Are more expensive AV cables worth it?

[bigbadben]

If you buy the cheapest S-Video cable from China will the picture quality be any different than a cable such as this one: https://www.ebay.com.au/p/7018780377 ? Is oxygen-free copper, shielding, and gold plating just a marketing gimmick?

[rrats]

Is oxygen-free copper, shielding, and gold plating just a marketing gimmick?

yes

[jagabo]

Shielding isn't a gimmick with s-vhs cables. If you have a very electronically noisy environment unshielded cables can act like antennas, picking up some of that noise, especially with longer cables. The cleaner your source signal is the more likely you are to see that noise.

[abolibibelot]

At least premium cables are treated with great care, you can be confident that they lived a happy cable life before you enslave them in dark corners behind your dusty devices.

[Attachment 61533 - Click to enlarge]

[Richard_G]

Oxygen free copper has always amused me. If it had any Oxygen in it, it would no longer be copper but copper oxide and all green and crumbly. You MIGHT, if you are really critical, notice a difference between a really cheap cable and a reasonable quality one but you won't notice one iota of difference between the reasonable quality cable and a ridiculously priced one.

[codehound]

Oxygen free copper has always amused me. If it had any Oxygen in it, it would no longer be copper but copper oxide and all green and crumbly. You MIGHT, if you are really critical, notice a difference between a really cheap cable and a reasonable quality one but you won't notice one iota of difference between the reasonable quality cable and a ridiculously priced one.

It even has its own acronym - OFC (according to Amazon - or is that Amzn?)

Yes there are a lot of gullible people easily taken in by very expensive cables.

[Skiller]

The only important factor is shielding.

The cable should be made in "coax style", meaning there should be aluminium foliage covering the copper cores. It would be even better if the luma and chroma cores are shielded from each other to prevent crosstalk (usually not a problem with short cables though).

A bad S-Video cable is just some thin strands inside two layers of PVC.

[Hoser Rob]

Is oxygen-free copper, shielding, and gold plating just a marketing gimmick?

yes

I agree that oxygen free copper cables are a silly gimmick but not on the other 2 things.

Shielding is very important and good shiielding is probably the main thing lacking in dollar store cables. Shielding has to completely cover the inner wires. Cheap cables have spiral shielding that doesn't do this. You want braided shielding.

Gold plated contacts aren't a gimmick either. Gold doesn't tarnish and therefore increase the contact resistance over time.

Snake oil AV cables are a preposterous ripoff and a pet peeve but you do need decent quality. Generally the better quality Radio Shack cables are all you'll ever need.

[jagabo]

Yes, decent quality is around US$10 for a 6 foot s-video cable. US$1 is trash, US$100 a ripoff. The cable linked to in the first post is likely in the decent category.