Just bought a plasma TV. need help in surge protector and hdmi cable.

Question

I just bought Panasonic TH-42PX80U

I didn't have enough money plus buying the accessories form the store is huge waste of money.

I need some help first

1.) I'm getting Direct TV so that means if I wanna get HD quality I need to connect my DVR with the TV using HDMI cabel right and there are different types of HDMI cabels depending on the refresh rate (mine is 60hz) if all this is correct, where would I find the best deal on HDMI cabel.

2) Surge Protector how much would I need to spend the sales person told me I need something that covers atleast 1800 Joules.

Thanks..

Answer 1

No there are not different kinds of HDMI cables other than the .1, .2, or .3 ratings and these ratings relate to bandwidth not refresh rate. I'd suggest you get your cables from Newegg. I got an HDMI cable for $10 from them and it works perfectly. If you have a long cable run to make (more than 6 feet) you might want to get better quality cables such as Blue Jean or Monoprice cables.

The same BS that you hear about cables is even more so when it comes to surge protection. Yes 1800 joules is a good rating. You should be able to find one in that class for about $40 if not less.

Answer 2

If you can afford it purchace Monster supplies. They are better, ask sales person to demonstrate the difference on a side by side set.

I have a Panasonic plasma TH-46PZ85U and purchased Monster1000 series HDMI ( 120 hz ) and there is a difference. Motion is a lot smoother colour is better..I also purchased a Monster powerbar just to be on the safe side, paid a lot of money so might as well protect it.

Answer 3

Both of these items are Monster's bread & butter - HDMI cables and Home Theater surge protectors.  Stay away.  Far away.

As the other guy indicated, Monoprice has great HDMI cables.  I've got 4 of them and love them.  They have 2m HDMI 1.3a cables for as cheap as $3.  If you need in-wall rated, expect to pay $10-15 for a 2m cable.

On the power front, are you going to have a DVR or HTPC?  If so, think about a UPS that also has surge suppression.  A hard drive isn't the sort of thing you want crashing because of power failure.  A UPS will allow you to have an orderly shutdown in case of power failure.