD non LED and non 3D) I am happy with all my cables...so Ive never gone shopping cause i believed one brand of HDMI was better than the other..


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## dpfaunts (Oct 17, 2006)

Monoprice or Amazon HDMI cables work great.


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## mluntz (Jul 13, 2006)

Yes, I was one of those fools that bought a $100 Monster cable a long time ago! Now, I just use what comes in the box, or amazon or monoprice.

There is no difference in quality! You either get it or you don't!


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## wilbur_the_goose (Aug 16, 2006)

I needed an HDMI right away once and bought a Sony HDMI cable from WalMart - works great.


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## phodg (Jan 20, 2007)

Monoprice. Or whatever's in the box if one is supplied.


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## cawgijoe (Dec 22, 2005)

I use Monoprice HDMI cables. They are well built and cheap and they work great!


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## CliffV (Jan 24, 2006)

I got my HDMI cables from firefold.com. They work great. A couple years back I cleaned up the clutter in my TV cabinet and got all new cables at just the right length. Firefold offers cables in several lengths.


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## Nighthawk68 (Oct 14, 2004)

I use a few $59 & $79 Monster HDMI cables.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

I get mine from Amazon since I have Amazon Prime, no shipping costs. I see no difference in any of them on my twelve HRs.

Rich


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## egakagoc2xi (Jul 1, 2010)

wilbur_the_goose said:


> Monoprice. Inexpensive is the way to go. Stay FAR away from Monster.


There isn't much diference, so the cheaper the better


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## Alebob911 (Mar 22, 2007)

I have a $250 Monster HDMI and then my monoprice.com HDMI cable W/ net jacket and I can not tell any difference in PQ. I got the monster when I bought my TV because i was uneducated about HDMI. I will not ever pay for a monster cable again. I ran a 50' HDMI to DVI in my friends theater and there is zero issues and outstanding PQ from his projector and that cable was 40 bucks! I think you may see the trend of this thread. Monoprice is a great cable for most everyone needs. Oh and yes all my stuff has monoprice.com cables now. 

oh and they have a bunch of other cool stuff there too!


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## bpratt (Nov 24, 2005)

I created my own MRV long before it was available by using short Monoprice HDMI cables from each of my DVRs to a Monoprice Switch, then to a Monoprice Splitter, and long Monoprice HDMI cables to each of the 3 HDTVs in the house. The longest cable is 55 feet which is made up of a Monoprice 30 foot connected to a Monoprice 25 foot cable. Never had any problem with signal quality on any TV and I can watch any recorded show from any DVR on any TV without having to pay for MRV.


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## 1953 (Feb 7, 2006)

Support for brands, namely Monoprice, other than Monster has truly enlightened me. I remain curious about Monster's strategy when it comes to their HDMI competition. To this end I have send Monster support the following.

"_I've been a loyal Monster customer for over 15 years. Whether it is power protection, composite, component, audio, amd HDMI I've got them all. Now that it is time to purchase a couple of new HDMI's my research, including surveying 187 other audio video enthusiast, has shocked me. I am sorry to say that by far Monster is not the HDMI of choice. Monoprice is the overwhelming choice.

It is because of my long term loyalty that I must ask why should I stay with Monster HDMI's?_"

Note that I do realize asking Monster to respond to such a query is most probably sheer folly. Knowing Monster's marketing history if a reply is received it will be filled with 'whiz bang' jargon.

My only defense for spending so much on Monster HDMI's is that their quality of pre-HDMI's cables hooked me on the brand.:nono:


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## Athlon646464 (Feb 23, 2007)

1953 said:


> Support for brands, namely Monoprice, other than Monster has truly enlightened me. As a retired Logistician I remain curious about Monster's strategy when it comes to their HDMI competition. To this end I have send Monster support the following.
> 
> "_I've been a loyal Monster customer for over 15 years. Whether it is power protection, composite, component, audio, amd HDMI I've got them all. Now that it is time to purchase a couple of new HDMI's my research, including surveying 187 other audio video enthusiast, has shocked me. I am sorry to say that by far Monster is not the HDMI of choice. Monoprice is the overwhelming choice.
> 
> ...


I'm surprised they let you email them for free. :lol:

Glad you learned something here. I usually do nearly every day.......


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

If you get a response, it likely would be some technical mumbo jumbo. In the past, theyve been known to have displays at Best Buy, "can you spot the Monster difference?" It was very obviously better, but what they didn't tell you was that the Monster side was HDMI, the non Monster side was RCA or svideo. Or if both displays were hdmi, the tv settings weren't the same.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

dpeters11 said:


> If you get a response, it likely would be some technical mumbo jumbo. In the past, theyve been known to have displays at Best Buy, "can you spot the Monster difference?" It was very obviously better, but what they didn't tell you was that the Monster side was HDMI, the non Monster side was RCA or svideo. Or if both displays were hdmi, the tv settings weren't the same.


Well, at least they'll be heirlooms, well made, still in use by the grandchildren fifty years from now. That is, if the technology doesn't obsolesce them by then....


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## wingrider01 (Sep 9, 2005)

RunnerFL said:


> Because they have about a 400% markup on their prices. Go with monoprice.com. They have better cables for a lower price.


I tihnk you missed a copy zeros on that percentage :lol:


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## bwaldron (Oct 24, 2005)

I can also recommend Monoprice. Lots better ways to spend an A/V hardware budget than expensive cables.


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## electrober6 (Feb 20, 2011)

LI-SVT said:


> I used the cables that came in the box. They work great.


+1


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## haggis444 (Jan 21, 2004)

How does a "better quality" HDMI cable deliver a better 0 or 1? Is the 0 more round with Monster cable, the 1 more straight? I always enjoy the arguments from uneducated consumers around HDMI cables. Maybe the better quality ones are more durable, or they have better shielding, but no one will ever convince me that a Monster cable brand can do better than a equivalent Monoprice cable. Gauge is gauge, jacket is jacket. Go with a decent gauge Monoprice cable and never look back.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

haggis444 said:


> How does a "better quality" HDMI cable deliver a better 0 or 1? Is the 0 more round with Monster cable, the 1 more straight? I always enjoy the arguments from uneducated consumers around HDMI cables. Maybe the better quality ones are more durable, or they have better shielding, but no one will ever convince me that a Monster cable brand can do better than a equivalent Monoprice cable. Gauge is gauge, jacket is jacket. Go with a decent gauge Monoprice cable and never look back.


Well, if you match them up with digital speakers, on digital speaker stands and have an all digital coffee table, you can almost hear the difference!!:eek2:


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

haggis444 said:


> How does a "better quality" HDMI cable deliver a better 0 or 1? Is the 0 more round with Monster cable, the 1 more straight?


They're not rounder or straighter. They're _shinier_.


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## B Newt (Aug 12, 2007)

Fry's has a 6ft HDMI 1.3 cable on sale for $1.97. Made by Shaxon.


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## richall01 (Sep 30, 2007)

GE cables from Target works for me.


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## SPACEMAKER (Dec 11, 2007)

6ft 28AWG High Speed HDMI Cable w/Ferrite Cores from MONOPRICE.

Great cables for around $3.00 each.


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## joed32 (Jul 27, 2006)

NR4P said:


> Went to Monoprice but didn't get the very cheapest ones. Since I needed 10' and 12' I spent an extra buck or two on the next larger wire (AWG) size. With twists and turns inside the cabinetry wanted to minimize the possiblity of any deterioration of the internal wires.


If I have one problem with Monoprice it's that their cables are sometimes too thick and heavy for certain applications and not flexible enough. It's because they are so well built.


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## justinkwaugh (Aug 11, 2009)

I have monoprice flat hdmi cables in my walls. One 20' and one 30'. The ones between all my equipment are a mix of monoprice and amazon. Amazon I find to generally be a better deal due to the free shipping (plus it ships a lot faster to the east coast than monoprice)


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## jeffshoaf (Jun 17, 2006)

hilmar2k said:


> Audio and video are different. For video, digital is definitely better, has to be. What you see when using an HDMI cable is exactly what is supposed to be seen. There can be no variation.


That's not exactly true... Although the signal is digital (as everyone always says, "1's and 0's") the signal going through the the HDMI cable is an analog representation of that digital signal - the 1's are represented by a specified voltage level and the 0's are represented by another specified voltage level, with a specified range of variations allowed for each. The signal must transition between those two values with a distinct "edge" between the two levels.

It's possible for a cable to have enough capacitance to resist the transition between the two levels and cause the "edge" to have too much slope or to slow down the transition enough that it never reaches one or the other level so that the receiving device doesn't detect the transition, causing error rates high enough to cause issues.

Of course, even the cheapest monoprice and blue jeans cables HDMI cables are more than good enough to not have these problems, especially for the relatively short runs most of us are using. I'm using both the cheap HDMI cables DirecTV used to provide with their DVRs and Monoprice cables w/o any issues!


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

1953 said:


> Support for brands, namely Monoprice, other than Monster has truly enlightened me. I remain curious about Monster's strategy when it comes to their HDMI competition. To this end I have send Monster support the following.
> 
> "_I've been a loyal Monster customer for over 15 years. Whether it is power protection, composite, component, audio, amd HDMI I've got them all. Now that it is time to purchase a couple of new HDMI's my research, including surveying 187 other audio video enthusiast, has shocked me. I am sorry to say that by far Monster is not the HDMI of choice. Monoprice is the overwhelming choice.
> 
> ...


It's not only Monster HDMI cables that are overpriced and don't work any better than any other similar device sold by other folks, it's their whole line of BS products. If they bought Toyota, you'd be paying $100,000 for a Prius. They just overprice everything they make and trust in the lemmings of this country to blindly follow the other uninformed lemmings and buy their stuff. You've just scratched the surface with the HDMI cables.

Rich


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

Monoprice. Others I have used are the free ones that come with components. Have yet to have a bad one of either.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

haggis444 said:


> How does a "better quality" HDMI cable deliver a better 0 or 1? Is the 0 more round with Monster cable, the 1 more straight? I always enjoy the arguments from uneducated consumers around HDMI cables. Maybe the better quality ones are more durable, or they have better shielding, but no one will ever convince me that a Monster cable brand can do better than a equivalent Monoprice cable. Gauge is gauge, jacket is jacket. Go with a decent gauge Monoprice cable and never look back.


Guage is guage, but insulation (jacket as you refer to it) does make a difference in wiring. But, I've put monster cables (wiring) on every meter we had and could find no difference in the insulation. So your comparison does hold true, at least in my experience, as far as the cables go. Using that as a benchmark, I've assumed that the rest of the stuff they sell follows the same pattern. I've never bench tested a Monster HDMI cable, but I see absolutely no difference in PQ using the cheap HDMI cables I buy on Amazon than the horribly overpriced HDMI Monster cables.

Rich


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

Monster is the same BS that the audiophile people used with those 8 and 10 gauge power cables to plug in their amps costing hundreds of dollars. What the people buying them never bothered to realize, is that the wiring in the wall to the power box was still the same old unshielded thin wire. They would have been better off hardwiring their amp to the power box with romex for $30.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

justinkwaugh said:


> I have monoprice flat hdmi cables in my walls. One 20' and one 30'. The ones between all my equipment are a mix of monoprice and amazon. Amazon I find to generally be a better deal due to the free shipping (plus it ships a lot faster to the east coast than monoprice)


Monoprice does have some almost laughable shipping prices. I also have Amazon Prime and get my cabling and just about everything else from them.

Rich


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Davenlr said:


> Monster is the same BS that the audiophile people used with those 8 and 10 gauge power cables to plug in their amps costing hundreds of dollars. What the people buying them never bothered to realize, is that the wiring in the wall to the power box was still the same old unshielded thin wire. They would have been better off hardwiring their amp to the power box with romex for $30.


I know this makes me sound hypocritical, but I do use Monster wiring for my speakers for the most part, only because they are so flexible. I've looked for cheaper wire rolls that were as flexible, but haven't found any. I used to use Alpha wiring at work where the price didn't matter to me, but they are expensive too. So, occasionally, I pick up a hundred foot roll of Monster 14 gauge for about $60-$80 on sale, and hope no one I know sees me do it...:lol:

Rich


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

I still use Zip cord (lamp cord) for my speaker wiring.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Davenlr said:


> I still use Zip cord (lamp cord) for my speaker wiring.


It's really not as flexible. I don't know how they get it that flexible, but it lies flat and seems to have no limitations on the radius of it's bends. As far as functionality goes, you are correct. But you bend 14AWG zip cord and it slowly reverts to it's original shape. I've even stripped SS cord and tried that on speakers and the wiring just isn't as flexible.

Rich


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## TBoneit (Jul 27, 2006)

Laxguy said:


> The cable snapped at the junction with the plug? Or it fell out of the port? Quite a difference! A plug fitting tight in a port doesn't necessarily mean it's robust.... just that it fits tight; same with reverse.


The Plug itself was still plugged into the device. The wire pulled out of the plug.

Definitely the cable was not a robust mechanical connection to the plugs.


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## dirtyblueshirt (Dec 7, 2008)

Has anyone mentioned monoprice.com yet?


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## moxie1617 (Nov 15, 2005)

Within the rack I use parts-express.com, the monoprice cables are too stiff. My 2M cable is from monoprice.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

Monoprice end of discussion. I used to buy monster, when i got a massive discount (or some for free) that made them the same prices as a monoprice cable, and they give me the same quality as the monoprice ones. the monster ones usually retailed for $100.00 or more that I got, vs say $10 at monoprice... What does that tell you?

Also, I have used on that is 100ft long from monoprice, and it did fine... I personally like their flat hdmi cables...


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## hilmar2k (Mar 18, 2007)

jeffshoaf said:


> That's not exactly true... Although the signal is digital (as everyone always says, "1's and 0's") the signal going through the the HDMI cable is an analog representation of that digital signal - the 1's are represented by a specified voltage level and the 0's are represented by another specified voltage level, with a specified range of variations allowed for each. The signal must transition between those two values with a distinct "edge" between the two levels.
> 
> It's possible for a cable to have enough capacitance to resist the transition between the two levels and cause the "edge" to have too much slope or to slow down the transition enough that it never reaches one or the other level so that the receiving device doesn't detect the transition, causing error rates high enough to cause issues.
> 
> Of course, even the cheapest monoprice and blue jeans cables HDMI cables are more than good enough to not have these problems, especially for the relatively short runs most of us are using. I'm using both the cheap HDMI cables DirecTV used to provide with their DVRs and Monoprice cables w/o any issues!


That may all be true, but any issues in the signal will result in a pixel that is blank (generally white), not incorrect. As I have said, if the pixel is on, it is 100% correct. There simply cannot be any imperfection.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

hilmar2k said:


> That may all be true, but any issues in the signal will result in a pixel that is blank (generally white), not incorrect. As I have said, if the pixel is on, it is 100% correct. There simply cannot be any imperfection.


It's practically impossible for there to be single-pixel errors in an HDMI signal. If the signal gets screwed up at all, it simply won't display.


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## Game Fan (Sep 8, 2007)

I've only bought HDMI cables from Monoprice. Never had an issue, either. They make good quality stuff and sell it for reasonable prices.


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## m4p (Apr 12, 2007)

Mine are from Monoprice as well. Never had any issues. I just can't see paying a lot of money for something that has a name brand that is basically the same cable.


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## hilmar2k (Mar 18, 2007)

Jeremy W said:


> It's practically impossible for there to be single-pixel errors in an HDMI signal. If the signal gets screwed up at all, it simply won't display.


Not true.

Google "HDMI sparkles".


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

hilmar2k said:


> Not true.
> 
> Google "HDMI sparkles".


I was (and I thought you were) referring to a single pixel getting "stuck" as white. I'm aware of sparkles, but they occur on many different pixels.


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## mashandhogan (Dec 21, 2010)

Cheap... 1st thing on "cheap search" on fleabay. All HDMI cables are the same


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

mashandhogan said:


> Cheap... 1st thing on "cheap search" on fleabay. All HDMI cables are the same


Well, no, they aren't! Some are of better quality, last longer, etc.

That said, over 90% of us use cheap ones. I have several spares in case the shoddier ones break or get damaged. One of them cost ten cents when included in one of my Amazon orders. No Monster has ever graced my dwelling, though I have a couple that are "gold plated".....


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Laxguy said:


> Well, no, they aren't! Some are of better quality, last longer, etc.
> 
> That said, over 90% of us use cheap ones. I have several spares in case the shoddier ones break or get damaged. One of them cost ten cents when included in one of my Amazon orders. No Monster has ever graced my dwelling, though I have a couple that are "gold plated".....


Wonder what gold plating does? Gold isn't the best conductor.

Rich


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## hilmar2k (Mar 18, 2007)

Jeremy W said:


> I was (and I thought you were) referring to a single pixel getting "stuck" as white. I'm aware of sparkles, but they occur on many different pixels.


I was replyinjg to this:



Jeremy W said:


> It's practically impossible for there to be single-pixel errors in an HDMI signal. *If the signal gets screwed up at all, it simply won't display*.


My point was that it isn't "all or nothing", it is quite possible for some quantity (other than "all") of the pixels to have an issue, and that if a pixel isn't perfect, it is not there.


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## Athlon646464 (Feb 23, 2007)

rich584 said:


> Wonder what gold plating does? Gold isn't the best conductor.
> 
> Rich


Actually, gold is one of the best conductors there is at room temperature.

Its value, however, lies in its ability to resist corrosion. You will find gold plating on circuit board edge connectors and on the pins and sockets of IC's that plug in as well as on cables used in A/V setups. The gold plating, which is only a few atoms thick, makes for pretty much worry free connections.

In general, many "standard" applications will work just fine without the need for more expensive gold-plated cable, however.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Athlon646464 said:


> Actually, gold is one of the best conductors there is at room temperature.


Silver is a much better conductor and so is copper. I just broke out my Electrician's Handbook and verified that. There's another table hidden in the Handbook that rates a lot of materials for conductivity, but I can't find it. The table I'm looking at rates gold as the fifth best conductor behind silver and four types of copper. The difference is in the percentage of conductivity where silver is rated at 108% and gold is rated at 72%.



> Its value, however, lies in its ability to resist corrosion. You will find gold plating on circuit board edge connectors and on the pins and sockets of IC's that plug in as well as on cables used in A/V setups. The gold plating, which is only a few atoms thick, makes for pretty much worry free connections.


That, I'll buy.



> In general, many "standard" applications will work just fine without the need for more expensive gold-plated cable, however.


Again, I'll agree.


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## Athlon646464 (Feb 23, 2007)

I think we agree, Rich. I said gold "is _one_ of the best". The anti-corrosive properties would be the more valuable quality, especially in humid conditions for long term installations.


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## Laxguy (Dec 2, 2010)

Athlon646464 said:


> I think we agree, Rich. I said gold "is _one_ of the best". The anti-corrosive properties would be the more valuable quality, especially in humid conditions for long term installations.


Oh, no!!! The value is being able to mention to friends and lovers that you're a gold plated kind of guy.....:lol: And I agree on the corrosion resistance, fwiw. The cables that contain gold were still under $10.00


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

"Athlon646464" said:


> I think we agree, Rich. I said gold "is one of the best". The anti-corrosive properties would be the more valuable quality, especially in humid conditions for long term installations.


I haven't looked closely enough at my own equipment, but do most have gold connectors? If both parts of the connection are gold, that would be a benefit. If the metal is mismatched, that wouldn't be good.


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## jes (Apr 21, 2007)

joed32 said:


> If I have one problem with Monoprice it's that their cables are sometimes too thick and heavy for certain applications and not flexible enough. It's because they are so well built.


I ordered a few of the thicker 24 ga jacketed HDMI cables from Monoprice and like you found them pretty inflexible. If you add an 8inch 28AWG Port Saver you don't need as much clearance to the rear and you can plug them in before you set the equipment on the shelf. HDMI jacks are pretty intolerant of misalignment so it really helps if you can hold both connectors instead of trying to plug in an HDMI cable blindly into the back of your equipment... $1.70 is cheap insurance compared to replacing a broken HDMI jack... :eek2:


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## hasan (Sep 22, 2006)

Monoprice. I have at least 10 of them here, the longest of which is 30', and cost me all of 13 bucks. Works perfectly.

As far as the cables at Wally World go, while they are much less expensive than other retail outlets, they are inferior as far as I'm concerned. Any HDMI cable without RF chokes on each end is not acceptable here, and virtually all of the cables from Monoprice have said RF chokes.

My home theater lives in a high RF environment, and also has very low noise figure radio receivers. I can't afford "bleats" and "burbles" killing the weak signals I'm looking for. (some of which are 20 dB *below* ambient noise conditions. Digital devices tend to be quite noisy (RF-wise). The RF chokes on the end of each cable kills the ability of the hdmi cable to act like an antenna for either receiving or transmittting.

I'm able to put the devices in the presence of a transmitter running 1000 watts output at a distance of only 30' from the transmitting antenna and have no transmitted induced interference. Similarly, I don't get any birdies from the home theater. I do get some from the associated computers in the house, which is a tougher problem (lots more chokes required) to solve.

Monoprice is a high quality cable for a very low price and there service is terrific.


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## joed32 (Jul 27, 2006)

dpeters11 said:


> I haven't looked closely enough at my own equipment, but do most have gold connectors? If both parts of the connection are gold, that would be a benefit. If the metal is mismatched, that wouldn't be good.


Not all cables but all plug in circuit boards do. Gold over copper is the best combination of conductivity and shelf life. Once the boards are installed they'll last indefinitely but sitting in the open air for years can cause intermetallics where the coating and the copper will start to leach into each other. That's why we store them in plastic bags with a dessicant. Other coatings would work but wouldn't last as long as gold.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

Thanks. I was thinking back in the "old" computer days when we used SIMMs, and you had to make sure to get the right module, either with tin or gold contacts to match the motherboard.


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## joed32 (Jul 27, 2006)

dpeters11 said:


> Thanks. I was thinking back in the "old" computer days when we used SIMMs, and you had to make sure to get the right module, either with tin or gold contacts to match the motherboard.


That's right, back in the good old days.


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## Jon J (Apr 22, 2002)

joed32 said:


> That's right, back in the good old days.


You mean back when my IBM PC sported 64K RAM?


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## joed32 (Jul 27, 2006)

First computer was an Atari 400 with 8k.


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## xmguy (Mar 27, 2008)

I use Amazon cables. I have a 25 Ft that works great.


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## SFNSXguy (Apr 17, 2006)

http://pacificcable.com/

One of the A/V world's "best kept' secrets.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

SFNSXguy said:


> http://pacificcable.com/
> 
> One of the A/V world's "best kept' secrets.


Umm, maybe it's best if that secret stays kept. I can walk into Best Buy and pick up an HDMI cable for less than half of what they're charging. That means their prices are outrageous.


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## dirtyblueshirt (Dec 7, 2008)

Jeremy W said:


> Umm, maybe it's best if that secret stays kept. I can walk into Best Buy and pick up an HDMI cable for less than half of what they're charging. That means their prices are outrageous.


+1 :lol:


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## Scott Kocourek (Jun 13, 2009)

SFNSXguy said:


> One of the A/V world's "best kept' secrets.


I would keep it a secret too, $28 for a 1 Meter HDMI cable, no thank you.


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Athlon646464 said:


> I think we agree, Rich. I said gold "is _one_ of the best". The anti-corrosive properties would be the more valuable quality, especially in humid conditions for long term installations.


Agreeing is good...:lol:

Rich


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## Athlon646464 (Feb 23, 2007)

rich584 said:


> Agreeing is good...:lol:
> 
> Rich


I'll have to think about whether or not I agree with that.........

(just kidding :smoking

Here is a link to a video produced just today about cables at Maximum Tech Magazine. At about 4:40 he gets into 'active' hdmi cables.

http://bcove.me/mmazbhwy

I'm not sure I agree with everything he says here, but interesting non-the-less........


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## Rich (Feb 22, 2007)

Athlon646464 said:


> I'll have to think about whether or not I agree with that.........
> 
> (just kidding :smoking
> 
> ...


I've never heard of the "active" cables, good to know. Don't seem to have any problems with mine, but active always seems to be better than passive in any device. Thanx for the link. I didn't disagree with anything he said.

Rich


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