HDMI Cable Advice

[Tcole6414]

I'm shopping for an HDMI to HDMI cable for Sat box to HDTV hookup and I'm trying to avoid paying B-Buy prices for Monster cables.

Best-B has 4' cables for $152

Parts Express has their own brand 1m for $15

"dontforgetcables" has .5m for $44 (sonicwave -TM)

Why is there such a discrepancy in price? Is it "you get what you pay for"?

Please advise. Don't want to break the bank

[cuz24]

monoprice.com has very good hdmi cables. Bought 2 of them no problem

[miniz]

Do not buy overpriced cables!!!! Did you know it costs Monster just about the same amount of money that most of cables at monoprice cost to make their product? The mark-up is pure profit. If you think it costs them anywhere near $150 to make an HDMI cable then you are dreaming! It costs them maybe $5 each at most. They rake in more money then anyone else on their pure profit operation luring unsuspecting average joes into the cable scam every day. It is really sad that so many people fall for their hard pushed sales pitches and glitsy product displays. You are NOT, I repeat, NOT getting a better product buying the "Premium" digital cable.

[ozramesh]

Hi Miniz,

Happy new yr to you.

I have purchased a toshiba 32HL86 LCD TV. My use for the TV would be to just watch cable TV, DVD and VCR movies...no games. I am wondering what cables I need to buy ? I don't know much about cables and electronics. Futureshop has a monster cable thats over 100$, out of my budget .

Now that you folks have suggested monoprice, wondering what kind of cable should I be buying. Please enlighten me with accurate cabling info, so that I can place an online order for the same.

Thanks,
Oz

[miniz]

Originally Posted by ozramesh

Hi Miniz,

Happy new yr to you.

I have purchased a toshiba 32HL86 LCD TV. My use for the TV would be to just watch cable TV, DVD and VCR movies...no games. I am wondering what cables I need to buy ? I don't know much about cables and electronics. Futureshop has a monster cable thats over 100$, out of my budget .

Now that you folks have suggested monoprice, wondering what kind of cable should I be buying. Please enlighten me with accurate cabling info, so that I can place an online order for the same.

Thanks,
Oz

Well first you need an HD video source and please for the love of god get rid of the VCR! This isn't 1985 anymore! VCR's can hardly record analog and do nothing for an HDTV. They have no place with an HDTV whatsoever.

You need to upgrade to HD cable and then connect the HD box to your TV using your HDMI input. You may rent an HD DVR from your cable company to record in HD. It is the cheapest and easiest option. Connect your DVD player with component video cables to your TV (assuming it is progressive scan).

There is no point in having an HDTV if you are not going to use it. An HDTV without an HD signal is simply a big fuzzy overpriced analog set.

You need to purchase an HDMI cable from monoprice and a set of Component video video cables with audio cables.

Hope that helps.

[ozramesh]

Hi Miniz,

Thanks for the reply..

I have a Philips DVD/VCR combo which has progressive scan capability, the TV that I have purchased is Toshiba HD, my cable is already digital. I don't need DVR because I don't record stuff.

Looks like what I need now is the HD box, this could be rented for 9.95/month. Is it worthwhile to buy one rather than rent it? If yes, which one?

Cabling...I checked the mono website and it has too much info, could you be kind enough and give me the actual product ID for HDMI, Comp Video and audio cabling info...your valuable opinion is appreciated.

Thanks for your help,
Oz.

[kenny1773]

monoprice does have good cables for little money

HDMI cable that you want is product ID 2412

HDMI Cable male to male 28AWG - 6ft w/Ferrite Cores - (Limit 2 Per Customer)

[ozramesh]

Thanks kenny.

I am looking for product Ids for Comp Video and audio cabling as well. Could you please share that with me.

Really appreciate your guys's help .

Cheers,
Oz

[miniz]

Sorry, the server is terrible! I've been trying to get back in and keep getting errors.

Anyway,
You may have digital cable, but you don't have HD. Those are two different things. HD has a 5x greater resolution then SD digital (480p vs 720p/1080i). If you TV does not have a cable card slot then you must rent an HD cable box from your provider. You cannot purchase one. They are two way devices that are seen, much like computers on a network, by the cable company. You cannot add one without them knowing and rejecting it. You may get a couple HD channels for free (your locals) but all the good ones will part of the HD tier. That tier costs about $6-10/m and is more then worth its money in gold.

You need to figure out which box you can get and if it has an HDMI output OR DVI output BEFORE you buy any cables.

Your combo unit would use a set of component video cables and an audio L+R cable set.

[Negative 1]

This place has very good cheap cables.

I've ordered from them numerous times and have had nothing but the best things to say about them. I believe they are a bit cheaper than monoprice too.

[miniz]

What place? There is no link, unless the name is "this place"??????

[chitty]

Walmart has HDMI to DVI and HMDI cables from both Phillips and RCA. $30.00

Are these any good?

[Negative 1]

Originally Posted by miniz

What place? There is no link, unless the name is "this place"??????

Whoa, sorry about that


www.firefold.com

[miniz]

Originally Posted by chitty

Walmart has HDMI to DVI and HMDI cables from both Phillips and RCA. $30.00

Are these any good?

That is overpriced, sorry. RCA is junk anyway.

[Ratman]

Originally Posted by miniz

That is overpriced, sorry. RCA is junk anyway.

What's the difference between an RCA HDMI cable, Philips HDMI cable and a monoprice HDMI cable (or any other brand)?

[chitty]

Originally Posted by miniz

That is overpriced, sorry. RCA is junk anyway.

Is is either $30.00 for the Phillips (Gold Plated) or $90.00 for the Monster Cable.

[miniz]

OR it's $15 for the monoprice cable. Take your pick.

[Negative 1]

Companys like firefold and monoprice stand by their quality and have many satisfied customers to prove it. There's no need to buy overpriced cables with a household brand name, it's just their way to keep sucking money out of you by claiming theirs is the best, because of the name.

I love it when sales people at Best Buy and Circuit City say you need to buy Monster Cable, I guess you gotta love that commision, it's the same as robbing somebody.

[Ace R.]

Hey guys I got a noob question. My cox cable dvr box thats hdmi ready (rep said he was sending an hdmi cable.. liar lol) came with component cables and outputs 1080i. Will having an HDMI cable make a difference in picture quality? Im thinking it shouldnt since the box doesnt do 1080p. In any case I ordered a cable off monoprice. Their prices are too good

Thanks for help

[RonnyRulz]

Actually people, at least at the best buys at my place, don't work on commission. So when they sell you on the expensive cables...it's because they actually BELIEVE they are better.

The guy at bestbuy told me that Acoustic Research Digital Optical Audio Cable isn't as good as the 400-600 wrapped (or maybe wrapped wasnt the right word, like plated or looped or....something?) but the more expensive ($40 instead of $20) cables were better because they conduct better. But he said the $80 cables were a waste. Going from the cheapo $20 optical to the $40 optical is big difference, but going from $40 to $60-80 cables is a waste of money.

Is that true for Optical Audio?

Anyways, just wanted to say that they don't work on commission. At least not that I know of and not in Oklahoma.

[GeekGirl]

Yes, a bit better. You will notice it on HD programming, such as INHD and ESPN HD. You'll also save on cabling - 1 HDMI vs. 3 component and audio (if you feed it direct to the TV).

(To clarify for proteus 7 post below mine- I was answering about the difference between HDMI and component, not the optical cable right above this post )

[proteus7]

Bullcrap.
Optical cable is pretty much all the same, once you get past a minimum quality standard. Its digital. You either get signal, or you don't.

In the computer business, fiber cable is used all the time to connect components in the 1Gb-10Gb+ range...cable that usually runs about a buck per foot wholesale.
These bitrates are THOUSANDS of times higher than AC-3 audio, and have zero loss tolerance. Anyone who buys "Monster" or other expensive brands for optical (or HDMI for that matter) is ignorant...sorry to say.

I love reading the Monster blurbs on their HDMI cable...all complete BS.

[proteus7]

Sorry..to answer the original poster. Check out Blue Jeans Cable (www.bluejeanscable.com). Excellent quality, at a fraction of Monster pricing (I paid ~$30) for 12ft of HDMI cable).

[golovemd]

Originally Posted by ozramesh

Hi Miniz,

Thanks for the reply..

I have a Philips DVD/VCR combo which has progressive scan capability, the TV that I have purchased is Toshiba HD, my cable is already digital. I don't need DVR because I don't record stuff.

Looks like what I need now is the HD box, this could be rented for 9.95/month. Is it worthwhile to buy one rather than rent it? If yes, which one?

Cabling...I checked the mono website and it has too much info, could you be kind enough and give me the actual product ID for HDMI, Comp Video and audio cabling info...your valuable opinion is appreciated.

Thanks for your help,
Oz.

Not sure if you already hooked your stuff up. I just wanted to point out that your vcr will not display over component cables most likely. I believe only a select few combo players (typically dvd recorders) will upconvert that signal. I would just ditch the VCR portion anyway.

[miniz]

Originally Posted by golovemd

Not sure if you already hooked your stuff up. I just wanted to point out that your vcr will not display over component cables most likely. I believe only a select few combo players (typically dvd recorders) will upconvert that signal. I would just ditch the VCR portion anyway.

As I already mentioned. No reason to have a VCR anymore anyways.

[Ratman]

Unless someone wants to watch a VHS tape.

[golovemd]

Originally Posted by miniz

As I already mentioned. No reason to have a VCR anymore anyways.

Just because you or I feel there is no need to hook up a vcr, does not mean people will not want to. I have a LOT of customers that want their vcr hooked up just so their toddlers can watch their VHS tapes. They do not care how it looks.

[epetrovski]

I have Barko Data projector in my home theater. The only input for HDTV is 5 BNC connections. I have my cable and PS3 with 3 line component outputs. Can some one advice me how can I combine this 2 devices with components signals (from cable and PS3) to 5 BNC?

[golovemd]

Originally Posted by epetrovski

I have Barko Data projector in my home theater. The only input for HDTV is 5 BNC connections. I have my cable and PS3 with 3 line component outputs. Can some one advice me how can I combine this 2 devices with components signals (from cable and PS3) to 5 BNC?

you just need to get a component switcher and a set of BNC to RCA connectors.

[Ratman]

5 BNC connectors is an RGB/HV output. you cannot simply convert to component video (YPbPr). You will need a transcoder to convert.