HDMI Cable Conspiracy!

[bigjohnzzz]

I buy an HDTV with 4 HDMI connections, 2 or 3 Component connections, and some number (I don't care) of S-Video and A/V cable connections. What kind of cable is in the box? An A/V cable!

I buy an upconverting DVD player with a great big "HDMI" logo on the box and what kind of cable does it come with? An A/V cable!

I upgrade my satellite receiver for HD and what kind of cable does it come with? An A/V cable!

WTF!?!?!?!?

[clownsj]

So buy a couple of hdmi cables on ebay for a few bucks. What's the real problem?

[TomBot]

he's right its stupid but we've come to expect it. i still remember the first time printers stopped coming with cables. i almost didn't buy it in protest when the cashier tried to 'upsell' me on a cable... i told her there was surely a cable in the box, and she corrected me... um, she was right! i then asked sarcastically if there was a power cable in there?! we all chuckled but mark my words, in 5 yrs you will also need to buy a power chord for that dvd, tv, printer...

[bigjohnzzz]

hee, hee ... Buy a TV from Prestige Camera (who I was considering until I did the research). They open the manufacturer's box, remove the power cord, remove the stand, and tell you "those items aren't included - you have to pay extra".

I'm sure they've got HDMI cables available for about $50/each.

[jamoctopus]

You should go buy some monster cables.
The're reallyyy good.

[Hillbilly61]

The home theater geeks over at avsforum.com swear by the cables sold by HDMI Cable, Home Theater Accessories, HDMI Products, Cables, Adapters, Video/Audio Switch, Networking, USB, Firewire, Printer Toner, and more!. You can get all sorts of cables there. A 3ft HDMI will cost around $7 ... a 5' one for under $9.

[quiksilver38]

frys always has HDMI cables at crack head pricing i just got a 10' or so for $8 i saw them one time for $4.... i wish i had bought five of them <sigh>

[couponmeup]

I am actually pondering if cheap HDMI cables are as "good" as expensive ones...

I run one of each in different rooms and just thing I got ripped off.

[Bollini]

I have always had real good luck with various cables purchased at monoprice.com. Quality is good, shipping time is good, selection is good. When cables cost more than the sending component...something is fishy.

[ChristianTTI]

Don't buy expensive HDMI cables! HDMI is a standard. If the cables don't meet the minimum requirements of the standard, they wouldn't be HDMI cables! There are, however, different versions of the standard - according to hdmi.org: "For Adopters, the latest HDMI Specification is v1.3a and the latest HDMI Compliance Test Specification (CTS) is 1.3c." As long as you buy a v1.3 cable, you are getting what is needed for the latest in HD video and audio.

Buying a Monster (or other premium manufacturer) cable made sense in the days of analog data. Analog data quality is directly dependent on signal to noise ratio, and any interference will degrade signal quality. Therefore, well constructed, well shielded cables provide cleaner signals, especially over long runs.

Digital information is different. In comes in packets that are sent multiple times. For an ATSC broadcast, if you receive about 70% or more of the information that was sent, the decoder can reconstruct the entire signal. If the interference is too severe, blocks of information will be lost (this is why audio gets choppy and video breaks into rectangles), rather than "static" interference in analog devices (in analog, the interference is always present - the more interference, the more "static").

If you don't see your image breaking into blocks or hear audio dropping out, you are likely getting as good of a signal as possible on your HD device (i.e., TV). Buying a more expensive cable cannot improve upon this.

The first few HDMI devices I purchased included the HDMI cable (these were upconverting DVD players about a year and a half ago). I have since purchased the cheapest HDMI cables I could find (at Fry's & online) for any further needs.