I recently aqcuired an HDTV and PS3. The PS3 doesn’t come with an HDMI cable, so I went searching the internets and Best Buy for the best cable. Monster Cable seems to have the most hype. There are a few other cable manufacturers as well. I was about shell out $100+ for a cable until I read this… “Maybe this will help people understand HDMI cables.” A gentleman going by the name of RUSirius explains the makeup of and differences between HDMI cables.
Not all HDMI cables are the same, but they do meet the requirements of the HDMI specification. There is a company called Monoprice.com that is a cable wholesaler. Monoprice sells individual cables over the internet. I purchased an HDMI cable from Monoprice for $17 and am extremely impressed. The cable is thick and sturdy. The picture is impressive. And the best part is that I saved at least $100. Read the article above and don’t get sucked in by the Monster hype.
I know some people aren’t comfortable with a no name like Monoprice. Apple also sells a cable for $20.
Greetings to Digg.com! I posted this because I knew it would help people and save them some money too. The PS3 is expensive enough. No need to get robbed on a cable too. Have a great day!
Update 2: I see that Opposable Thumbs picked up on my post. I am not registered there, so I will comment here. The HDMI Cable Scam is meant to take advantage of people like us who are into technology and gaming. We don’t like inferior equipment or getting ripped off. I’m glad you put that post together. It’s important that people know what their choices are.
Also, we are being very generous to Monster. Their cables are easily over $100. Especially when you get into the gold plated, nitrogen infused stuff. You said it best. If you see an $80 difference, then keep the Monster cable. Otherwise, no reason to get ripped off.
Techno babble from an IT guy named Harry 
I agree with you. I have been using monoprice for a long time and have been 100% satisfied with their products and their great prices! EVERY gamer out there should know about monoprice!
If you’d thought about the fact that it’s a digital signal, you might realize how little the quality of cable really means. The fact you had to blog about this is hilarious, and sad.
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why did you buy a PS3 in the first place? 🙂
because the ps4 isn’t out yet, douche.
Why did you post a link to your blog on Digg? Why not just post the actual link?
People are always shelling out ridiculous amounts for digital cables and it drives me crazy. Anything digital requires only that you don’t use complete and utter crap….and it works 100% fine. Everytime I see anyone buying a $150 HDMI, DVI, or USB cable I cringe. It bugs me that people get ripped off like this and I think it bugs me a little bit more that they just don’t know any better.
I think the most horrible thing I saw was someone buying a gold-plated optical cable…..I had to say something that time.
I agree with Derek. It is hilarious to me that someone would blog about this. Digital is digital. As long as you aren’t dropping bytes, the quality of the cable is so insignificant. And almost every cable sold these days works for digital over short distances. (
Derek,
Nice reply. You’re a passive-aggressive condescending dick, and sad. The guy wrote something that would hopefully help others. You might know everything, but the rest of us don’t.
ALL signals are actually analog.
[quote]
ALL signals are actually analog.
{/quote]
QFT. Representation != Interpretation
I got your back 100%, Tim. If the fact he had to blog about it is sad, what does that make the fact that you had to post a reply about it, Derek?
ouch.
Yes Monoprice has the best cables at great prices and fast delivery. When I bought my Vizio 50″ at Circuit City the sales guy gave me a real song and dance routine as to why I should get the monster HDMI cable which was a fortune. I bought from monoprice but not just the HDMI cable but all my cable needs, s-video, composite, component, rca everything. What a company!
I just spoke to a buddy of mine who owns 3 Audio and Video stores regarding the HDMI issue. He agrees with everyone that all HDMI cables are the same and will offer the same digital signal. The only difference between Monster and the other competitors is, Monster offers much better marketing displays and the profit markup to the seller is over 175%. It’s all about dollars and cents for the retailers. He did tell me that cost for Monster products are similar to what we would buy a generic cable from sites like Monoprice and a few others.
well…. you already wasted $600 on the ps3, whats another $100 on the cable?
expensive hdmi cable is a ripoff, so is the ps3
All cables.. no matter who makes them.. are a complete ripoff… unless you buy them from someone reasonable like monoprice that reduces their profit margin. Where I work now I can tell you that there is at least a 300% markup on cables. If you look at the podcast for thebroken.. a broadcast engineer dispells the “monster” myths and explains how making your own cables saves you money. (the ones you can make)
Good post.
Not all of us knows this stuff.
Attn: BJ
morris code signals are digital. on/off/on
cram that up your HDMI hole, asswhore
Good looking out. You just saved me and my friends a ton of cash!
BJ, that is true. But when the device is expecting an analog signal, the quality of it matters. When the device is expecting a “digital” signal, it doesn’t matter the quality of it so long as it can tell the difference between the “on” and “off” voltages.
I purchased my cables off of newegg for $9 plus $4.99 shipping. Great quality.
Ref: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16812186012
**** IMPORTANT***
CABLES DO MATTER
I am currently employed by best buy and after purchasing a 46″ sharp aquos and having connected both a macbook pro and custom media center pc with 4 different brands, some created an odd interlacing flicker at higher resoultions 1920X1080(1080p) whilst others did not. grade and insulation of cable do play a huge factor if you have alot of interference surrounding the equipment aka amp subwoofer etc.!!! I have owned numerous high def tv’s and although buyers of entry or mid level tv’s may not notice a difference it Definitelly is the diff between watchable and unwatchable at these qualities especially when output from a pc.
******IMPORTANT*****
I work at Best Buy and I buy the monster cables because I get them for pretty close to wholesale…which is CHEAP.
I’ll be using monoprice when I quit.
“ALL signals are actually analog.”
Which is why we care about signal velocities, line impedances, cross coupling, and EMI in digital systems 😛
Hopefully more people can now make informed decisions for their HDMI cables.
Apart from experiencing the amazing PS3 (which, yes, it does not have a big PS3 library right now but oh how sweet it is. Don’t belive the negative hype), this blog helped me get a good deal.
Kudos and keep up the great job !!!!!
Godspeed.
Actual if you have dlp that’s the a true digital to digital signal, just wanted to make that statement. I agree with the wasting $600 bucks on the ps3. Some many promises from Sony about the next generation beginning with the PS3…HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
haha, i used to love tools like you when i worked at radio shack. we got a bigger commission on items like cables. some people would have a problem with the ethics of screwing unsuspecting consumers but as a sales associate i justified in the fact that monster just charges an idiot tax on their cables that complete douches who actually shop for cable at retail stores just have to pay for being ignorant.
Actually, if you have dlp that’s the a true digital to digital signal, just wanted to make that statement. I agree with the wasting $600 bucks on the ps3. So many promises from Sony about the next generation beginning with the PS3…HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Should be “Beware the *enter popular consumer electronics cable here* scam.”
They’re all entirely overpriced.
@pwntalive
If your going to call someone an “asswhore”, at least get the correct name of the communications method your using to make your point…it’s morse code, not morris…otherwise you look like the asswhore.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_code
This article is wrong, the better cable do work better. The digital square is actually a supposition of super high frequency sine waves. This is obtained through the Fourier transform. Cheaper cable attenuate the higher frequencies and round the edges of the digital square pulse. If the frequency is high enough, and in hdmi it is, then whether certain pulses are one or zero can because highly ambiguous, especially with you can a stretch of alternation ones and zeros, say 15 bits of 101010… which is a common sub sequence for many images. In this case you see color distortions.
i say go with the new Apple HDMI cable. Lifetime warranty for $19.
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=4641C671&nplm=TL951LL%2FA
Once you’ve witnessed a $15 HDMI cable vs a $125 HDMI cable. About six months ago my friend ordered the cheapest cable on the internet. He was tired of waiting, so he went to the store and bought the best one they had at the time, thinking of returning it later. It looked fine to us until we switched out the expensive cable with the cheap one a week later and noticed a huge difference in quality. You can keep believing in your theories, but once you’ve seen it first hand you can’t really say anything.
I bought the official Sony cable for my PS3, it’s not too expensive and not too cheap.
Wow, you paid dubble what I paid!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?DEPA=0&type=&Description=HDMI+Cable&Submit=ENE&N=0&Ntk=all&Go.x=13&Go.y=34
Not everyone has the time to learn every single thing about the latest technology that fanboys are raving over. You can be a jerk and tell them how stupid they are (the self-centered way), or you can try to educate them, without demoralizing them (the kind way).
I agree digital is digital. But like someone posted above, the difference is when that digital cable is broadcasting analog. If you dont want your analog stuff to look like shit, use a better cable. I, also, work for Best Buy; Monster is overpriced, but a better cable does matter when it comes to you overall viewing experience…
Fuck the PS3!
Better cables do make a difference. Like someone mentioned above, digital is digital. When you are watching a HD program it doesnt matter a whole lot what type cable you have. But as someone who does this for a living, the diffence is when you are watching something that is not HD. Your analog stuff looks much better when you use a higher quality cable. Not saying Monster is the best, because they are over priced, but spending that extra few bucks on a better cable will make a difference. Most of what is broadcast is non HD anyway, and that is where you will notcice the difference. Anyway that is my two cents.
Fuck the PS3!
It really baffles my mind how uneducated the population is about t he term “mark-up”. Has no one ever gone into a radio shack or bought cables off the internet ? Best Buy would have been the last place I would have gone for cables. Radio Shack or Home Dept would have been my first choices.
Monster cables do make the difference when coming with signal reliability and quality. There are studies to back it. Is it needed ? Not really most people will never notice the difference and will still bitch about the disruption of ESPNHD when their Treo 650 rings. Will monster cables prevent this disruption ? Nope. Have them, and they do not.
Conclusion: Buy a cheap cables get cheap signal. Buy an expensive cable run into the same problems a cheap one has but the signal will be about 25% better. Here is to watching scrambled Sports Center.
Wow – everybody gets so worked up 🙂 It’s true that the expensive cables do very little, but there are some misconceptions about the nature of a digital signal. The fact that it is digital does not mean it cannot degrade – If I yell words or morse code, someone 10 miles away still hears neither. It’s the nature of the signal loss that can effect digital adversely and more extremely. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliff_effect and learn about the cliff effect. This does happen with digital signals and more expensive cables keep it from happening, but only at longer lengths – so a 8′ Monster is useless since a $20 generic is fine for that length.
My point after this rambling is that the digital and analog signals are still being transmitted in an anolog manner (As is everything – even optical – digital is theoretical and discrete) and both signals fade as they travel farther.
I agree that people should not pay high prices for cables, and I am one who trys to use the cheapest cables possible.
Depending on the types of signal, the cheap cables may work just as good as the expensive cables, BUT that is not always the case, especially for very high speed signals. It is possible that cheap digital cables can introduce bit errors and people will “see” side-effects because of bit errors. For gigabit serialized signals, bad cables can cause lots of problems! As signals get faster and faster in the coming years, this type of problem will occur more often on the cheaper cables.
I’m not saying that you should throw away a bunch of money on hyper expensive cables, but you need to evaluate those dirt cheap cables for your situation, and you might even need to move up to the next higher price of cables to get a decent signal.
When it comes to “analog” types signals, it is worth it to spend a little bit more on gold plated connectors and better shielding to ensure the signal comes out a little better. This does not mean that you need to speed $100 on component video cables or audio cables, because you can find good ones on the internet for far less.
One more thing…
The longer the cable, the more likely you will run into problems or notice differences between cables.
Most likely a 12 inch cable from any vendor should work, but a 12 foot cable might give you completely different results.
Food for thought…
NEVER BUY MONSTER CABLE…until they go out of business and finally drop their prices…
THEY STARTED OUT SELLING CD DEMAGNIFIERS!!!!
THERE IS NOTHING MAGNETIC IN A CD!!!!
crooks.
i’m cool:
passive-aggressivep
ssive-aggressivepassive-aggressive
passive-aggressivepassive-aggressive
passive-aggressive
Just like Derek said, the cable has little influence on a digital signal. All thats being passed is a 1 or a 0, binary. As long as the the signal makes it all the way through you’re all right. The only time you have to worry is when you’re using long cables. Then expensive, low empedance cables, makes a differance
This is a great discussion but realistically no one has provided any links to actual testing that has been done on any cables. Everyone has their own opinion and that most high dollar cables are over rated. Provide links and information that backs up what you are saying just don’t be spouting off at everyone when you have no support to back your claims. Some of you claims well we tried this cable and that cable but how do you know you didn’t have a bad cable…come on…
Arguing on the internet is like running in the special olympics… you know the rest.
Anyway, Kyle nailed it with the digital signals, a decent cable is all you need, and gold plating is to ensure the ends make a good contact, gold does not oxidize.
A good analog cable has sheilding as does a good digital cable. Signal quality also depends on the source, desination and if you have interfearance.
Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
I use http://www.firefold.com for cables, low prices, great quality, fast shipping. Have ordered from them a few time and am very impressed with the awesome cables they deliver.
I have found better prices at FlyShark for HDMI cables and much more. They carry about the same product line too. Take a look at the HDMI cables.
6 dollar hdmi cable from amazon.com. cant beat the price. a cable is a cable is a cable. as long as it is under 6 feet you will never see the difference between the expensive ones and the cheap ones. dont get ripped off by paying too much on a DIGITAL cable. lol.
I hear technobabble about this all the time (like from a couple of the posters above.) Most of the technobabble contains a grain of truth, but misses the big picture. Whether analog or digital, it’s very hard to degrade a signal is any significant way over the kind of short cable runs people typically use. I have used some really embarrassingly bad cables from time to time (which I would never show to the ‘true believers’) even in professional installations. What a professional knows is: when it matters, and when not.
Matt you forgot RFI very important factor
HDMI is digital; It works or it doesn’t. You almost spent $100. You are almost an idiot. Next.
The same goes for sound cables… I heard that you are supposed to use 10% of your sound system on cables, but the fact is that the diameter of your copper core is the only difference you can hear… Of course nobody who used 100$ on a cable will accept that it dosnt sound better then a 5$ regular lamp cable…
Been using monoprice for over a year. I still cannot believe people spend $100+ for the same cable from Monster, etc!
heh..heh.. way to go – you bought a ps3 and blogged about it!?
i salute your guts
I’ve also found cheap HDMI and not so cheap Monster brand cables at http://www.OnlineGadgetStore.com where you can choose from many brands of HDMI cables…
Yo,
If you want to read about cables and power for audio/video equipment check out this site:http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/audioprinciples/cables.htm
They haven’t ran a test on HDMI, but the consensus seems to be that, for the high-bandwith signals, such as HDMI, you need a decent cable. Not Monster priced cable, but not $3 cable either. Reading the forums over there most people like a website called BlueJeansCable. They have HDMI cables as low as $13.50 for 2 feet. I have never bought anything from that site, so use your own judgement.
BlueJeansCable is the best place for any cable
I used Monoprice.com to buy a 6″ cable for my ps3 for about $10 – half of it was just for shipping.
Monoprice FTW!
I also used to be a Best Buy lackiy. the cable brand does not matter. the monster cables are just for show and are no way better than the cheaper counterparts. Best Buy pushes those high price cables because they need the margin, not just revanue. Bust Buy makes alot more profit off of cables and acc. then they do off of a 65 inch Pioneer Plasma. When people asked me about cables i told them to go to Cablewearhouse.com or NewEgg.com. Best Buy has screwed me over more than once, so i like to think of that as returning the favor.
While no one should be paying Monster type prices for digital cables, there is a difference between the Monoprice & Firefold cables and ones you can get from a company like ShowMeCables http://www.showmecables.com
The difference is in the awg (guage) size of the cable. Be careful of very, very low price cables. You are probably buying cables that use very little copper and cable ends are probably of the very cheap molded variety.
My suggestion – Go middle of the road. You don’t need to pay Monster prices, but be careful of the bottom of the basement prices as well.
I second that on http://www.showmecables.com
HDMI cables are a rip-off. I can’t tell you how many of my customers have wasted over $100 for and HDMI cable.
As an install tech, I was able to get a reseller discount at Show Me Cables and get this – They actually answered the phone.
I’ve tried monoprice and I liked the prices, but they offer ZERO tech support and try returning something to them – good luck!
Just my $.02
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I got my HDMI cable at Sam’s club, they carry a high quality of Philips cables at a very cheap price (HDMI $20) (Digital Fiber Optical $11), the cables have thick rubber surrounding them and are top notch in quality!
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Monster sells because people buy – that simple. Why people buy is another story, but rarely is it because they are 100% informed. In any case, thanks to Harry for offering quality fodder for an amusing discussion. I used to sell Monster cable for a living as well (Tweeter), but honestly its like comparing 99% good to 99.999%. That being said, I do believe you get what you pay for, but the issue is cost-to-benefit. Monster is not worth the incremental benefit for the cost.
One trick I’ve found if you have to buy the cable retail is not to go to a store you would expect to find it in. For example, USB cables. The typical 6′ cable is usually priced around $20 or so, and after working in an office supply store, I know that the margin at that point is pretty high.
So I’d go to the grocery store that was down the road from where I lived instead of going across town to an electronics store. $7.
From what I’ve heard, the longer the distance, get higher quality and gauge of cable. All my runs are under 10 feet, so I just got the cheap HDMI stuff from a computer store. Monster Cable for those digital runs is quite a rip-off in my opinion. But if you end up buying it and you’re happy using it, it’s not quite a rip-off. Just gotta be informed.
the machines are alive…ALIVE….ALIIIIVE!
This was posted to digg as blogspam.
I recall reading something – on Digg, no doubt – about Sony voiding the warranty on a PS3 because the customer was using a non-sony cable…
Most (if not all) retail suppliers of cables are a rip-off.
Buy your cables from a direct importer with a good reputation. I’ve used http://www.showmecables.com and they have never disappointed.
I am a commercial A/V tech and they have very good prices, but just as important, they can make custom stuff and the answer the phone when you call.
MeandMyself is a huge douche . i mean….. I am a huge douche. Because i am MeandMyself and i came back to check my posts on a HDMI blog from 2 weeks ago
It amazes me how some people have to hate so much whenever a small site gets some exposure for writing a about a topic that MOST people are completely ignorant on.
Thanks for the post Harry. I’m glad you got picked up by Digg and I hope this will prevent at least a few people from getting ripped off on their HDMI cable shopping adventures.
Regards…
also bought my cable from http://www.monoprice.com i previously had a $120 monster cable, tried out the monoprice one, got the same exact picture, so i returned the monster cable back to best buy and kept my much more affordable calbe, been enjoying my hdmi cable ever since
Well, I agree that most companies make cables which are expensive as all hell, monster especially. However, there are reasons for this. I am not saying to go out and buy such things as monster audio cables (otherwise known as rca cables) but when it comes to video cables, a brand name matters. For your consideration:
I work at The Source By Circuit City (the old radioshack for all you non-canadians). We carry top end Samsung LCD televisions. The particular model which I decided to test was the 40 inch which we carry. I took 2 from their boxes and plugged them into the wall side by side. I then used the basic component cable made by a company nexxtech (the same cable you people are buying from these cheap sites branded with a different name) and plugged this cable into the tv. I then plugged a monster 45 (CDN) dollar component into the exact same other tv. I then pulled out 2 panasonic upscaling dvd players, and put in two identical movies (ice age for the colours) I plugged both sets of cables from the tv’s into these dvd players.
I set them to play both at the same time (seeing as how one remote controlled both dvd players as it was the same model) and let them run the movie. In most scenes the monster cables provided a much clearer picture. There was less pixalation, less “noise” (you know like the “snow” from regular cable), and there was also better colour vibrance with the monster cable.
I couldn’t beleive my eyes, monster was indeed better! I baught a set of these monster cables and brought it home to my 46″ sony, the same results were produced.
MONSTER CABLES DO COST A HELL OF A LOT OF MONEY, BUT THEY ARE BETTER THAN THE REGULAR OR GENERIC CABLES.
THE SAME IS TURE WITH THEIR SURGE PROTECTORS. So before all you people who think that a cable is cable, do some research, look into the components which make up monster cable (such as the special core which keeps the impedence at 75 ohms regardless of how much it is bent). This type of thing is what makes the cables cost more, and produced better signals and better pictures. Im not saying to go out and buy all monster cable, but when it comes to video, well worth every sent.
Also, for all of you who dont want to spend the money, don’t bother then. Monster cables are a luxury good (for all of you who have exonomics experience) they are not for everyone, if they were they’d be free, and we’d be socialists. Therefore, if you want the best picture possible and dont mind shelling out some extra money go for monster. The decision should depend on if you want a slightly better picture and dont mind spending a premium of 50+ dollars.
What BJ says is true BUT the signals are read as on/off and that is the big difference. So his point is meaningless just being a smartass.
Monoprice has amazing service. I’ve ordered twice from them and both times they shipped my cables within an hour of order placement. Phenomenal store, I highly recommend them.
Wow, Monoprice does have good deals. It makes me wonder if people have been buying in bulk off this site and selling it on eBay?
Retailers have been ripping people off on cables for years. It’s pretty lame. Personally, I use cablesforless.com.
-Arem
http://www.seaofire.com
Wow, that is really impressive. Much thanks to the authors, as I am currently saving for a PS3 myself
anything to do with HDTV is just way to complicated.
Buying, Monster Cables and such, you’re paying for the name brand as you would shrits, say Polo, Lacoste, etc. I’ve been using tigerdrect.com and other sites like newegg.com to buy all of my audio/visual cable.
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http://www.hometoys.com/article.php4?displayid=850
Just to let everyone know, I wanted to prove that there was NO difference in an expensive HDMI cable to a cable that you would purchase at say, monoprice.com. So I went to my local CompUSA and purchased a Monster HDMI cable 400 – touting the “Best” HDMI cable that you can buy at $119.99 for 6ft. I then bought a cable at optimized cable company (www.optimization-world.com) at $19.99 for 6ft. I have a Sharp AQUOS 46″. I setup my DVR at a still frame from Heroes of Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere, of course!) and began switching cables from Monster and from Optimized. I took note of the subtle details of edges of her face, eyes and background. I must’ve swapped it back and forth maybe 5 times each. I compared the both and realized that the only difference I see is that it’s easier to plug the Monster HDMI cable to the tv and my DVR box then the Optimized cable… If this ease of plugging the cable can justify $100, then keep the Monster cable. Oh as far as the picture quality difference there was NONE. 🙂
I bought Sony HDMI ($50 8FT) and used it for a week. Then I could not resist all the hype and purchased a Monster HDMI cable ($125 8FT). Here is the similarity: the picture resolution is in fact the SAME
The difference: THE COLOR. If you enjoy looking at things live and have the money then buy the expensive cable. You will appreciate how beautiful and vibrant the colors are. The sony cable can not match how deep the primary colors display and neither can the lesser priced ones.
If you still do not believe then see for yourself. Monster will give you a full refund on any cable you buy no questions asked. There is nothing to lose except hundreds of hours watching video instead of live tv.
geek squad sucks…
3 weeks back i bought a toshiba a105-s4104 satellite laptop outta the box.the guys told me oh we just have to uninstall the demo saoftware and then we are good to go.come back in an hour.ok hour later we come they say umm-ummm..so since my cuz and me are hungry we go grab some middle eastern food.in a mall nearby.
coing back after abt 2 hrs, we get the news that he is installinng the missing drivers!!!
finally when i get the machine,the ^&*%%^&** geek squad guy has uninstalled xp media centre edition and installed xp home instead.
i am almost ready to kill by now…then they say oh how sorry they are and all that, and how they will call and send the media centre cds across.
i am back in the caribbean,and no sign..yet.
geek sqad rage anyone
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Just bought a Full HD Sharp LCD and a Samsung Bluray player three weeks ago. The guy in the store offered me a Monster HDMI cable which I bought (because I didn’t know dip about this). Hooked it all up and all worked just perfect… however, after reading some newsgroups on HDMI cable’s perceived scam I returned my cable ($130) and bought a generic Chinese one for $25. Let me tell you this: I returned the generic cable and bought a Monster again! The difference in colourdetails was so big that even I could see it (am not a high end freak nor even mid end 😉 ). So whatever everybody might say about just 1’s and 0’s just try for yourself and you;ll see!!!
Well when you can afford the Ps3 the Hdmi cable is not much.
Youppy, well of course you can buy a substandard cable and get ripped off from the other direction, which is why everyone made such an effort to list good suppliers. You spent 100 more then you needed to but it’s your money, It’s goes back into the economy and gets redistributed. I quit the business about 5 years ago but I was a recording engineer for a long time. the cable issue isn’t as cut and dried in the analog world but digital is totally different. You can have a $200.00 Moen faucet or a $10.00 Lowe’s facet and as long as the water comes out it’s all good But there is still problems with digital cables, it can have as much snow as analog the snow just looks different (moire patterns) And things like digital converters. The converter in a $50.00 CD player is an absolute piece of garbage and destroys nearly all the gain of using a CD. But listen through a high dollar set of converters sometime. I hate the sound of MP3s or FM radio or SIRIUS radio (worse compression ever) This won’t bother most people.
Thank you for your nice entry. I will also buy an HDMI cable as soon as I get a PS3. Thank you again!
Some hdmi cables are way overprice. MonoPrice offers HDMI cables under $10.
THANK YOU so much for this post. My husband and his buddy just took advantage of the $100 PS3 price drop and his buddy almost shelled out $150 for a HDMI cable. I found monoprice.com but figured it had to be a mistake that they are $130 less, until I found your site. You saved the day!
Monoprice is an absolute life saver. My only wish is that they had a retail store and it was near me
Shipping is the only downfall.
Still, you cannot go wrong with their insanely cheap prices.
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This always seems to be the way with electronics these days. Get you suckered into a product, then gouge you on the “accessories” which are actually necessary to take full advantage of the product.
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I myself work at Circuit City, and recently bought a 37″ Toshiba 1080p LCD. which I use primarily as a computer monitor.
I use a Phillips DVI-to-HDMI cable which I bought for $10 from a department store, and the cable is sturdy with good composition, gold-plating, etc.
Don’t buy into the digital cable hype. I am around my TV damn near 24 hours a day (whether at work or at home, since we sell the model I bought), and the one at the store which uses monster cables looks NO different than the one I am typing on now. Movies look the same, sports look the same…everything is exactly the same.
I would be hard-pressed to believe that I could get any better picture on this TV if I had a Monster cable than the one I am seeing right now, and this is from someone who is near their TV for hours and hours a day. I don’t have $120 to waste on a cable, and most others don’t either.
Repeat after me: Do NOT spend your hard-earned money on a $120 cable. The only reason people from Best Buy and CC tell you to do so is because they are indoctrinated in their training to tell you, so much so that many of them actually start believing it.
I got my 6ft hdmi cable form monoprice. Including shipping it was under $10. Works wonderfully too!
I don’t justify paying over $50 for a cable.
Monoprice FTW! Overpriced cables FTL!
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I had a Monster fanboy come over to my house with his monster HDMI and component cables. I bet him that he would not be able do differentiate if I used my dollar store a/v cables (for component) and monoprice HDMI. I swithced back and forth 5 times for each. He got less than 50% correct. He refused to pay up claiming my 71″ Samsung needed calibration.
Ed,
lol. that’s a great story!
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Thanks! Nice post. You just helped me save money. I recently got my 5 free blu ray movies and have been wanting to watch them in hi def but lacked hdmi cables. So i was shocked to see the prices for them at the stores. A trusty google search helped me find this. Thanks again!
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I agree, monster cables are too overhyped as well as expensive. There are cheaper ones out there with the same if not better quality.
thanks for posting this. more people need to realize how overpriced monster cables are and people should stay away from best buy / circuit city type stores. monoprice is the way to go.
For all you guys that are looking for great quality cables for LOW price. We are 1.3 certified and I have a copy of the certificate. Please feel free to contact me via email. We are a computer cable manufacturer and honestly we supply to almost every company that I’ve seen on this page.
Better quality cables do make a difference. It’s as simple as I plug in the cheap cable and my HD picture starts to pixelise. I put in my monster (I didn’t dent my budget) and voila no more pixels.
P.S wii is a child’s toy, 360 a teeny toy, PS3 is a mans machine
I don’t think there is any difference in any of the cables except that they may change the name to a popular branch and charge you $20 extra for it.
I think this is true for a lot of products. I went to bestbuy to get a crossover cable, and the only one they had was a 7ft one that cost $20+. I went home and searched for them online and I could get a 100ft one for around $10.
As stated several times in this post – stay away from the retail stores on cables. If you use a recommneded website like http://www.showmecables.com you get a few things – quality products, competitive prices and people actually answer the phone.
How about Cat 5e Patch Cables for $.59/ea.? The big box retailers are preying on the people that are not educated when it comes to cables
just to let you guys know there is a difference in cables a big one. first off i had bought a cheap phillphs one at walmart and i notice it had a tint of green to the blacks and greens in the whites so then i bought the m1000 of monster cable and its all gone so if you gys want to to keep bashing monster cable i would stop because you sound like morons when you didnt even try it out sony KDL40XBR4
This like so many other things proves one thing, make something expensive and people will buy it. Try to offer them value and they will chastize it.
There is absolutly no performance difference
(cosmetic differences,yes) in these cables. See and say what you want. Differences are in your minds.
I’m so glad to have found that site. *bookmarked* I never understood what made one cable better than another, or an adapter better than another.
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This same thing happened to me. I bought a 55″ Rear Projection TV at circuit city and they sold me a hdmi cable along with it for an additional $124.00! Needless to say, I returned the cable the next day and ordered one from http://www.cabletrain.com for a very good price. I was very satisfied with the quality and the picture was awesome. So yeah, don’t buy from circuit city or best buy, it’s a huge rip-off
I just want to say that Monster sells a great product for the money and I feel that it was worth every penny. The cheap cables suck and anyone who disagrees is a CHEAP ASS GAMER
UMMMM I can only say wow… Everyone on this page is retarded accept the last guy who goes by “HOT CARL” how does that really make you people feel? That a guy who goes by HOT CARL is more intelligent than you? I just want to know really… I am not going to explain this in depth those of you who have half a brain will get it. Those of you who have brain decay from all the pot you have smoked wont get it and probably wont notice the different from one HDMI to the next because your brain is fried and thats fine. I work in a retail store and I have personally seen the different, the cheap cables will not I repeat will NOT send a 120HZ signal I know because ive tried it. The person who started this page is like the guy who said a mountain cant be climbed… well tough shit but guess what buddy I climbed it. if your working with any LCD 120HZ or over a 10 bit color you will notice the different I promise. Dont listen to these fools who are probably in forclosure and dont even have the computer they are typing paid off… Just because they cant afford it they want to rob you of what you can have it makes me sick. This argument is as stupid as an argument about how you should buy a Barney watch from the dollar store instead of a Rolex because they both tell time.
Oh I forgot you Idiots who bought SHIT TVS like Vizio, Polaroid, Element, Insignia, Magnavox, Philips, ESC dont read my Blog… you probably wont notice the different because your TV is crap end of story. I wrote this for people who have a real HDTV Like sony, samsung, sharp, mitsubishi, and toshiba
Hiya, im not sure whether thuis blogs just the US or if theressome UK mixed up in here too, I have gone through a fair few HDMI cables over the last 2 years as ive moved house quite abit and have had to extend and shorten my cable lenghts twice, i buy allmine from a uk company called euronetwork http://www.euronetwork.co.uk they told me thte same info as above, that unless your usiong a cable for over 5 metres or so, it really doesnt matter which ones you use as there all designed to carry the same signals, 🙂 just thought id add my tuppence worth into the mix.
meritline.com has very good cable prices with free shipping on most items
If you want a cable that is just a bit better quality than meritline, check out http://www.CableDealz.com
I have had the same problem with HDMI cables benig waaaay overpriced. I found a website that offers a 6ft HDMI cable for under 5 bucks!! I thought it would be cruddy quality for that price, but PC World wrote an article comparing their cables to Monster cables, and they actually preformed BETTER!!!
Check it out http://www.cablewholesale.com
I have heard lots of good stuff about them so hopefully this helps!
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Hey… you have a great blog here! I’m definitely going to bookmark you! Thank you for your info.And this is Compare samsung hdtv 1080p site/blog. It pretty much covers best samsung hdtv 1080p related stuff.
I found an online hdmi cable site that has given great customer service-Optimized Cable (optimization-world.com). I ordered too short of a cable and they took it back with no restock fee and even gave me a discount on the correct one-highly recommend.
Some very good and intelligent points are being brought up about Analog VS Digital (HDMI) signals running through cables and how the degradation and interference can give you lower quality picture. Some good points have been made, but there are pieces of the puzzle missing.
1. For an analog signal (component, composit, s-video) the cable does make a difference.
2. For digital (HDMI, DVI) the cable does not make a difference.
Yes both signals are transmitted via analog sine waves through a cable and both can be interfered upon. But with digital systems the difference in the resulting quality is not so much in the signal but in how the signal is used by the receiving end.
In an analog signal the “data” for the picture and sound is “stored” in the signal so any interference applied to the signal will effect its output.
In a digital signal there is no “data” stored in the signal. The receiving end only looks at the highs and lows of the sine wave and interprets those highs and lows as one of two things; on or off. So it does not matter how interfered the signal is along the sin wave as long as the receiving end gets that on/off signal it comes out the exact same because there is no analog way of interpreting an on or off.
Hello. First, I want to say that I just purchased my first HDTV just over a month ago.
I’m not very internet saavy, but I started to think more and more about these cables and felt that I was possibly ripped off.
My setup is fairly simple: a 46″ 240 Hz Sony Bravia with surround sound and blue ray player. I got a great deal from best buy, especially with 0 interest for 3 years, but the cable prices were steep IMO.
I bought the 2 monster cable 1000 that were $100 each, and I was told that these were the best ones for a 240 Hz style of TV (said so on the monster box). Both cables are 4′.
Personally, the pictures are great and I have no issues, but I bought a cheap one from amazon after reading a few comments.
I found virtually no difference when switching back and forth for a football game or watching a movie like “The Boondock Saints” in terms of quality.
Honestly, I had a friend switch them in and out, and I really couldn’t tell a difference.
I can’t take them back because the 30 day policy is done, and ebay has these selling new (monster) for around $20…. if there are any buyers.
I learned a valuable lesson, but what bothers me most is something marked in a store for $100 can hardly sell for $15 on the internet.
I’m happy with my TV (got the surround sound and blue ray for free in the deal), but the cable issue just pisses you off that not only were you dumb enough to fall for it, but that this is purposely done and could have saved about $175 and put that towards something else.
The whole point is to learn. I say be safe and buy the cheap one first. If it works, order 4-5 more as backups.
If you hate it, try the expensive brand. If you’re happy…. good for you…. but if it seems the same, you can easily return it.
Once I decided on the 50″ T.V. I wanted, I then had to decide where to buy it. I thought if a salesperson was honest about the cables, that would be a great start. I went on-line to The Source, they have a live chat so I asked about the difference in cables.My answer was ” Monster Cables are the best in the world, almost handmade, the quality of materials used to make the cable is what matters” The “almost handmade” remark made me laugh.
Screw that store…..I’ll keep trying. I don’t have many options here( north of Toronto)
Ive got to say that I’ve used both cheap cables and more expensive cables and i have notice a notable difference. Ok, so the HDMI is a digital signal but im telling you, it really does make a difference which ones you use. The one i use works extremely well. Ive had it for years and cant tell you how happy i am – HDMI
Thanks. You saved me some coin.
Lets get a couple of things straight. With HDMI, the digital signal is encoded onto an analogue carrier wave and then at the other side decoded from analogue to digital. This happens in virtually ALL digital signals, including networking, DAB, DVB-S/T, SATA, IDE, etc, etc. There’s no way the decoded digital signal can be any different unless there the analogue carrier wave suffers interference, in which case the picture will be seriously degraded. For the analogue signal to suffer enough interference over a short distance to effect the analogue carrier wave is highly unlikely, so a short cheap cable will most likely work fine. Over a longer distance of a few meters, carrier wave signal quality *may* play a part as the analogue carrier could suffer enough interference for the digital decoding process to be corrupted. This is the only situation a higher quality (more expensive) HDMI cable can be justified.
read here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modulation#Digital_modulation_methods
@Hilary Sheener: well, a Monster employee telling us it matters, huh? I guess the Christmas was comming, time to fool some customers and earn few bucks?
If it has HDMI specs logo on it, it doesn’t matter even if it cost 3$! Don’t buy Monster HDMI cables!
HDMI is an electronics industry hoax and scam. Unless you’re a biggie time gamer, its a total waste, really probably a waste then too. Unfortunately, I just bought into the HDMI hookup scam (via an ultrathin Samsung, that’s a waste too) thinking it was going to be better than the coax. Its no better and essentially worthless for the money invested. Who and what the hell has happened? How and why did the industry and public get suckered into leaving coax? Its much simpler, less expensive. easier to install, etc, etc. I’m so over HDMI, its way overpriced, over-rated and has no real value added for masses.
if u can afford ps3
if u can affford original games
why dont u spend some more for the cable ?
spend a bit more and u can have some brand that is up to ps3 standard.
have u ever see a woman with lv bag wearing a cheap watch ?
I would pay more for American made cables, but even Monster Cables are made in Communist China, so that tosses even the patriotism argument out of the equation.
All you people need to stop crying about how much monster cost. I’ve worked in electronic store for years while going to school. If you don’t want the best results then be cheap skates. But don’t sit there and cry when the audio doesn’t work because you bought a $3 cable. Yes it does happen all the time. Don’t complain about your $4,000 tv looks like crap and your paying for high def and you can’t figure out it was because you wanted to buy a cable from walmart. Please don’t complain when you show up at a store frustrated because you went all out on buying a 3d television and it gives you headaches because you wanted to pinch a penny when it came the HDMI. Be some what respectful do some research that the only reason you will spend money on a montser cable is for because you have a 120 hrtz tv or higher. The longer the cable the more likely you will have signal loss so bite the bullet and buy the $300 50 ft cable. Stop griping at the poor kid in college trying to pay the bills on his comission. Yes the people at monster are crooks. But they are making the only quality product out there and are certified THX. Oh yea the only time I ever saw a monster cable returned the man was obviously blind and when most people buy the wrong length.
As a former Video Systems Engineer, I submit that the entire HDMI concept is a SCAM.
Why carry a digital signal 2 feet to a flat panel display when good quality coaxial cables can carry analogue component or RGB several meters without degradation?
When HDMI came along we already had VGA, DVI, RGB and Brodcast component resolutions that exceeded HD standards. Many of those same resolutions could easily apply to consumer Component video. Why was VGA or DVI not defined as the standard? Why did consumer manufacturers never define a 1080P over component standard when it was feasible and already had been shown in the broadcast world years before?
Truth is that companies like Sony/Paramount only wanted a method to protect content at the expense of consumers. This kind of corporate slavery where consumers are the cash cows for “new technology” which not only is unnecessary, but provides benefit only to large companies should be dealt with severely by consumers.
So now we transcode all video to HDMI and that makes it “better”?
The way digital signals work is not a matter of opinion. There’s no way for a digital signal to degrade into noise. It just stops working. The quality difference you see is something you’re fooling yourself into seeing (or a rigged setup designed to get you to pay for expensive cables). I know you don’t want to believe it, because it will make you feel foolish, but it’s still true. Sorry.
Everybody hates Monster cable who’s in the cable industry. Their cables are truly overpriced garbage. For example, their “premium” speaker wire is outperformed by bulk lamp cord that you can buy at any big hardware store chain.But the HDMI cables that they have are truly a scam.
You just need to know where to look. I have 360, Gamecube, PS2, Xbox, HDMI, and S-Vidio Monster cables, and a complete 5.1 surround kit with Component and Subwoofer cables, but have not spent more than $25 on any single one. Deals happen all the time, and when they cost the same as a “low end” cable, why not buy them. Places like Woot and MidnightBox have them alot for cheep, and I have found some of the game cables on clearance at Wal-Mart.
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Everybody hates Monster cable who’s in the cable industry. Their cables are truly overpriced garbage. For example, their “premium” speaker wire is outperformed by bulk lamp cord that you can buy at any big hardware store chain.But the HDMI cables that they have are truly a scam. The most premium HDMI/DVI raw cable you can buy – and I’m talking about silver-coated 24AWG with bonded pairs – is around $0.75/ft. In other words, that 20ft. cable you’re paying $100 for costs $15 plus a couple of bucks for connectors and assembly cost. Bottom line is this: if you don’t need long cables (more than about 10ft), any old cable will do. For longer cables, I believe someone at Belden/CDT, Liberty Wire & Cable or some such should be able to get you the names of distributors for their premium cables which are not premium priced.
I had purchased the products from Monoprice.com….The products are trustable and of good quality…One can easily trust and purchase their item as they are the cable wholesaler…The HDMI cables manufactured by them are nearly same but meet the requirement of HDMI specification only….Thanks for the blog….
So what is the difference between using any and all hdmi with a 1080p tv and using it for a 3d 1080p tv? Just asking because I ordered a cheap set that is 480/600. I ordered monster because typing those specs Monster was the only brand that came up!?!
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guess what you broke ass ppl all mt 3 tvs gots monster cables and they all sony bravia tv and my ps3 has a monster cable end topic
This blog site has got some very useful info on it! Thank you for sharing it with me.
I bought monoprice cables. I hooked them up and there was a huge difference ( for the worse). Motions were choppy, color was off and there were artifacts on the screen as if the signal was cutting out from my cable box. Monster cables are better.
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