Would you pay 100 bucks for a hdmi cable?

Question

I dont i work for a cable company and we have tons of those wires. I just take them and sell them for ten bucks out side of best buy. the h**l with monster cables

Answer 1

Monster Cables are way overpriced.  It's BS.  You can spend half on a Gold cable what you would on a Monster Cable... and get practically the same quality.

The difference is with the conductivity of Gold...  it's the best.

Answer 2

It is interesting to read all the submissions for this question.  Everyone has an opinion but these cables.

The bottom line is: Bit Error Rate (BER).  The HDMI cable carries several digital channels, consisting of Audio, Video, and control.  The Source Device, the Switching Device, and the Rendering Device all play a part in the HDMI signal quality (BER), along with the HDMI cable material and connector material, and finally, the quality of manufacture.

If your DVD player has a crappy HDMI transceiver, it does not matter if you use a $1000.00 solid gold or silver cable.  Depending on the length of cable, the signal will have some errors when it reaches the audio and video rendering device.

Most installations can use HDMI cables of lengths under 10 feet.  If all your HDMI cables can use 6 foot cables, you might as well use the least expensive cable you can find.

One other thing to keep in mind is the HMDI Revision your equipment supports.  Over the past few years HDMI has evolved. Like USB, it has increased in speed and also in the number of control channels it carries.  The versions are backward compatible, so no worries, but if all your hardware is using the latest revision and you use an older cable, you will loose some capabilities.

The Bottom Line: buy only what you can afford.

Answer 3

i made the same mistake and bought some hdmi cables from best buy.. just to find out that at BJ's and Costco they were at like 14 dollars each..

do not buy them!!! go to a big wholesale store.. they are way cheaper!!

Answer 4

Don N. is WAY off on his answer. It is a common mis-conception that "gold" cables are better conductors than "silver". The fact is that "silver" is the best conductor for A/V connectors. The reason the put a gold coating on it is so that the silver does not corrode or oxidize.

As for paying $100 for an HDMI cable..... You need to choose this for yourself. I personally payed $100 for each of mine AFTER a 50% discount. There is a difference in digital signal. Yes, it either works or doesn't, but at the same time, it will get there faster or slower. HDMI transmits data and there is a data rate involved with this transfer. The better the cable, the faster the signal gets there. Also, the better the shielding on the cable, the better the picture will look because there is less signal loss as it runs through the wire.

Monster is fully justified in their pricing because they warranty the cable. All of their cables have had a lifetime warranty against failing, so if a cable you bought ever doesn't work, you just let them know and they send you a new cable.

They have taken this a step further with HDMI and warranty that if the wire you buy ever doesn't transmit the HDMI signal due to a higher Bit rate needed or that the new equipment just runs on a higher version of HDMI (they are on the third version now), that they will send you the most recent cable for free in the future....for life.

Answer 5

I would not pay $100 dollars for a digital signal cable.

It's digital, it will either work or not, their is no in between. Buying an expensive cable is pointless.

It's digital...there is no good, better, best.

It's on or off just like DirecTV!

Answer 6

It is not a matter of one being better over another. Depending on the application, source, etc.. performance cables can make a diference.

It is so hottly debated as far as what is better over another. Just remember that you are the one that needs to be happy with your theater, and keep a OPEN mind, vs. some here that aren't.

Answer 7

Read the article at the link.

Digital cables actually have 3 possibilities (not 2): it works perfectly, it don't work at all, or it exhibit sparkles or dropouts (this is when the cable is just on the border of failing entirely).

There can also be physical issues such as stiffness or fragility.

So HDMI cable quality does vary, BUT for most uses a budget cable will give identical results to a $100+ cable. Sure there are poor budget cables out there (but there are some darned good ones too). Unless you absolutely must have a good connection NOW (i.e. can't wait for internet delivery, or can't afford to take a chance on an inexpensive cable), I see no reason to pay more than $10-$20 for a 6 ft / 2 m HDMI cable.

Longer runs or in-wall installation are another story ... there I'd look at a high quality cable and $100 is not unrealistic for a top quality (e.g. Bluejeans Cables BJC Series-1) 30-40 ft cable. That is still a fraction of the cost of a similar length Monster cable (which is simply a repackaged Chinese cable)

There is no way -- in my view -- that a Monster cable is ever a good deal.

Answer 8

Steveo got it right. To simplify, new devices add new features (like controlling connected devices automatically) and while your old, lower grade HDMI cable might have been good enough to get a great picture, It may not have the speed to handle Dolby TrueHD or dts HD or transmit the control codes or whatever else they may add later on down the road. So to answer, yes I would, IF future technologies matter to me, or if I was installing a cable in the wall to a flat panel or ceiling mounted projector. A situation where I don't want to have to replace the cable down the road.

Of course the HDMI cables used by cable companies are among the lowest and cheapest. They are only suitable for 720P/1080i which is ok for cable maybe but certainly not for Blu-Ray 1080P or uncompressed audio and so forth.

Monster is expensive. But they are the only ones guarranteeing a speed rating on the box which would make me more comfortable buying it. I have also seen independant test results where monoprice cables did ok vs. monster at shorter lenths but everybody failed except monster at longer lengths. If anybody else has seen any listing of speed ratings of different brand cables I would be very happy to see it.