HDMI Cables

Quantum Theory said:
You do get something like BER (Bit Error Rate) on digital signals. Now, you will get less errors on the good quality cables, but because of error correction you probably won't see a difference.

I can say that better quality cables will decrease changes of incompatibilities between sources, cables and screens. Especially when splitters and extenders are involved. I'm not saying that you need to buy a cable that costs a few grand, but a cable that cost R250, is better than a R70 cable.
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If a cable ever give you trouble (test by replacing with another to see if problem goes away), then throw it out ...

A R70 cable is not going to give you trouble on 1.3a at 1.5m ... the R20 one might, but if you test it and it works fine, then it works fine.
 
Yeah, the point I'm trying to make is don't go and spend a lot of money on digital cables, thinking you will get slightly better performance. You will either get perfection or you will know that there are problems ... you never need to think "Hey, this is pretty awesome, but maybe I can get even better by blowing more cash."

Leave that to the audiophiles for their analogue interconnects and speaker cables. And even there ... nah, let's not open that can of worms :)
 
TYR said:
Yeah, the point I'm trying to make is don't go and spend a lot of money on digital cables, thinking you will get slightly better performance. You will either get perfection or you will know that there are problems ... you never need to think "Hey, this is pretty awesome, but maybe I can get even better by blowing more cash."

Leave that to the audiophiles for their analogue interconnects and speaker cables. And even there ... nah, let's not open that can of worms :)
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what is this optical out thingy on the back of my PC?? Got like a plug thingy stuck in it... :wtf:

always wondered about that....

:confused:
 
Ja, Toslink is right. I use it for most of my stuff due to my slightly older receiver.

Incidently, Aavara HDMI cables are decent and they cost less than R100 for 2m.

My rule of thumb is not to buy AV cables that are in a packet with no label, spec, manufacturer on it. See through plastics packets with dodgy looking cables are a nono.
 
JUGGY said:
Ja, Toslink is right. I use it for most of my stuff due to my slightly older receiver.

Incidently, Aavara HDMI cables are decent and they cost less than R100 for 2m.

My rule of thumb is not to buy AV cables that are in a packet with no label, spec, manufacturer on it. See through plastics packets with dodgy looking cables are a nono.
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Blister packs with brand and specs is a must. We have the Labgear range at Space Television. Good quality, good price...
 
I had R100,000 in my home entertainment and connected with R20.00 cables would just me feel like I'm missing something - regardless of whether or not I see/hear a difference
 
So the 2 points here that I agree with are:
1. You won't get BETTER quality by using a more expensive cable. If your cable gives you problems, replace with another. (I don't think anyone ever meant you will get better quality by buying more expensive though)
2. I won't use R20 cables to connect my R25,000.00 system.
 
Not claiming to be an expert but these guys seem to think there is a difference - AND its not only price-based. One of their 5-star cables went for 5-Pounds.
Cynicism aside, I figure that they prolly know more than I do.
http://awards.whathifi.com/winners/cables/2010


A quick question, Following TVR's reccommendation on another thread, I have just bought a Samsung 750 which is 3D. Can I use HDMI 1.3 on this, or must I look for HDMI 1.4? If so, where in Cape Town can I get a good quality cable?
 
A high speed HDMi 1.3 cable will work, as 3D is mostly just 2 x 1080i images. At Space TV we have the Clicktronic range, if you are looking for high-end 3D capable cable at a reasonable price.
 
Spectrum1 said:
A quick question, Following TVR's reccommendation on another thread, I have just bought a Samsung 750 which is 3D. Can I use HDMI 1.3 on this, or must I look for HDMI 1.4? If so, where in Cape Town can I get a good quality cable?
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Come, say with me T - "Y" - R ... Congrats, nice set, I'm pretty sure you won't regret it.

1.3 is fine for a 1080p feed with HD audio. Are you planning to use 3D? What will be your 3D source? The PS3 has had its software updated to allow for 3D, but it is still a HDMI 1.3 device and this means that it uses the full bandwidth to send a FullHD 3D video stream and a non-HD audio stream ... I have not tested yet whether you can pass this signal through an AVR, but it will still be limited to dts, DD etc. Most people just recommend to feed video straight to the TV and audio via optical to the AVR.

I see the C750 has a "Audio Return Channel" HDMI port (I don't know exactly what that is, but I'm guessing it might be able to take a FullHD 3D + HD Audio over HDMI1.4 from a new 3D BluRay player and then send the HD audio back to a HDMI1.3 AVR via this port.

A lot of the new 3D BR players have two output ports, one to deliver the 1.4 feed to the TV and a second to deliver a 1.3 feed to a 1.3 AVR. Of course if the AVR is on 1.4, you only use the one and pass on from AVR to TV.

... but to answer your question, for any connection where at least one side is a 1.3 device, any 1.3 cable will be fine. If you want to connect a 1.4 device to your 1.4 C750, get a cable that at least specifies that it can carry 1.4
 
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Spectrum1 said:
Not claiming to be an expert but these guys seem to think there is a difference - AND its not only price-based. One of their 5-star cables went for 5-Pounds.
Cynicism aside, I figure that they prolly know more than I do.
http://awards.whathifi.com/winners/cables/2010
Click to expand...

Most of those cables are analogue ...

The reviews on the digital ones are, frankly, absolute BS. These magazine okes unfortunately have to keep the cable companies happy, they do still want them to pay top dollar for advertising.

It would be so nice to get my hands on the firmware SDK for a device that takes a HDMI input feed. Would be so easy to write a little prog to record the stream exactly the way it comes in and prove that the cable makes no difference at all, but even after that some people will still claim that they can hear a difference in the midrange sound part or the "width of the sound stage" etc. I guess the same okes will also always keep the Homeopaths in business by buying their overpriced pure water :p
 
Thanks T"Y"R :-)
Set arrived late today, and now i feel like the dog that caught the bus. So many connections and permutations for my oldish THX AVR.
Esch!!!
Difficult to get my head around. will start only on Xmas day when I have a holiday.
 
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