Which HDMI Cables?

[directhex]

Ok, now i am worried. I completely and honestly think that from a theoretical viewpoint, the 'all HDMI cables are the same' makes sense. I buy it.
But there's still a small part of me that thinks 'is there some factor, some variable that i havent considered that may still affect the digital transmission at some point?
So then i go and buy "What Hi-Fi Sound & Vision" today, only to find a whole page on different (and very expensive) HDMI cables and how some are better at delivering colours, sound etc than others !!!

Now, i understand the theory. Digital is digital. 1 is 1, 0 is 0. But have i missed something? Or are even the experts fooled by placebo?

what hi-fi are not experts, they're well paid bull**** merchants

ask yourself this question: "will my digital photos be higher res when i upload them if i use gold plated network cable?" hdmi is the same - hdmi isn't an audio or video cable, it's a data cable

[MSIC]

ask yourself this question: "will my digital photos be higher res when i upload them if i use gold plated network cable?" hdmi is the same - hdmi isn't an audio or video cable, it's a data cable

No, absolutely, i agree with your argument. It's one i've reasoned, and made myself before.
What i'm asking is, is there something else that i am overlooking?

[MSIC]

Ok, after some more thinking I want to try my best to apply some scientific reasoning to this (well, as best as i can given that it's not something i do regularly).
I really, really want some criticism (but not nasty please!) of my argument and thinking here
Let's make an assumption, a starting point, that people who review different HDMI leads do see at least some differences in a picture, as displayed on a TV screen. Not necessarily better, but some differences.
And let's also assume that a HDMI cable is a HDMI cable, which transmits a series of 1's and 0's from one source to another, and that due to the checksum issue, the recieving end is guaranteed to correctly recieve all the correct data that is sent to it.

So.... is there anything that might introduce static, artifacts or anything on the display screen that depends on the quality of the connection (say, a gold plated connector vs a copper one)?

Might simply a difference in time be coming into play here? If a TV has just been turned on, and cable 1 used, after 3 minutes they change to cable 2 and the TV is displaying a better picture due to a change over time?

[Funkstar]

No, absolutely, i agree with your argument. It's one i've reasoned, and made myself before.
What i'm asking is, is there something else that i am overlooking?

marketing and advertising budgets is what makes one HDMI cable come out ahead of another in press "reviews". I bet the winner of that round up has a few lovely full colour expensive ads scattered throughout the magazine

[MSIC]

I bet the winner of that round up has a few lovely full colour expensive ads scattered throughout the magazine

You are quite right, in fact it's better than that - the winning cable (normally £80) is given for free if people subscribe to it! Anyone want to say "in bed together"?

[vrykyl]

sadly the truth behind higher quality scart leads=better analogue picture/sound seems to have migrated to hdmi where it simply doesnt apply

Although, my dad bought some stupidly cheap hdmi cables and got a lot of 'blocking' artifacts...bought some slightly better ones (about £10 rather than £3) and it went away....the reaaaaally cheap ones had virtually no shielding on them..... other that theyre all the same.

[Funkstar]

You are quite right, in fact it's better than that - the winning cable (normally £80) is given for free if people subscribe to it! Anyone want to say "in bed together"?

Nice

Although, my dad bought some stupidly cheap hdmi cables and got a lot of 'blocking' artifacts...bought some slightly better ones (about £10 rather than £3) and it went away....the reaaaaally cheap ones had virtually no shielding on them..... other that theyre all the same.

Then the £3 cables were fundamentally broken. It happens, just like with cheap SATA, IDE and USB cables.

[bigblue]

So then i go and buy "What Hi-Fi Sound & Vision" today...

See, that's where you went wrong Nah, I buy it myslef sometimes, but only for news and stats, the reviews are awful recently.

If they go through an entire review of anything without mentioning "detail" as if that explains everything to do with the product, I'd collapse. And if they ever go through a video-related product without making some flouncy statement related to motion like "fast motion is tracked fluidly/assuredly/doggedly" I'd be extremely surprised.

only to find a whole page on different (and very expensive) HDMI cables and how some are better at delivering colours, sound etc than others !!!

Good to see they're still at it. As I said in this thread yesterday...

What bothers me, particularly with the mags (or a certain one in particular) is that they list analogue type image problems as a symptom of cheaper digital cables. Nonsense

And guess what mag I was referring to

Ever since they compared cables to wedding cakes and fishwives I've given up.

[petercoc]

So on Analogue stuff I don't mind paying more for a higher quality cable - but with HDMI being totally digital I am not sure it is worth it unless I am running it a long distance.

Anyhow - I am looking for 3 cables all around 1 maybe 1.5m long...

Advice?

u can find HDMI Cable on that website

[TAKTAK]

u can find HDMI Cable on that website

Jeez, $60 for a 1m HDMI cable!!

thats almost as bad as monster!

read the thread.. it is well known that with digital cables the signal either gets there or it doesn't... you get a 1 or you get a 0... simple as... you could just wire up a few spoons and as long as they conducted they would do the same job!

(i think hexus should make some cables out of household implements )

[MSIC]

Hmm.... Hexus branded cables.
I'd pay up to £100 per meter if they were any good, but they'd have to be gold-braided.