Can anyone please offer some advice on HDMI cables, to connect my new 1080p TV and a DVD/HDD recorder? Prices of cables vary, in stores and via eBay, from $2 to $300 so there's obviously cables of very different quality and/or there's a market-generated mystique and hype about them (just like $2 to $2000 audio speaker cables).

• Are all cables capable of supporting up to 1080p?
• Do all cables conform to the same standard (is there more than one standard?)
• Are there only two sized connectors (umm, micro and larger)?
• If price does matter, can anyone recommend brands to strive for?

Thanks,

The only cable you should ever use is Monster Cable. Any cable thats less than $200 a meter is not going to give you the quality of sound and video that you would expect from an inferior brand

Any HDMI cable that meets 1.3 specs would be fine. A lot, and I mean a lot of us here, whirlpool and DTVforums get out cables from a DTVforum user called foxtail

HDMI Cables

I have 5 of them connected to my HT system. Very fast service.

Do a google search, the husband and wife team are pretty good at getting an issue resolved as well

HDMI is digitial so technically there should not be any real difference between a $2 cable and a $500 cable assuming they both work

i normally get them from dealextreme, its about $10 for a 3m cable delivered

There is alot of debate about whether more expensive HDMI cables give you any advantage.

I must admit that I have no technical knowledge in the area, but logically as it is a digital signal it is either on or off, and the cable won't make a difference. There is an argument that more expensive cables will last longer, but if your 2 dollar one wears out you can buy another 200 before it makes a 400 one worthwhile. I use $2 cables from ebay in my home cinema setup and it works fine.

This man speaks the truth.

There is no 90% with digital cables. You'll either get a flawless signal or you won't, there's no inbetween.

Please, please don't spend more than $20 on a cable.

I picked some up on ebay delivered next day for $22. I was pleased with the price.

JB Hi-fi seemed to have the most reasonably priced off the shelf HDMI cables when I was looking to connect up a new LCD with my DVD player for vision. I went mid-low end and it looks pretty damn good to me. I'm sure it was $50 for a 3m which I was happy with for off the shelf prices. Yes, there was 200+ 3 and 5m cables, but I couldn't justify it.

All of my sound/audio runs through optical cables, including to/from TV to amp, and from the A.Express. Again, they're not that expensive and it sounds great through speakers or headphones.

Yes there is a lot of debate about hdmi cables - who knows what the truth is? I found one at Target for between 30 and 40 bucks - it was nice and thick and works really well. I noticed a big difference between the hdmi cable and composite.

Like others have said don't spend a lot of money on a cord. Now if you were talking about speaker cable well that's another story...

I've been using $20 cables for years with superb picture and sound quality. The high price thing is a con - like has been said here already - with digital there's either a pure digital picture/sound, or none at all...no in-between and no change in quality when using expensive bits opposed to cheaper ones.

Thanks for everyone's replies. For any beginners (like me) reading this, head over to DTV Forum for a wealth of discussion and advice. It certainly is the case that those who have spent $300+ on a cable swear by them!

I'm only a beginner, but I don't fully believe this statement. The signal travelling over a HDMI cable is encoded digital data, but it's passing through an analogue medium - in the exactly the same way that a digital WiFi signal travels through the analogue air. Yes, it's just 0s and 1s, but that's after the signal is decoded by the receiver. Because the signal passes through analogue copper there is the chance of signal (strength) loss, particularly over long cables. If the receiver cannot discern the signal from the background noise, the signal must be resent, and if this happens more slowly than the receiver requires to render the information, then corrective measures are required to render interpolated data. This is why we occasionally see pixelated images on satellite transmissions and "sparks" or "sharps" on HDTV.

The consensus appears to be that you'll notice few problem with any (price) cable less than 5 metres in length; after that perfectionists may seek optical HDMI cables which do carry a digital signal (through analogue glass fibre).

And I think that Bennettnz needs to read this recent article

[quote=Alessiman;488682]The only cable you should ever use is Monster Cable. Any cable thats less than $200 a meter is not going to give you the quality of sound and video that you would expect from an inferior brand

/QUOTE]

I have found no EVIDENCE to support this statement! a 50 dollar cable and a 500 dollar cable all PRODUCE the same results!

I find people who claim monster is better (FOR HDMI) do so, as they have spent allot of money and want to justify such a purchase by "claiming " its better... With analogue cables its a different story.. but with HDMI being digital.... doesn't make one bit of difference.. go for a cheap 50 buck or ps3 cable (about 60 bucks) and you will be fine!

[quote=NORMANDY;488740]I think Alessiman was taking the piss, he seems like a knowledgeable member.

*WHOOSH* Did you hear that sarcasm flying over your head NORMANDY?

Edit: Bah Sambo beat me to it...

And I think that Bennettnz needs to read this recent article [/quote]

My whole world is falling apart next someone will tell me that George Lucas is remaking Star Wars as a cross dressing romantic comedy starring Kylie Minogue as Luke and Paul Hogan as Leia.

Your response was funnier!

obviously I did!