HDMI cables?

Question

Where can i buy cheap and good quality HDMI cables

Answer 1

I read an article in a newspaper last week that all HDMI cables are basically the same. Because of the signal that is passed, it's either there or it's not. Meaning you can pay $100 for a cable or $10 for a cable, it will be the same quality. This is for HDMI cables only.

Answer 2

walmart...

Answer 3

e-bay. Just bought (2) 6 foot cables for under $20 with shipping.

Retail stores wanted $59-$69. Both worked great. (Look for newer ones that have 19 pins instead of 18).

Answer 4

I buy my cables from www.pchcables.com.  It is actually a local store in Portland, OR.

www.bluejeanscables.com is another good place to get cables.

Answer 5

you cant buy cheep and good quality especially when it comes to hdmi connections.  Hdmi is a very temperamental connection and you want to make sure you get a decent one or theres a chance it wont work. Go to best buy or circuit city or a bigger electronics store and you can get a good one thats not too bad in price.

Answer 6

There are certainly differences between different grades of HDMI cables, but for most uses (simple short distance connections) inexpensive cables can give identical results to more expensive brands.

See the article at the link re a test of budget (monoprice) vs expensive (Monster) cables.

You could probably use the basic model without problem, but personally I'd suggest the 24 awg Category 2 certified HDMI version 1.3 cables from Monoprice for most connections and Bluejean cables for more demanding applications -- e.g. longer than 15 feet (total including a switch like in an A/V receiver) or in-wall installation

See the second link for BlueJean Cables site -- specifically their HDMI info centre -- lots of useful info on HDMI and the possible issues with cables.

Answer 7

The markup on HDMI cables in retail stores is ridiculous.  They are making so much money off of you.  If you're paying more than a dollar a foot, you're overpaying.  Stick to eBay or get a job at Best Buy...nice discount.

Answer 8

www.monoprice.com

Answer 9

I use HDMI cables in my work every day. Cheap cables can work the same as good cables, but they are more of a gamble.

Here's what you might get with cheap cables:

No picture

No sound

neither

Flashing picture

Purple picture

Evenly dispersed snow in picture

Flashing (if that's the right word) sound

HDMI cables must carry huge volumes of information, some of it back and forth between components. If the cable only drops one bit in the EDID data for example, your display won't set up to the right parameters and you will have overscan/underscan or worse. It's a falicy that with digital you either get it or you don't. Cables can drop bits which can change meanings on exchange data. HDMI is constantly exchanging data, while it streams digital pictures and sound.

HDMI is finicky to say the least. To give just one example, if your cable is poor quality and it builds up more than 400 picofarads of capacitance, your picture will simply shut off. HDMI is designed that way.

The ends of the better cables are gold. While gold is a great conductor of electricity, it's more important characteristic is that it will not oxydize. The cheap cables will be more likely to become problematic over time as their low grade connectors oxydize. For this reason, more than any other, you should use decent cables.

Lastly, better cables are simply constructed better. They will withstand more stress and more handling.

This is by no means a complete list of the troubles you may experience using cheap HDMI cables. It's just the things I've seen on a regular basis, trying to use the cra* that people buy.

I use $59.00 2 meter (six foot) cables from Ethereal. Never have a problem. They are at least as good as the $100 Monster brand, with a smaller profit margin apparently.

Take this for what it's worth. I've learned the hard way.

Answer 10

An electronics store like best buy, or the electronics section at walmart are probably your best bet.

Answer 11

ebay.