What HDMI cable?

D

dlc

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Guys, just have quick question..I need to get a HDMI cable over the weekend, but i've had a look at some cables in the shops and there's just too much options. Is there significant differences between the various cables, as i've seen ones from R150 all the way to R1500+ for a 1m HDMI cable!! I'll be using it hook up my laptop to my tv to watch blue ray dvd's. Any recommendations or things to consider when buying?
 
dlc said:
Guys, just have quick question..I need to get a HDMI cable over the weekend, but i've had a look at some cables in the shops and there's just too much options. Is there significant differences between the various cables, as i've seen ones from R150 all the way to R1500+ for a 1m HDMI cable!! I'll be using it hook up my laptop to my tv to watch blue ray dvd's. Any recommendations or things to consider when buying?
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The more expensive ones are usually gold platted (or use gold in the cables?) and claim to have better 'quality' data transmission. If you are not someone who will notice, or do not care, about a 0.1% difference in video/audio quality, then the cheaper cables are fine i reckon.
 
Viper25 said:
Get the cheaper cable. You wont notice the difference.
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... because there is no difference, it is DIGITAL. Yes, some really cheap cable might have problems delivering 1080p with uncompressed audio, but you will immediately notice this as the screen will either be full of white spots or mpeg artefacts, like what you get when your DSTv signal start to drop with bad weather. If this is the case, then you just take the cable back for a refund. ie. Buy the cheapest cable that states that it can do 1080p and that is long enough for your application.
 
The cable will either work or not work if its broken. Get the cheapest one you can find.
 
There is not more than 5 South African Rond's worth of input costs to those cables, so ja, +1 to the general consensus.
 
It's digital, if it works, it'll work properly.

However, check the quality of the connectors ! I've had two HDMI cable connectors that split open and had broken pins. This caused problems with the picture disapearing and reappearing as a result of the bad connection. Personally I prefer moulded connectors as they seem to last better.
 
Get the Ellies or Wharfedale HDMI cables. They are good quality, cheap and work great.
 
Thanks for the input guys..i've just been to an AV store and asked the sales guy what's their price on their hdmi cables. His answer was from R150 to whatever ridiculous price and then he added that i wouldn't want to buy the cheapie as it might result in an "irregular lost of sound or video" at times. And that this is due to the quality copper cable being used and the transfer rate being much faster on the more expensive one than on the cheapie.
 
dlc said:
Thanks for the input guys..i've just been to an AV store and asked the sales guy what's their price on their hdmi cables. His answer was from R150 to whatever ridiculous price and then he added that i wouldn't want to buy the cheapie as it might result in an "irregular lost of sound or video" at times. And that this is due to the quality copper cable being used and the transfer rate being much faster on the more expensive one than on the cheapie.
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... as it might result in less commission for him ...

Seriously, if the cheap cable does not do what it is supposed to do, you take it back, so buy it from a place like Game or Macro who will take it back, no questions asked.
 
I bought a Belkin HDMI to DVI cable for my console which cost R399. Later on I bought a cheapie cable from Matrix for R120 and guess what... they both give the same quality picture and the cheapie has a braiding around the cable which would prevent it from snapping.
 
Check out this webpage I found.

http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/long-hdmi-cable-bench-tests/hdmi-cable-testing-results

It's a little too revealing. Basically, it says that if you want a 2m or shorter cable (for a PS3), and 1080p data rates, then get the cheapest hdmi cable you can find that has a guarantee, even if it costs R10 and is only hdmi v1.0.

It's when you need lengths of greater than 10m where quality comes into play.

When people say "It's digital. It either works or it doesn't." they're not wrong, but they're not right either. It really depends on the cable length and the warranty.

In your case, you want a cable under 2 meters, so get the cheapest one available with a warranty. There are cables for R25 online. I've even purchased quite a few to resell to those who're to lazy to do their own research.
 
dlc said:
Thanks for the input guys..i've just been to an AV store and asked the sales guy what's their price on their hdmi cables. His answer was from R150 to whatever ridiculous price and then he added that i wouldn't want to buy the cheapie as it might result in an "irregular lost of sound or video" at times. And that this is due to the quality copper cable being used and the transfer rate being much faster on the more expensive one than on the cheapie.
Click to expand...

Bought a Bdp1600 blu ray player at Makro and it came with a free hdmi cable.Salesman said it will work fine(Samsung wouldn risk putting in a crap cable and compromose their products).
A buddy of mine bought the exact same machine at Masons but was conned into buying a ''better quality'' product and had to fork out an extra R500.
 
I took my HD Dstv cable (using it for my laptop to TV) and replaced it with a R800.00 cable. I couldn't believe the difference. If you can afford it.
 
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