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HDMI - To Monster or Not To Monster

They seem fine enough, but i have had excellent results w/ monoprice. If you click on my link in the above post, you can read the reviews of the specific cable which gives you an extra foot of length and is wrapped. But if you feel comfrotable w/ the ones from the bay, go for it. Digital signals are basically information of zeros and ones(off/on)-either it works or it doesn't. No need to pad Monster's pockets.


marty

Thanks all, Marty I went with Monoprice, it was double ebay but still very cheap and many B&B'ers suggested Monoprice, if it’s good for well groomed gentleman, it good for me.:thumbup:
 
Monster Cables are almost worth the price for analog signals, but they are absolutely pointless for digital ones. You can hook up a Monster or $5 NewEgg special, and the signal will be identical, bit by bit.

Monster HDMI cables are the last, dying breath of a company whose entire business model was made obsolete by a tiny incremental improvement in technology.
 
There are significant differences between different HDMI cables. The *rate* at which information can be transmitted does have limits and those limits are within practical ranges. That is, it is not just academic.

Here is a quote from Wikipedia

HDMI 1.3 defines two cable categories: Category 1-certified cables, which have been tested at 74.5 MHz (which would include resolutions such as 720p60 and 1080i60), and Category 2-certified cables, which have been tested at 340 MHz (which would include resolutions such as 1080p60 and 2160p30).[54][58][59] Category 1 HDMI cables are to be marketed as "Standard" and Category 2 HDMI cables as "High Speed".[1] This labeling guideline for HDMI cables went into effect on October 17, 2008.[60][61] Category 1 and 2 cables can either meet the required parameter specifications for interpair skew, far-end crosstalk, attenuation, and differential impedance, or they can meet the required nonequalized/equalized eye diagram requirements.[58] A cable of about 5 meters (16 ft.) can be manufactured to Category 1 specifications easily and inexpensively by using 28 AWG (0.081 mm²) conductors.[57] With better quality construction and materials, including 24 AWG (0.205 mm²) conductors, a HDMI cable can reach lengths of up to 15 meters (49 ft.).[57] Many HDMI cables under 5 meters of length that were made before the HDMI 1.3 specification can work as Category 2 cables, but only Category 2-tested cables are guaranteed to work.

Similar discussions can be found elsewhere, including on the official HDMI web site:
Q. What’s new in the HDMI 1.3 Specification?
* Higher speed: Although all previous versions of HDMI have had more than enough bandwidth to support all current HDTV formats, including full, uncompressed 1080p signals, HDMI 1.3 increases its single-link bandwidth to 340 MHz (10.2 Gbps) to support the demands of future HD display devices, such as higher resolutions, Deep Color and high frame rates. In addition, built into the HDMI 1.3 specification is the technical foundation that will let future versions of HDMI reach significantly higher speeds.

The big thing in the above is bandwidth and not all HDMI cables can support the same bandwidths. Those specs specify minimum bandwidths and cables might just barely met those specs or might easily surpass those specs. This will determine how well they perform in environments with interference -- not uncommon. Shorter cables will more easily meet or surpass the specs.

Another consideration is the quality of construction -- fit, gold plating, sturdiness, etc.. Not all cables are of the same quality.

Some of the websites mentioned above sell cables at different price points and give details about why the higher priced cables they sell alongside their lower priced cables are worth the price difference.

Having said all the above, Monster Cables are decent cables that are vastly overpriced. A decent cable does not need to cost much. Also, at the distances commonly used between components lower-grade cables will very likely perform well. BUT -- higher rated (category 2) cost nearly the same, assuming you aren't buying Monster Cables (or other "boutique" cables).

P.S. I think the official HDMI page may be wrong about this: "previous versions of HDMI have had more than enough bandwidth to support all current HDTV formats, including full, uncompressed 1080p". There are other places, for example the references given in the Wikipedia article, that say the category 1 spec (74.5 mhz) is only good enough for 1080i (not p). Even so, there are probably very few (if any) cables that meet category 1 spec that don't also support the bandwidth needed for 1080p (approx double the 74.5 mhz), at least in the common 2 meter length.
 
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I only wish I would have had this advice BEFORE I spent the money on those BS cables...could've had more shave kit! :lol:
 
I plan on buying some more HDMI cables. The first time I spent a lot on Monster cables. Now searching on eBay I see losts of cables for a lot less. Is there only difference between HDMI cables? I can get two 5ft cables for $5.99 from one vendor, could this be too good to be true?

definitely DO NOT buy Monster cables. I don't believe there is any real empirical data that suggests Monster cables have an advantage over generic cables. Monster's product are based around hype and marketing. I wouldn't waste a dime on those fools.
 
Tests by most major electronics reviewers, CNET, Consumer Reports etc, all say that for digital cables running less then 20ft, cheap cables work just as well as the expensive "shielded" ones. Monoprice is an oft mentioned source and I've had really good luck with them for just about all of my cables and media gear. Heck they have wall mounts for TV's for about 1/4 the price that you get at Best Buy or Costco.
Now if you were setting up a recording studio and had lots and lots of analog cables/electronic devices running around, things might be a bit different but for 99% of us the inexpensive cables will work just fine.
 
The tweaking and cable business is the biggest ripoff ever created to fleece poeple out of money. You can spend a fortune and get solid silver and fancy insulation and silver plugs and pretty wrappings but do they sound any different? Personally, I don't think so.
 
I agree with the others. Monoprice is great. I've bought a lot of cables over the past five or six years from Monoprice and the experience and pricing has always been top notch.

They once sent me a stereo cable that would only carry one channel. A quick phone call and a new one was on its way that day.
 
+1 on the monoprice cables. I've ordered a handful of HDMI cables and a wii component cable. For the price, you can't go wrong. No frills cabling at a no frills price.

Aaron
 
No.

I personally have had quality issues with several Monster Cable products coming apart, so I have no respect for their products. For what they are, which overall is pretty decent quality cables, with the occasional poor product, they're overpriced by a factor of 3. In any case, while I do prefer high quality cables, and Monster is low end on the high fidelity spectrum, the main issues are how thick the wires are, the materials, and the build quality, in other words, so the cables don't fail. Since build quality is so hard to judge, and the rest is not nearly as important in digital, I usually go with a cheap brand that's known for decent quality. Although, I do spend more on digital audio cables, opting for high quality glass in optical cables.

I'll second (or fifth?) monoprice, although there are several other equal sources.
 
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<snip>
P.S. I think the official HDMI page may be wrong about this: "previous versions of HDMI have had more than enough bandwidth to support all current HDTV formats, including full, uncompressed 1080p". There are other places, for example the references given in the Wikipedia article, that say the category 1 spec (74.5 mhz) is only good enough for 1080i (not p). Even so, there are probably very few (if any) cables that meet category 1 spec that don't also support the bandwidth needed for 1080p (approx double the 74.5 mhz), at least in the common 2 meter length.

I believe that almost all HDMI cables were capable of transmitting data up to even HDMI 1.4 or better standards, at least over shorter runs. The limitation has always been on the processing side, the HDMI control chips on the sending and receiving devices. The cables may not be certified for the higher bandwidth, but in most cases should support it. Prices being close, I'd go for the higher spec cheap cable just for peace of mind. There's no benefit to buying Monster or Belkin or any one of these other rip-off brands.

It's just too bad that CE companies agreed on the cash grab and didn't formalize RJ45 jacks and standard cat 5 or 6 cable for all connections with the HD generation. Oh wait, I guess they needed a new connection that would support HDCP so that nobody could pirate content :001_rolle
 
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