I am looking to get an Onkyo 605 receiver and will need an additional HDMI cable in addition to the one that came with my HR20 DVR. I will also want a couple of Optical cables for audio (one from the XBOX360 and one from the TV's OTA tuner).

What are some brand recommendations for good performance HDMI and Optical cables that aren't real expensive?

All my HDMI and Optical cables came from Monoprice. They are affordable and great cables. There are dozens of threads about them around here...

How long a run?
In wall use?

I myself like the CableToGo HDMI cabling. Works quite well and comes in different lengths. Also approved for inwall use :)

nah, just short lengths less than 6 ft

what gauge should I look for?

For that length, 28 gauge will be fine.

+1 for Monoprice

I went with monoprice. Got 2 of their optical cables (3ft), a 3 ft 24 gauge HDMI, and 100 ft feet the 14 gauge speaker wire.

Thx

a few questions:
1.how does monoprice stack up against monster
2. i'm looking for like 3 6' HDMI cables for my home theater. what should i be looking for?
3. gauge?
4. does speed make any difference?

thanks

a few questions:
1.how does monoprice stack up against monster
a heckuva lot cheaper for something that works just as well
2. i'm looking for like 3 6' HDMI cables for my home theater. what should i be looking for?
these will do the job for you, also available in different colors (http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10240&cs_id=1024008&p_id=4026&seq=1&format=2)
3. gauge?
see #2
4. does speed make any difference?
cables don't have "speed". they have "ratings".

thanks

responses in color... that's a link in response #2...

how do the ratings work?

Monprice fa sho!! you can pay more but you wont find better!!;)

One vote for tartancable.com. Bought some 50-ft in-wall shielded HDMI cables for $38 each and they work flawlessly.

thanks everybody, i got 100' of speaker wire and four 6' HDMI cables for $26. what a deal!

had to edit my double post