Are All HDMI Cables Equal?

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Steve CDN

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I recently bought a HDMI cable, that claims to support 720P and 1080p.  The features of these cables include gold plated connectors, nitrogen injected foam dielectric, 2 outer shield layers, and oxygen free copper.  The impressive features made me feel guilty for having paid only $20!

However while walking through Sam's the other day, the HDMI cables sold there are featured as being HDMI  1.3 cables, suitable for 1080p.

Are there later "versions" of HDMI cables I should be using instead of outdated older versions?  I was unaware cables were assigned "version" numbers.

Are all HDMI cables equal, should price be the only consideration when making a selection?
 
Pretty much, yes.  HDMI is a digital interface so any cable that works, just works.  It's much like Monster Cables vs. all the others, you can pay for the name or you can save your money and buy generic.
 
When I bought my LCD TV for home, the salesman tried to sell me a Monster HDMI cable for a silly amount of money. He did this by showing me a comparison between composite video and the Monster HDMI cable. The difference was impressive. When I asked him to show me the difference between the Monster cable and the generic one, he wasn't able to set up the test. I believe there may be more margin in Monster cables than there is in the TV itself. I have never been able to figure out why people spend that kind of money on cables for anything!

Years ago, I worked for a recording studio and sound reinforcement company. If we spent that kind of money on cables and connectors, we'd would have gone broke(r). These days, digital makes it even easier. Either the data is there or it's not. If the quality of the cable is good enough to pass a signal, making it better does nothing.

By the way, I didn't buy any cables when I got the TV. I picked up a $10 cable (picture and sound are great). When I got my new motorhome, I bought a Monoprice 35' cable to hook up the bedroom TV to the Dish HD receiver in the living room. I think I paid less than $30 for it. Recently, I picked up 3 6-foot HDMI cables for $2 each, including shipping.
 
There are different levels of the HDMI specification, and later cables will meet later versions of the spec (i.e. HDMI 1.3) while earlier ones may or may not.  If the cable was designed for 1.2, it may still have enough bandwidth for 1.3 - the physical connection and wires are the same. And if your equipment doesn't have any of the optional enhanced video features that 1.3 guarantees to support, you couldn't tell anyway.

The article that John cited covers it pretty well.
 
Chances are almost certain that your eye wouldn't notice the difference between 1.2 and 1.3 anyway.  A year or so ago I was told by someone who had done a lot of research "if you spend more than $10 for an HDMI cable, you are paying too much." 

On another forum I was referred to www.monoprice.com for the best quality cables at the best prices.  I bought an RGB + audio combo cable there (for connecting and running my laptop through our widescreen LCD TV) and have been very impressed.  A friend of mine recently bought an in-wall HDMI cable 20' feet in length for $20.  From a quick scan of their HDMI cable options, they are priced at about $1/foot give or take.
 
scottydl said:
....................snip.......... 

A friend of mine recently bought an in-wall HDMI cable 20' feet in length for $20.  From a quick scan of their HDMI cable options, they are priced at about $1/foot give or take.

If it is any consolation most good Coax and other such cables are about the same price.  RG-59 or RG-6 for TV are just a little less for good cables.
 
Thank you for all the great responses and especially for the very informative article, John!

Conclusion: most HDMI cables sold by retailers contain a built in rip factor.

 
I happened to see this earlier this morning. Woot.com is selling a 12' HDMI 1.3b cable for $4.99. Their shipping is always $5.00 so that makes it less than $10. If you order 2, the shipping is still $5.00 so you save even more. If you don't know who Woot is, they sell one thing for one day. Tomorrow, it will be something else. If you want the cable, buy it now. I have bought many things from them. They are reputable.
 
Clay L said:
FWIW Harbor Freight has 12 ft HDMI cables for $14.99 and 6 ft ones for $9.99. No shipping if if you have a local store.


They are on sale right now. The 6' one is $6.99 and the 12' one is $9.99. I just bought a 6' one a couple of days ago.
 
mrschwarz said:
If you don't know who Woot is, they sell one thing for one day. Tomorrow, it will be something else. If you want the cable, buy it now. I have bought many things from them. They are reputable.

Same here, I *love* Woot.com and it is my opening page on all my computers.  That way I'm guaranteed to see their item any particular day when I get online.  I've ordered from Woot probably 10 times.  The site 1saleaday.com is very similar and I've started routinely checking that one also.  I just ordered from them for the first time a week or so ago, so I still don't know how their service is for sure.
 

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