Searching for HDMI cable for my PS3

[fusioned]

I have a 50" 2011 Panasonic with 3D plasma screen, connected to a 3D capable Denon receiver, with a blueray player and a fat PS3 hooked up.
I'm using 7 quid HDMI cables from Neet between the receiver, TV, BD player, and I use the ARC feature on a daily basis, and occasionally 3D bluerays.

Go figure?

[jim]

My flat has not much moisture, its clean, tidy and warm enough. My PS3 is the new 2012 slimmer one and my Sony LCD TV is 5 years old but is capable of full 1080p full HD. My speakers system is also 5 years old but is capable of anything from Dolby to DTS to normal stereo surround. (bit not True Dolby HD surround kinda thing)

I understand that my PS3 might not "need" those features but don't you think some of those features (like double/triple/quad shielding, 24K gold plating, ARC, high speed, etc.) would at least be helpful in some way? (sorry to keep on repeating this)

A £20 cable might be in many ways "better" than a £5 don't you think as such because of these such-and-such features?

No.

They are all totally pointless.

You can gold plate your car if you like, it'll make it cost more than a normal one. Won't actually be any better, but it will be gold plated.

[peterb]

As for better conductor that point is moot with digital signals. analog signals like RCA cables yes gold can give you an advantage but on any signal carrying a digital signal it's either connected or not there are no varying levels of connection.

The reason they stick gold on them is because gullible people who do not know better go ooooo it's got gold connectors it must be good.

I have even seen optical cables with gold on the ends and they only carry light

Without going into the complexities of Fourier analysis, and skin effects, a digital signal does degrade over distance, and the better the cable, the longer that distance will be before inter-symbol distortion makes the signal unreliable. Inter symbol distortion is where the waveform discrete bits tend to merge. There are varius modulation techniques that can help mitigate the effects, but it is still a problem over long distances.

There is also a potential problem over short distances if the cable is not terminated, and reflections of the signal can also cause problems.

That said cheap cables from a reputable supplier will usually perform perfectly adequately in a domestic environment, and you can buy several cheap cables for the price of one more expensive! This is a factor when you consider that the weakest feature of an HDMI_cable is the connector, and a gold plated mega cable's connectors will be no stronger than the cheaper counterpart - it is a weakness of the design spec.

[Agent]

A £20 cable might be in many ways "better" than a £5 don't you think as such because of these such-and-such features?

The features are defined by the standard. If you have a 1.4a cable, it can implement all known features. End of story. There is nothing more to it.

[Dareos]

Try popping into your local PC world and ask for a cable and you'll be a laughing stock.

fixed for you mate

[Bluecube]

My flat has not much moisture, its clean, tidy and warm enough. My PS3 is the new 2012 slimmer one and my Sony LCD TV is 5 years old but is capable of full 1080p full HD. My speakers system is also 5 years old but is capable of anything from Dolby to DTS to normal stereo surround. (bit not True Dolby HD surround kinda thing)

I understand that my PS3 might not "need" those features but don't you think some of those features (like double/triple/quad shielding, 24K gold plating, ARC, high speed, etc.) would at least be helpful in some way? (sorry to keep on repeating this)

A £20 cable might be in many ways "better" than a £5 don't you think as such because of these such-and-such features?

Putting it bluntly, if you want to spend 20/30/100 quid on a HDMI cable then go ahead and do that. No one's stopping you. But if you read what just about everyone has said so far then you'll save your cash for useful things and get a cable around the £5 - £10 mark and not notice the slightest bit of difference between it and the more expensive ones.

[gino_76ph]

I would rather buy online than in those high-street shops as i still think they sell inferior quality cables.

I wonder if these sugar-coated features are just gimmicks (or pointless) to most of you here then it would classify as false advertising and deception. They could be prosecuted isn't it?

[directhex]

I would rather buy online than in those high-street shops as i still think they sell inferior quality cables.

I wonder if these sugar-coated features are just gimmicks (or pointless) to most of you here then it would classify as false advertising and deception. They could be prosecuted isn't it?

The things on expensive cables are true. They *do* have gold-plated connectors. That is true. They *do* have the ability to carry data at very high rates. That is true. They *do* have fancy braided sheathing. That is true.

But HDMI doesn't benefit from any of those things.

Ask yourself this: are your photos higher resolution if you save them on a more expensive hard disk? If I charge you £500 for a 3T disk instead of £100, and assure you it's got gold connectors, does it improve the audio quality of your MP3s? Of course not - it's digital.

That's all HDMI is - a 10.2 gbit/sec guaranteed minimum data cable. It shovels data from A to B, just like a network cable. Moving an MP3 from one computer to another using a £100 network cable does not result in any improvement to the quality of the audio in the MP3 compared to a £0.50 network cable. HDMI is exactly the same thing, except it's shovelling AC3 or DTS or LPCM from A to B, not MP3.

[gino_76ph]

Alright. If there are no difference between a £30 or £50 cable with a £1 or £5 one then i will buy the cheape one. But a damn good cheap one which is not generic and at least has a brand name.

[Agent]

But a damn good cheap one which is not generic and at least has a brand name.

Is your entire home network wired with branded network cables?

[gino_76ph]

Nope they are not. I am not "obssessed" with branded ones. I just thought to be "practical" i'll buy a cheap but useful branded one.

[Larkspeed]

All a branded cable is is an overpriced Generic cable with a name stamped on it as far as I am concerned

[SHare]

Three pages of ignored advice. Just go buy a Monster cable.

[Bluecube]

Here's a good cable. Branded too.

[Agent]

Nope they are not. I am not "obssessed" with branded ones. I just thought to be "practical" i'll buy a cheap but useful branded one.

What does "practical" even mean in this context?

A HDMI 1.4 cable is a HDMI 1.4 cable. Sticking a logo on it changes nothing about it's ability to perform.

[Macadee]

Here's a good cable. Branded too.

Love the customer review.