Which HDMI cable? Monoprice.com?????

[mikej3131]

just wondering what i should be looking for when buying a HDMI as i am getting a 46 lcd flat panel samsung in a week with dual hdmi. Ok now is what is the best (silver plated, gold plated, or tin plated?) what are ferrite cores and do i need these with hdmi cables?

Does monoprrice.com make good hdmi cables? i see they have four different kinds(High-Quality 22AWG HDMI Cables, High-Quality 24AWG HDMI Cables, 28AWG HDMI Cables, 26AWG HDMI Cables w/ built-in Equalizer). What is the difference between these awg's, and what is the built in equalizer for and will i benefit from it?

[INFRATOM]

These are hi frequency wires, so the facts are a thicker wire and purer core is better (lower AWG number). Electrical qualities of metal in the order of their class makes a difference eg gold is better than silver for interference the more % of coverage they have on shielding the better. Ferrite reduces interference having is better than not having. Some companies order wires in colorful better looking plastic and charge $150 for 6 foot you get the same with normal production 15 foot for $12. People I know tried both could not tell the difference. If you are using them for space shuttle buy the better one.

[redwudz]

First, don't get taken in by some of the advertising hype. It's just a piece of wire.
AWG is the size of the individual wires. 22 is the largest, 26, the smallest.

How far are you planning to run the HDMI cable? That's the most important factor.

The prices at the site you mentioned seem reasonable. At least from appearance, the quality seems OK. If you want a higher quality cable, which would be more important on a long run, 15 feet or more, then go with a major cable manufacturer.

With any cable the quality of the connectors is more important than what they are plated with. Unless you plan to plug and unplug them a lot, even the tin plated connectors are usually sufficient. I have no idea what they mean by a 'equalizer'. But the ferrite beads are a nice addition to block interference.

[CBC]

monoprice are a reputable seller & offer good value at great prices. I have purchased several cables from them & they have all worked a treat. As redwudz noted, if you are not in need of an unusually long run, go for it & save yourself some $$

[edDV]

These are wideband digital data cables similar to your computer monitor DVI-D cable.

For normal cable lengths (up to ~15ft) most cable types will work equally. No need to get fancy. Long cables become problematic and higher quality becomes essential. This causes price to increase dramatically as length increases.

A good site with technical info and good quality cables is
http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/dvi-hdmi-connections.html

Avoid retail snake oil cable sellers. They are overpriced. Stick with real science. Buy the minimum that will work.

More resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVI
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI

[mikej3131]

If you are using them for space shuttle buy the better one.

what do u mean by that?



ok i probably need about a 6 foot cable and ill be watchin connecting it either to a comcast cable box, or a dvd player. i just want a hdmi cable that will give me the best PQ for the best price. any one wanna suggest one?

[mikej3131]

ok since i got two websites to look off of. Which would have better hdmi cables, rams electronics or monoprice.com?

[edDV]

ok since i got two websites to look off of. Which would have better hdmi cables, rams electronics or monoprice.com?

For 6ft probably not much difference. Comcast will give you a HDMI cable when you get the HD box. Insist on it.

Monoprice is a pure discount retail site. The ramelectronics guys do alot of their own testing and behave more like a VAR. I trust their experience and you can call them with questions.

[mikej3131]

what is a var?

And does comcast provide a good HDMI, or do they give you cheap ones?

[CBC]

"value added" retailer

[mikej3131]

wel i just heard that acoustic research pr pro II had the best hdmi cables for the price Period. Anybody with experience from this brand of hdmi?

[edDV]

what is a var?

And does comcast provide a good HDMI, or do they give you cheap ones?

Don't worry about HDMI cables at 6ft. Digital cables need to be just good enough and the Comcast cables are good enough.

Digital connections at that length will give identical picture quality cheapest to most expensive. Digital works 100% or fails to initialize. Cheaper cables may have a slightly higher probability of connection failure. In other words, the cable only needs to be good enough to maintain a reliable connection.

[mikej3131]

k thanks. think im gonan go with acoustic pro