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Quality of different HDMI cables


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Old 01-10-2008, 12:21
mrcoates14
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As some HDMI cables differ in price so much do they provide a variety in different picture quality if say you were connecting sky HD and a PS3?
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Old 01-10-2008, 12:38
Pete_D
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None, whatsoever.

Just get a reasonably priced one in the £10 -£15 range and it will work perfectly.

Woolies do one for the PS3 at £14.99 for example. You may find cheaper.

The only caveat to the first line of this reply would be to avoid really cheap PC Line type brands as the build quality of the cable may be bad enough to cause the cable to fail if tugged or bent etc.

Don't be tempted by Monster branded cables at stupidly high prices, they are no better than the Woolies one.
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Old 01-10-2008, 13:16
clockworks999
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I'm using 5 different HDMI cables, ranging from £3 non-branded from eBay to a £30 branded one. No difference in picture quality, even at 1080P from my HD media box and PS3. Note that all my cables are short - 1.5 or 2 metres. It's worth getting better cables for long runs.
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Old 01-10-2008, 15:01
DNZ711
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Yes, I agree branding means nothing!

Things to look for are;

- Thickness of the cable

-HDMI has had numerous updates over the years ranging from 1.0 to the current 1.3. This supports a higher badwidth and will carry True HD audio.

-Any distance less than 10meters will allow a hdmi cable to operate flawlessley!

Matty
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Old 02-10-2008, 07:59
stvn758
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If the expensive ones are overpriced can you imagine how much the cheap ones cost to make.
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Old 02-10-2008, 22:31
zaeon
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Regardless of price, any with Gold plated contacts will give a better electrical connection.Some of the higher priced ones may have heavier sheilding , this couls make them less flexible and possibly heavier, so use a cable tidy to help keep everything from moving too much or the weight could weaken the connection.(that applies to other cables too) As a matter of good practice Keep cables carrying mains supply, odr DC supplies away from any input cables to avoud crossover/bleed of mains hum. Some unscreened video cables can bleed/leak signals to each other. (Sky's boxes seem to be very susceptible to this)
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Old 02-10-2008, 22:51
Matt Quinn
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As a matter of good practice Keep cables carrying mains supply, odr DC supplies away from any input cables to avoud crossover/bleed of mains hum. Some unscreened video cables can bleed/leak signals to each other. (Sky's boxes seem to be very susceptible to this)
Very sound advice though it's worth just clarifying that HDMI signals are of course digital and thus not prone to mains hum as such. Although of course high levels of electrical noise induced on the line could cause data errors....
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Old 02-10-2008, 23:20
MD_Zero
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I'm going to get myself a DLP projector and the PS3 will be about 5 metres away...will a cheapo one be good enough for this distance? I have a 1m and 2m cable that cost about £2 each and are fine...I just wasnt sure on the distance before a cheap cable becomes useless
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Old 02-10-2008, 23:25
Matt Quinn
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I'm going to get myself a DLP projector and the PS3 will be about 5 metres away...will a cheapo one be good enough for this distance? I have a 1m and 2m cable that cost about £2 each and are fine...I just wasnt sure on the distance before a cheap cable becomes useless
Personally I'd maybe go for something moderately priced and of reasonable quality.

Avoid the lottery of Ebay or market stall purchases. But Maplin or Argos' budget ranges will probably do ok....
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Old 03-10-2008, 00:38
njp
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Avoid the lottery of Ebay or market stall purchases. But Maplin or Argos' budget ranges will probably do ok....
Requiring a 15 metre cable, and having seen the prices for such lengths elsewhere, I decided the ebay lottery was exactly what I needed.

The cable I bought works perfectly, and even looks and feels good. Not that I'll be seeing or feeling it much!
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Old 03-10-2008, 00:57
Matt Quinn
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Requiring a 15 metre cable, and having seen the prices for such lengths elsewhere, I decided the ebay lottery was exactly what I needed.

The cable I bought works perfectly, and even looks and feels good. Not that I'll be seeing or feeling it much!
Then your six numbers came up..... which is nice.....

There ARE definite bargains to be had. BUT, as a rule of thumb......
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