The high definition generation and lack of standardisation

Fothsn · 17 May 2008 at 20:49

JaFFa said:
agreed, Im a strong supporter of the idea that all hdmi cables are exactly the same due to it being a digital cable. Maybe if it was 10m long or something you'd need a better quality but any normal length one will be the same.

Yep you don’t need to spend big money on a HDMI cables under £5 will see you nicely, the ones that spend silly money are crazy, you can’t improve a digital signal like you can with analogue, I suppose those that buy expensive ones buy gold plated USB leads to improve file quality

james.miller · 17 May 2008 at 20:50

BlairH said:
Just get a Pioneer PDP420XD for £1100 or -if you're looking for something bigger- a Pioneer PDPLX508D for £3000, plug in via HDMI and enjoy. The picture will be so good, that you simply will not CARE how it's set up.

I own both these TVs, and both have handled all HD and SD sources nicely

believe me if id spent 3k on a display id make sure it was set up damn perfectly.

Fothsn · 17 May 2008 at 20:55

james.miller said:
believe me if id spent 3k on a display id make sure it was set up damn perfectly.

Yep I still messing with my setting on the odd occasion I should stop really, but I can’t!

Kreeeee · 17 May 2008 at 22:40

BoomAM said:
Ok, one's that are actually good. .

Nope, my £3.50 cable gives an identical image to a £60 cable

The joys of digital.

KNiVES · 17 May 2008 at 23:15

BoomAM said:
Ok, one's that are actually good. .

Don't try to hide or change the fact that you got robbed and basically admitted to it.

FrankJH · 18 May 2008 at 12:09

Fothsn said:
Yep you don’t need to spend big money on a HDMI cables under £5 will see you nicely, the ones that spend silly money are crazy, you can’t improve a digital signal like you can with analogue, I suppose those that buy expensive ones buy gold plated USB leads to improve file quality

Think of the error correction the PS3/tv (or other hdmi connected equipment) has to do - better cables can make a difference, this is what I have put it down to anyway

Never had to buy £60+ ones, but I have found £15-20 ones are much better than the free ones given away with Toshiba HD-DVD players for example

Just my experience with my Samsung 1080p 40" tv (with an Onkyo hdmi equiped amp inbetween -and straight to the tv)

Margaret · 18 May 2008 at 12:12

Got a few cheap HDMI cables, absolute crystal clear picture for my PC and PS3, I run a 2.5m cable for the PC and a 1m for the PS3, I think they cost around the £3-6 mark.

Red Porsche · 18 May 2008 at 12:22

Saw in stuff magazine that they recomend spending at least 50 quid on a hdmi cable. They said it improves picture and sound quality. They havnt been bribed to say that.

Fothsn · 18 May 2008 at 12:41

redporshe said:
Saw in stuff magazine that they recomend spending at least 50 quid on a hdmi cable. They said it improves picture and sound quality. They havnt been bribed to say that.

Yeah and I’ve read pigs can fly, if you spend £50 on a HDMI cable you have being shafted by marketing.

FrankJH said:
Think of the error correction the PS3/tv (or other hdmi connected equipment) has to do - better cables can make a difference, this is what I have put it down to anyway

Never had to buy £60+ ones, but I have found £15-20 ones are much better than the free ones given away with Toshiba HD-DVD players for example

Just my experience with my Samsung 1080p 40" tv (with an Onkyo hdmi equiped amp inbetween -and straight to the tv)

How can you say you spend £20 on a cable

How are they any better than the fee ones?

Do you use a DVI cable connected to your TFT?

Nymins · 18 May 2008 at 12:44

Indeed. Still can't believe shops are trying to rip people off with £60 cables. Got mine for about £1.50 and they look great.

Fothsn · 18 May 2008 at 12:53

Yep I suppose they need a product that can boost their profits by a bit

I purchased a Thor Scart scart cable for £15 a few months back for my brothers PVR which I couldn’t see any improvements over the free one it came with, you can’t improve the quality of HDMI like you can do with a specialist scart cable even with a specialist scart I couldn’t see any difference.

Kappa · 18 May 2008 at 12:57

Nymins said:
Indeed. Still can't believe shops are trying to rip people off with £60 cables. Got mine for about £1.50 and they look great.

Oh no, its true! I paid £50 for an optical cable and its WAY better than the £5 one off ebay!

KittensCake · 18 May 2008 at 14:27

There IS a difference between cheap and expensive HDMI cables, it's just that most people don't need anything more than a cheap one.

It's not a simple as it's digital therefore it's either displaying perfectly or it isn't displaying at all, that's a myth.

Beansprout · 18 May 2008 at 14:30

KittensCake said:
There IS a difference between cheap and expensive HDMI cables, it's just that most people don't need anything more than a cheap one.

It's not a simple as it's digital therefore it's either displaying perfectly or it isn't displaying at all, that's a myth.

Of course - this is why I use gold-plated ethernet cables in my network

Psyk · 18 May 2008 at 14:44

In the case of HDMI cables, if it can consistently transmit all the necessary picture and sound information in the correct amount of time, then getting a higher quality cable will make no difference at all. So basically if you don't get any artifacts using a cheap cable, you won't get an improvement from using a more expensive one.

spirity · 18 May 2008 at 16:53

I think I've seen enough proof -- from The Gadget Show's real world comparison of a £20 HDMI lead vs a £120 lead, to write ups on avforums and everywhere else -- to know that I will not need to pay anything more than £5 on a HDMI cable. £10 if I'm feeling fruity.

Monster, Ixos, and all of the other £50+ HDMI cable manufacturers can go whistle.

Kappa · 18 May 2008 at 17:45

KittensCake said:
There IS a difference between cheap and expensive HDMI cables, it's just that most people don't need anything more than a cheap one.

It's not a simple as it's digital therefore it's either displaying perfectly or it isn't displaying at all, that's a myth.

Normally when people say something like this you expect them to back it up ...

Kreeeee · 18 May 2008 at 18:17

Nymins said:
Indeed. Still can't believe shops are trying to rip people off with £60 cables. Got mine for about £1.50 and they look great.

I still can't believe fools buy them!

Kreeeee · 18 May 2008 at 18:20

KittensCake said:
There IS a difference between cheap and expensive HDMI cables, it's just that most people don't need anything more than a cheap one.

It's not a simple as it's digital therefore it's either displaying perfectly or it isn't displaying at all, that's a myth.

At more than 3-4 metres, maybe, but at normal cable length as long as you get an unbroken signal (which pretty much all £3 cables will provide) then no amount of money spent on a new cable will improve the image.

Fr0dders · 18 May 2008 at 19:12

to the OP

it was never going to be any different

the world of the audiophile is just the same. Do you go for the practicality of digital, or do you stick with CD. Do you go with a valve amp, or normal amp, how much should you spend on speaker cable ? how much should you spend on speakers ?

do you prefer your home cinema in Dobly or Dts ? do you want to to investa in HDMI audio and dolby true HD etc.. etc..

Its no supprise that the biggest revolution in TV quality since the advent of colour TV has turned the world of the videophile the same as the world of the audiophile.

Because remember, all of the arguments above apply to home cinema in general, not just games consoles.