[thedrewser]

I need a spare HDMI cable for my Apple TV and I saw one on Amazon for £1.30.

Now I know my wife paid £13 for a cable when she bought my Apple TV in PC World (the cable has subsequently been used for a Sky box when upgrading to HD).

So, my question is, with HDMI cables, do you get what you pay for? Will a £13 cable be better than a £1.30 cable (it received a large number, over 100, positive reviews on Amazon which prompted my purchase).

I just cannot get my head round the price differential, but surely a cable is a cable.

[chrisjr]

If the cable is made to a decent standard then as the signal is digital it does not matter what you pay for it. If the digital data that goes in one end emerges from the other end unscathed then the cable is irrelevant.

The cable can degrade the data flowing through it which produces random picture disturbances. What a so-called better cable cannot do however is improve the quality of the images in any way shape or form. For example it cannot improve the colour reproduction or make the blacks more black or similar nonsense claims.

So there is every chance that the one quid cable will work equally as well as the 13 quid one.

On the other hand if you are seriously lacking in brain cells and have money to chuck away how about one of these??

http://www.analogueseduction.net/aud...s/AQDHDM1.html

Only a grand a metre!

[toastie15]

Originally Posted by chrisjr

If the cable is made to a decent standard then as the signal is digital it does not matter what you pay for it. If the digital data that goes in one end emerges from the other end unscathed then the cable is irrelevant.

The cable can degrade the data flowing through it which produces random picture disturbances. What a so-called better cable cannot do however is improve the quality of the images in any way shape or form. For example it cannot improve the colour reproduction or make the blacks more black or similar nonsense claims.

So there is every chance that the one quid cable will work equally as well as the 13 quid one.

On the other hand if you are seriously lacking in brain cells and have money to chuck away how about one of these??

http://www.analogueseduction.net/aud...s/AQDHDM1.html

Only a grand a metre!

That must be some really special cable

[Spruce]

A Fool and their money!

[Nigel Goodwin]

Originally Posted by thedrewser

I need a spare HDMI cable for my Apple TV and I saw one on Amazon for £1.30.

Now I know my wife paid £13 for a cable when she bought my Apple TV in PC World (the cable has subsequently been used for a Sky box when upgrading to HD).

So, my question is, with HDMI cables, do you get what you pay for? Will a £13 cable be better than a £1.30 cable (it received a large number, over 100, positive reviews on Amazon which prompted my purchase).

I just cannot get my head round the price differential, but surely a cable is a cable.

It is - the £1.30 cable will give EXACTLY the same picture and sound as the £13 cable - your wife was ripped off in PC World.

It's a common scam - while a retailer might only make £50 on a £500 TV set, they'll probably make £10-12 on the £13 they sold your wife!. This is why the large retailers really push selling expensive leads - the profits are huge (well in the multiple 100%'s)

[thedrewser]

Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin

It is - the £1.30 cable will give EXACTLY the same picture and sound as the £13 cable - your wife was ripped off in PC World.

It's a common scam - while a retailer might only make £50 on a £500 TV set, they'll probably make £10-12 on the £13 they sold your wife!. This is why the large retailers really push selling expensive leads - the profits are huge (well in the multiple 100%'s)

My wife is alreadya nnoyed that she paid that price. We've never used HDMI cables before and she bought it on the spur of the moment. She thought she did well refusing the £30 cable. Anyway, you live and learn.

[call100]

As discussed in an earlier thread.....She could have done worse by far.......http://www.audiovisualonline.co.uk/p...h-ethernet-20m

[njp]

Originally Posted by thedrewser

My wife is alreadya nnoyed that she paid that price. We've never used HDMI cables before and she bought it on the spur of the moment. She thought she did well refusing the £30 cable. Anyway, you live and learn.

Offering her a £30 cable made the £13 cable seem like a bargain. She may have been assured that it would give most of the benefits of the more expensive cable, for less than half the price. It's a sneaky psychological ploy.

[boyzie]

I bought one from the pound shop 99p and notice no difference to my dearer one,tho its only 1meter long.

[evil c]

Richer Sound tried to sell me an HDMI cable for £54 when I bought my TV and they had the cheek to tell me that the v1.4 one I had already bought for £3 wouldn't work on Blu-ray. Shows the bad side of an otherwise good retailer.

[fmradiotuner1]

I bought a cheap 10 meter one it would not work on the PS3 it did the picture fine but not the audio but got a cheap v1.4 one and that works fine was not more than £10 but was a shorter one.
I now use the cheap one on the PC though so was not wasted.

[paulbrock]

cables carrying digital signal? They either work or don't (simplification, but good enough).

Here's a bit more:
http://lifehacker.com/5972780/6-comm...cost-you-money
myth #3

[Stilian]

Hama offer some cheap HDMI cables, I think they are pretty reliable as well.

[Kolin Klingon]

My brother just brought a nice 47" TV and a Soundbar to go with it in Currys.

The salesman said whilst at the till "Do you want an optical audio cable to connect the two as you are going to need it and it doesn't come with one?"

Luckily I was with him as he doesn't know a thing and I stepped in "No thanks! Not at Currys cable prices!"

He mumbled some crap about Curry's leads being far better than anyone else's but I stopped him with a "Stop taking the Pee, you are dealing with someone who knows what they are talking about", look.

When we got home I looked up the price of an optical audio cable on Curry's wedsite £44.99!!! and on ebay they start at £1.59!

We then opened the Soundbar box and one optical audio cable fell out!

It's lucky that Currys is a 20 minute walk away or I would have gone back and punched him!

[the sandman]

That's the problem with stores like that, they think that they're untouchable.

[flashgordon1952]

The pound shops sell them for £1. but keep a look forthe gold coneectors too you might get a bargain as they are normally expensive. well over £15 each for two metres at least.

[Schadenfreud]

Where's that idiotic professor guy who 'invented' that fantastic HDMI cable that sold for hundreds of pounds.
He even logged onto these forums and gave us all a good laugh with his muppetry.

[loracan]

I bought 3 from argos when I got my first hd telly, they were £11/each but bogof, they've all fallen to bits since (one within weeks of being bought) and been replaced with either £1 ones or £1.50 ones when I'm feeling flush. I found the £1 one didn't work with the arc function but the 1.50 amazon ones do a good job. The cheap ones are holding up a lot better than the more expensive ones.

[thespookster]

I bought 5 from Amazon 18 months ago at £1.14 each (including p&p!). All perfectly ok except one which caused screen to flash every 30 seconds, so that went in the bin, not worth the time and effort getting a replacement or refund, specially at such a low price.

Just get a load of cheap ones, even if a couple don't work you're still quids in.

[Glawster2002]

Originally Posted by Kolin Klingon

My brother just brought a nice 47" TV and a Soundbar to go with it in Currys.

The salesman said whilst at the till "Do you want an optical audio cable to connect the two as you are going to need it and it doesn't come with one?"

Luckily I was with him as he doesn't know a thing and I stepped in "No thanks! Not at Currys cable prices!"

He mumbled some crap about Curry's leads being far better than anyone else's but I stopped him with a "Stop taking the Pee, you are dealing with someone who knows what they are talking about", look.

When we got home I looked up the price of an optical audio cable on Curry's wedsite £44.99!!! and on ebay they start at £1.59!

We then opened the Soundbar box and one optical audio cable fell out!

It's lucky that Currys is a 20 minute walk away or I would have gone back and punched him!

I've just purchased a couple of 5m optical cables from Amazon for £2.49 each, which work perfectly, but what amazed me is the number of optical cables available that come with "gold-plated" connectors. A complete ripoff.

[chrisjr]

Originally Posted by Glawster2002

I've just purchased a couple of 5m optical cables from Amazon for £2.49 each, which work perfectly, but what amazed me is the number of optical cables available that come with "gold-plated" connectors. A complete ripoff.

There was one optical cable I saw advertised that not only had gold plated connectors but oxygen free copper conductors as well....

[gomezz]

Would not surprise me if they offered oxygen-free listening environments too.

[chrisjr]

Originally Posted by gomezz

Would not surprise me if they offered oxygen-free listening environments too.

For the very best listening experience the latest "must have" is a vacuum chamber where you can listen to the purest sound imaginable. Untainted by any of those pesky air molecules getting between you and the music.

[gomezz]

One breathing mask included as standard. More available for extra. But how to solve the problem of sipping a glass of nice red wine to enhance the aural experience?

[chrisjr]

Originally Posted by gomezz

One breathing mask included as standard. More available for extra. But how to solve the problem of sipping a glass of nice red wine to enhance the aural experience?

http://i.istockimg.com/file_thumbvie...king-straw.jpg