Recommendations for an HDMI cable.

One that is long enough.

Don't believe the hype.

After doing some considerable web research regarding this very question I have to agree with garyi. All those high tech, high priced HDMI cables from QED and the like are frowned upon in the sense that they bring no obvious benefits (but they do look great!). So long as your HDMI cable is certified and is the 1.3 version (as most are) you should be fine.

Bruce

I agree. When I bought our new hi-def TV I also bought a Monster HDMI cable to go with it. However having done some comparisons with the standard cable that came with the V Plus box I cannot see or hear the slightest difference. Which is probably not surprising as it's an all-digital interface. To be honest I bought the Monster cable without giving it enough thought.

I remember comparing a relatively cheap (£40) HDMI cable against another less modestly priced (£80) HDMI cable and the differences were substantial. The cheaper cable was very hard on the eyes, very saturated colours and picture stability suffered by comparison to the more expensive cable. However, I then compared the self same £80-odd cable against far more expensive (£300) American cables and although there was a difference it was very slight.

So - check out the options and do believe some of the hype.

quote:

Originally posted by Frank Abela:
I remember comparing a relatively cheap (£40) HDMI cable against another less modestly priced (£80) HDMI cable and the differences were substantial. The cheaper cable was very hard on the eyes, very saturated colours and picture stability suffered by comparison to the more expensive cable. However, I then compared the self same £80-odd cable against far more expensive (£300) American cables and although there was a difference it was very slight.

So - check out the options and do believe some of the hype.

Thanks Frank (and the rest )
I bought a Monster cable 1000 HD cable. The reason I went for this is because my cable run is going to be 25 feet and routed through the false ceiling i have. I understand that HSMI cables can have problems with picture stability and noise over longer runs. The funny part is that I still don't have an HDMI source :P But since I'm installing now then I might as well be future proofed, right?

A german homecinema magazine did some tests of HDMI cables:
With short cables, it was almost impossible to measure differences.
But the longer the cable got, the better the signal was preserved on the expensive ones...

happy cabling
Adrian

Frank I would be interested to know how the cable sending digital bits changed the colour on the screen?

I just got a HDMI cable - tried 3: £20, £40 and £80 - couldn't see or hear any difference so went for the £20 cable. This was 2 metres between a Panasonic DVD recorder and a Panasonic LCD TV.

I've got a 5m HDMI cable from Atlas being chased into the wall - £100 or so for the cable which in the grand scheme of things isn't excessive. Whatever cable you go for, test it with your system first before burying it - particularly if its over 5m in length.

James

The long vs short is very valid in terms of the quality of the cable. Anything over 20m and you may even need one of those HDMI amps (regardless of the cable quality).

So I think overall the 1m or 2m lengths can be done quite inexpensively.

B

Gary,

So would I! In fact, the comparison came about purely by chance. We were using our usual HDMI cable in a demo and I needed to hook up a DVD player to get some pictures on our Pioneer screen in the foyer so I thought I'd give the inexpensive cable a shot. After some minutes (not having looked at the picture) I was talking to a a couple and we were discussing some AV things and I noticed that the picture seemed awful. I mentioned this to the couple who agreed so, the demo having been done downstairs, I ran off and grabbed the cable and plugged it in. The couple I had been talking to sighed in relief and recounted the same story to me with completely different cables. The also had highly saturated ciolours and poor motion on their inexpensive cable.

Later, my colleagues then tried ou the cables in personal testing, always with the same results.

Now, you're absolutely right, and I can't account for why the digits should be any different since these are digital signals. That said, I have had different results with 75-ohm digital interconnects between CD transports and DACs and those are digital signals too. If there can be differences there, perhaps it's possible in the HDMI world too. I can't account for it though.

I found UKHDMI have done great cables - good quality and very reasonable price. No problems with a 9m cable and several 1m ones.

I'm having an issue with a 5x2 HDMI switch but Octavia the supplier are helping me and only 5 days in (Suspect a bad splitter or power supply) so no comment on them yet - but Octavia have been very responsive so far.

I recommend the Audioquest cables. I don't understand why digital cables always have to be some sort of controversy. Digital cables all sound different and I can play Coax vs. Optical all day long and show all the differences. For some reason, people seem to think that digital means the same. I guess that's why cd players all sound the same . . . Anyways, I have compared all sorts of different HDMI cables and they look different. With 1.3, I'm pretty confident that I would be "hearing" the difference also, but the n-Vi doesn't have that capability.

I am using a VDH Hybrid SQ with N-vi (3m). Clear picture and vibrant colors.

I've got an 8m BetterCables HDMI lead. Got it from Mark Grant cables. Nice lead, good price, great service. Highly recommended.

Roy.