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Is it worth buying an expensive HDMI? |
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#1 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 24
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Is it worth buying an expensive HDMI?
Hi,
I have just got a new Samsung TV set up with Sky. I did a home set up and used the HDMI lead that Sky provided. A friend of mine said that a more expensive lead will give a better picture. Is there any truth to this? I do have a good picture but if I can get it even a little sharper I will change my lead as I am a bit fussy when it comes to perfection. Thanks |
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#2 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Reading
Posts: 27,926
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There is no truth whatsoever in 99.99999999999% of the claims made about HDMI leads. No bit of wire can make the blacks more black or the colour more lifelike and vibrant. What a poor cable can do though is mangle the digital data so the TV can't tell if it is getting a 1 or a 0 which is usually not subtle.
The only requirement for a cable is that the digital data that goes in one end comes out the other in exactly the same order. As long as the cable does that the resulting picture will be identical whether you payed 10p for the cable or 10 trillion quid. |
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#3 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Redditch Worcs
Posts: 17,296
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Go round to your friends taking your HDMI lead with you. Send him/her out of the room and swap the cables on a random basis
![]() Get him/her back and ask which one is in use. Record the results. He/Her has been conned big time. If your local Poundshop has hdmi leads in stock add one of these to the mix. You may well find the £1.00 special gets the thumbs up. It's amazing how gullible people are imagining spending £60.00 on a digital lead is going to make the picture better than a £1.00 one. It will either work 100% or the picture will be horrendous or non existent.. There's no halfway point with digital. |
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#4 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 24
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OK Guys, thanks for the info
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#5 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Scotland
Posts: 15,714
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The only time you need a high quality HDMI cable is when you need it to be very long, at 1 or 2 metres it makes no difference at all.
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#6 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Reading
Posts: 27,926
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Quote:
It's amazing how gullible people are imagining spending £60.00 on a digital lead is going to make the picture better than a £1.00 one. It will either work 100% or the picture will be horrendous or non existent.. There's no halfway point with digital.
http://www.futureshop.co.uk/wireworl...3m-p-3473.html And that's not the most expensive cable they do. The 20 metre version is an eye watering £7200. What is that old saying about more money than brain cells?
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#7 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Redditch Worcs
Posts: 17,296
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Quote:
If 60 quid is gullible then what the hell is someone who spends nearly one and a half grand on a bit of wire!
http://www.futureshop.co.uk/wireworl...3m-p-3473.html And that's not the most expensive cable they do. The 20 metre version is an eye watering £7200. What is that old saying about more money than brain cells? ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() .
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#8 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 6,572
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Quote:
Go round to your friends taking your HDMI lead with you. Send him/her out of the room and swap the cables on a random basis
![]() Get him/her back and ask which one is in use. Record the results. He/Her has been conned big time. If your local Poundshop has hdmi leads in stock add one of these to the mix. You may well find the £1.00 special gets the thumbs up. It's amazing how gullible people are imagining spending £60.00 on a digital lead is going to make the picture better than a £1.00 one. It will either work 100% or the picture will be horrendous or non existent.. There's no halfway point with digital. I didn't tell him I was doing it, waited for the right moment to strike up a conversation based on how good his picture was etc. He took the bait, hook, line and sinker.....When I told him what I had done he became very sheepish. My Sister thought it was hilarious....He's not bragged about his expensive gear since....
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#9 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 783
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Quote:
Ha! Ha! I did this to my Brother-in-law a couple of years ago.
I didn't tell him I was doing it, waited for the right moment to strike up a conversation based on how good his picture was etc. He took the bait, hook, line and sinker.....When I told him what I had done he became very sheepish. My Sister thought it was hilarious....He's not bragged about his expensive gear since.... ![]() ![]() ![]()
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#10 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 24,124
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No.
Better quality ones will work over a slightly longer distance, because the cable construction means dispersion isnt as bad, but it's marginal. Ones from pound shops are fine. |
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#11 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Cambridge
Posts: 13,064
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Why people think expensive cables are better: The cashebo effect.
Why certain shops always try so hard to sell them to you: They have a much higher mark-up on them than the TVs and other devices they sell. ------------------------------------------------------------------- This is very interesting: Digital Foundry versus HDMI |
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#12 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 8,622
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Only if you need to route a wire across the house...
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#13 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Caledonia
Posts: 5,687
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PcPro carries a story about this issue this month.
I was a victim of this rip-off before I learned the truth. I am the not-so-proud owner of an £80 HDMI 1.4 cable. ![]() It does look very nice and is very well made though. Having said that, I did have a cheap HDMI cable that seemed to affect my wireless network. Poor shielding maybe? |
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#14 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: The Sunny Side Of The Street
Posts: 40,106
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I got mine for a fiver in Argos. Poundland didn't have any.
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#15 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Merseyside
Posts: 583
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Only came unstuck once with HDMI cables
Bought a 20 meter for £17 and used to connect the PC to the TV. Moved all the equipment into the living room less the PC and used that same cable to connect from the amp to the tv Could not get 1080p or 3D to work properly, only 1080i. So for distance, yeah a more expensive cable will help prevent signal degredation. 1m to 3m cables, dont get conned, less chance of signal issues and any cable will work. Dont pay monster prices......
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#16 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: DAVEVILLE, Daveshire DA1 1VE
Posts: 33,621
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Quote:
PcPro carries a story about this issue this month.
I was a victim of this rip-off before I learned the truth. I am the not-so-proud owner of an £80 HDMI 1.4 cable. ![]() It does look very nice and is very well made though. Having said that, I did have a cheap HDMI cable that seemed to affect my wireless network. Poor shielding maybe? Some of the issues people get with their PVRs are down to HDMI cables not being properly shielded and causing interference to the RF aerial input. However, the ones from Poundland are properly shielded and (the two I bought) don't cause any RF interference that the one supplied with my PVR did. I also have a couple of 2m HDMI cables from Amazon, each cost a couple of quid, and they too are excellent. |
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#17 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: S.West England.
Posts: 18,037
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I have seen picture interference between an aerial cable and HDMI. But the fault was not with the HDMI - it was the aerial cord that needed replacing. Once this was done, there was no interference, even when the cables were touching.
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#18 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 24,124
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Yeah, well, HDMI uses current loop, like phone wires & USB. But coax is subject to shield induction, if used wrongly.
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#19 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: berks
Posts: 1,644
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And don;t forget to make sure you get the HDMI lead the right way round !!!! - Its soooo important !
"IMPORTANT: Please observe the correct cable orientation during installation. The cable is marked with an arrow "→" which indicates signal direction. e.g. Bluray/DVD → AV Receiver→ TV/Projector " LINK Still if you've been able to convince them 1400 quid will provide a superior experience, adding a bit more BS should be no problem and can only help build the mystique |
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#20 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Nailsworth, Gloucestershire
Posts: 10,410
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Quote:
And don;t forget to make sure you get the HDMI lead the right way round !!!! - Its soooo important !
"IMPORTANT: Please observe the correct cable orientation during installation. The cable is marked with an arrow "→" which indicates signal direction. e.g. Bluray/DVD → AV Receiver→ TV/Projector " LINK Still if you've been able to convince them 1400 quid will provide a superior experience, adding a bit more BS should be no problem and can only help build the mystique When we had our Home Cinema system installed, they used Chord HDMI SuperShield cables, which also has the direction arrows! Mind you, I got them "free" as part of the installation, so they were well worth the price I paid for them!
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#21 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: London
Posts: 8,651
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I got conned into a £45 one, knowing no better. The next one was £4.99 (also from Curry's).
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#22 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 23
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Quote:
And don;t forget to make sure you get the HDMI lead the right way round !!!! - Its soooo important !
"IMPORTANT: Please observe the correct cable orientation during installation. The cable is marked with an arrow "→" which indicates signal direction. e.g. Bluray/DVD → AV Receiver→ TV/Projector " LINK Still if you've been able to convince them 1400 quid will provide a superior experience, adding a bit more BS should be no problem and can only help build the mystique But if you don't use the correct orientation the 1's and 0's might get confused and try to go the wrong way
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#23 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 107
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Quote:
But if you don't use the correct orientation the 1's and 0's might get confused and try to go the wrong way
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#24 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Buckingham
Posts: 28,597
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Does that come with the fine grid to pre-sort the thin ones from the fat zeroes ready for correct processing? Of course there is still the problem of the odd one getting stuck between two zeroes but they are working on reducing this problem with an active trembler lead adapting the technology used in mobile phones. Early prototypes are still a bit bulky due to the water-jacket used to quieten the sound of the trembling.
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#25 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Redditch Worcs
Posts: 17,296
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Quote:
Does that come with the fine grid to pre-sort the thin ones from the fat zeroes ready for correct processing? Of course there is still the problem of the odd one getting stuck between two zeroes but they are working on reducing this problem with an active trembler lead adapting the technology used in mobile phones. Early prototypes are still a bit bulky due to the water-jacket used to quieten the sound of the trembling.
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