Does any cheapo HDMI cable suffice ?

[Subzero11]

I need some HDMI cables and wondering about cheap thin cables vs. the thicker ones with extra shielding. I've used the thicker ones in the past and they are a little harder to work with than the thinner cables and heavier too. Thicker ones often say to defend against interference. I've used thin ones before and never had a problem well as far as I could tell. Any specs I should pay attention too ? This question concerns hooking up my PC to a HDTV and also for my living room entertainment center TV/DVR/BD/player.

[Constant Gardener]

I always buy the cheap ones - they work perfectly. Check this out.

[jagabo]

I've bought HDMI cables for 99 cents. They work just fine. The failure mode with HDMI is very obvious -- you get falshing pixels here and there. As it gets worse you get more sparkles. Even worse an you lose the picture completely.

[johns0]

Make sure they are high speed if you need them for 3d.

[jman98]

I've been using the cheap in house cables that Amazon sells under their own name for years now and not had any problems.

Note that we do have a small number of members who are quite adamant that the higher priced cables are better. It is possible to get cheap crap though and they have a point that their high priced cables are better than cheap junk, but not much of a point (in my opinion) if they want to argue that nobody makes a decent low priced cable.

[jagabo]

Oh, it should be mentioned that there is a difference with very long cables. If you're running 50 feet of HDMI cable through the walls the very cheapest cables may not work, or will have little headroom for marginal equipment. Mid priced cables like those from Monoprice are recommended in that case. But again, the failure mode is pretty obvious.

[usually_quiet]

I have used Monoprice's least expensive high-speed HDMI cables, Aurum high-speed HDMI cables, and a $10 unbranded HDMI cable from WalMart, all with no problems. These cables were all in the 3 to 6 foot range.

[sanlyn]

The elastic threads from old socks and buttons works well too.

[bendixG15]

The elastic threads from old socks and buttons works well too.

Keep trying, you might get one some day ............

[sanlyn]

I thank god I don't have to watch or listen to the results you're getting. Enjoy.

[jman98]

Subzero11 - sanlyn is obviously one of the people here who believes unless you spend perhaps $50 or more per cable that you're a fool. I knew he'd post to this.

[pandy]

Any certified by HDMI cable should meet requirements and be OK from customer perspective.
Check if there is official HDMI logo on cable - price of cable is up to you.

http://www.hdmi.org/installers/eyediagram.aspx
http://www.pooraudiophile.com/2014/01/where-do-hdmi-problems-come-from-hdmi.html
http://blog.allion.com/2014/02/allion-competitive-analysis-test-report-hdmi-cables-qua...y-performance/

eye pattern in real life but in time domain - quite long but interesting to see how this problem is visible on scope.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx596o8t_TY

[sanlyn]

Subzero11 - sanlyn is obviously one of the people here who believes unless you spend perhaps $50 or more per cable that you're a fool. I knew he'd post to this.

You can do much better for well under $50. Which $50 product were you referring to that you used and were dissatisfied with?

[sanlyn]

Okay, since no one here here has axctually auditioned anything other than the cheapo crap what you already have....I tried these (at least, these are all the records i could dig up on short notice. I can recall having tried a few others but lost count:

Didn't like (crappy audio, noisy video, bad color, etc., etc.):
Amazon Basics High-Speed HDMI Cable (6.5 Ft) under $6
Amazon Basics High-Speed HDMI Cable with Ethernet (15 Ft) $12
Mediabridge ULTRA Series HDMI Cable (25 Feet) $14
Mediabridge ULTRA Series HDMI Cable (6 Feet) $9
Nokia 2-piece Super High Resolution Hdmi (6 Ft) Accessory Bundle, under $5
Monster THX Certified 1000HDX High Speed HDMI Cable (16 Ft) $30
Monster Cable THX 1000 HDX-8 Ultimate High Speed Hdmi - THX Certified (8 ft) $40
Monster Cable THX 1000 High Speed Hdmi - THX Certified (2008 modl) (6 ft) $80
Belkin PureAV HDMI Cable AV22306-06 (6-Ft) $10
Belkin PureAV HDMI Cable (earlier model 2009) (6-Ft) $40
Rocketfish™ - 6' In-Wall HDMI Cable (6 ft) $30
Dynex™ - 6' HDMI Cable (2010 model) (6gt) $20
Acoustic Research Pro II Series PR-185N HDMI Cable (6 ft) (2008) $50
Acoustic Research Entertainment Series ES85 HDMI Cable (6 ft) $40
Acoustic Research PR4185 Pro II Series HDMI Cable (6 ft, Black) $50
Monoprice 6ft 28AWG High Speed HDMI® Cable w/Ferrite Cores (2009) $4
Monoprice 6ft 28AWG High Speed HDMI® Cable w/Ferrite Cores (2012) $4
Monoprice Redmere 6ft Ultra Slim Series High Performance HDMI® Cable $10
CablesToGo 2m High Speed HDMI® Cable with Ethernet (6.6ft) $13
CablesToGo Select Serioes High Speed HDMI® Cable with Ethernet M/M In-Wall CL2-Rated (6.6ft) $20
A2Z Cables Premium High Speed 3D HDMI cable (6ft) (2008) $15
BetterCables Silver Serpent High Speed HDMI cable (2008) (6 ft) $50
BetterCables Perfect Path Locking High-Speed HDMI Cable with Ethernet (8ft) $100
Pangea Audio HD-26L High-Speed HDMI Cable (2m) $100 (sale $45)
Kimber Kable HDMI Video Cable (model can't recall - 2010) (2m) $80
Cambridge Audio HDMI Digital Video Cable (model can't recall - 2010) (1.5 m) $130
Cardas - HDMI High Speed/HEC 1.4 Cable (2008) $200 (currently $130)
BlueJeans Cable Tartan Series 24AWG HDMI (6 ft) $12
BlueJeans Cable BJC Belden Series-1 Bonded Pair HDMi cable (6 ft) $30
BlueJeans Cable BJC Series-FE Belden Bonded-Pair 28AWG HDMI Cable (6 ft) $22
Pearstone High-Speed HDMI to HDMI Cable with Ethernet (1.8 m) $7
Atlona AT-LC-8 LinkConnect High Speed HDMI Cable with 3D (8 ft) $30
Canare HDMI Cable with Ethernet Channel (6.6 ft) $12
Hosa Technology High-Speed HDMI Male to HDMI Male with Ethernet (10') ~$9
6 ft 2M Gold Plated HDMI 1.3 Premium Cable Gold (Amazon unbranded) $3

Well worth the $$, and miles ahead of those above in every respect:
ThatCable.com (UK) HDMI Male to Male Cable Type A High Speed 3D & 1080P (3m) $17 USD purchased 2009
ThatCable.com (UK) HDMI Male to Male Cable Type A High Speed 3D & 1080P (5m) $22 USD purchased 2009
ThatCable.com (UK) HDMI Male to Male Cable Type A High Speed 3D & 1080P (7m) $28 USD purchased 2012
Audioquest Pearl HDMI (2m) $36 purchased 2011
Audioquest Cinnamon HDMI (2m) $99 purchased 2013
QED Profile HDMI cable (2m) $50 (eBay) purchased 2012
Vivanco Sound and Image HDMI (5.6 ft) $55 (Canada) purchased 2012

To answer the O.P.'s question: If price is the only factor, get the cheapest thing out there.
If quality is question, no -- they are not all alike.

[pandy]

If quality is question, no -- they are not all alike.

Just check who is a REAL cable manufacturer - i hope you NOT saying that companies such as Microsoft, Nokia, Amazon making cables...

[sanlyn]

They are all made in China, except BlueJeans Cable (their Tartans are made in the Far East). Assembly could be done anywhere.

[usually_quiet]

Subzero11 - sanlyn is obviously one of the people here who believes unless you spend perhaps $50 or more per cable that you're a fool. I knew he'd post to this.

Yes, sanlyn likes his cables to be well-coated in snake oil by audiophile-oriented publications, and flames anyone who disagrees. Those who don't share his beliefs are blind, deaf or stupid.

The design for an HDMI cable bought in a dollar store may not have been tested and certified, but almost anything else labeled as an HDMI cable will have passed certification. Monoprice's least expensive HDMI products are described as certified. Amazon doesn't say its Basics line is certified (at least not in the listings I have seen), but they likely are.

All most people need to worry about for the most part when using HDMI to connect PC is that the grip on the connector is not so thick as to block the use of adjacent connections, and that the connection fits snugly enough to be secure but not so tightly that it can't be inserted or removed without using a lot of force.

[sanlyn]

[QUOTE=usually_quiet;2309307]

Those who don't share his beliefs are blind, deaf or stupid.

Usually, only the first of those three.

When you've tried any of those that I recommended, tell us about it. Otherwise it's bah-humbug based on something you've read somewhere but never used yourself. The blind leading the blind isn't the kind of rec a lot of people are looking for.

[pandy]

For me HDMI is like Ethernet cable - twisted pair with slightly different impedance, unless eye pattern is screwed then there is no difference between cables - this is science - when symbols (bits) arriving with correct parameters then HDMI receiver turn them to series 0's and 1's, later they are descrambled to form useful data bitstream - there is no audiophile magic there - if eye pattern is sufficient to recognize 0's and 1's then HDMI quality is perfect i.e. same as sent from HDMI transmitter.

[sanlyn]

See post #18.

[usually_quiet]

Those who don't share his beliefs are blind, deaf or stupid.

Usually, only the first of those three.

When you've tried any of those that I recommended, tell us about it. Otherwise it's bah-humbug based on something you've read somewhere but never used yourself. The blind leading the blind isn't the kind of rec a lot of people are looking for.

There are only a few possible reason that so many different certified HDMI cables didn't work for you. Reason one is that your equipment is faulty. There are design flaws or manufacturing defects that prevent all but a select few individual cables from making a good connection. The other possibilities are that you are either delusional or easily swayed by reviews in publications that receive advertising revenues from the brands they promote. Since you believe that at age 50+ your eyesight, hearing, and perception are greatly superior to those of everybody else who replied to the OP, I'd say that the probability that you are delusional is fairly high.

[pandy]

See post #18.

Not sure what are trying to say but referring to HDMI certification - if there is HDMI logo on cable (logos are provided on HDMI.org) then cable is certified - if logo is on cable which is not certified then this is fraud/scam same as 20$ Rolex ... You can express your concerns always to sales guy or to HDMI and request certificate for product. As i can understand that lot of HDMI cables is produced in China then i see no point to assume that all of them are fraud/scam.

[sanlyn]

There are only a few possible reason that so many different certified HDMI cables didn't work for you.

I never said they don't work. Not only do you not see that well and will probably watch anything that shows up on a screen, you don't read that well either. See post #18

Not sure what are try to say but referring to HDMI certification -

I never mentioned certification. See post #18.

[usually_quiet]

There are only a few possible reason that so many different certified HDMI cables didn't work for you.

I never said they don't work. Not only do you not see that well and will probably watch anything that shows up on a screen, you don't read that well either. See post #18

OK, then you being delusional is the reason for rejecting the majority of the cables tested.

[jagabo]

if there is HDMI logo on cable (logos are provided on HDMI.org) then cable is certified

As I understand it, the cable you buy at the store isn't necessarily the exact same design that was certified by hdmi.org:

http://www.hdmi.org/manufacturer/testing_policies.aspx

Once an Adopter product of each type has passed testing, it is not required to submit to the ATC subsequent products of that type.

And:

Successful completion of the Compliance Test Specification or ATC Testing does not guarantee that any product will conform to the High-Definition Multimedia Interfaces, function correctly or interoperate with any other product.

[sanlyn]

OK, then you being delusional is the reason for rejecting the majority of the cables tested.

I didn't address that issue.

When you've tried some better components, let us know. I'm always looking for improvements and would definitely consider your impressions of something I recommended and that you've experienced yourself, or something you find and use on your own.

[pandy]

Not sure what are try to say but referring to HDMI certification -

I never mentioned certification. See post #18.

Bad quotation and what else? Is there something specific in this post or what? (Sorry but being not English native i don't won't to misunderstood you)

[sanlyn]

if there is HDMI logo on cable (logos are provided on HDMI.org) then cable is certified

As I understand it, the cable you buy at the store isn't necessarily the exact same design that was certified by hdmi.org:

http://www.hdmi.org/manufacturer/testing_policies.aspx

Once an Adopter product of each type has passed testing, it is not required to submit to the ATC subsequent products of that type.

And:

Successful completion of the Compliance Test Specification or ATC Testing does not guarantee that any product will conform to the High-Definition Multimedia Interfaces, function correctly or interoperate with any other product.

Qc is pretty lax, especially on the cheap stuff. I bought one at BestBuy that came apart the first time I unplugged it. Got a refund.

[sanlyn]

Not sure what are try to say but referring to HDMI certification -

I never mentioned certification. See post #18.

Bad quotation and what else? Is there something specific in this post or what? (Sorry but being not English native i don't won't to misunderstood you)

All these products work. The point I've always made is that some work better than others. If you don't believe it, try it. If you don't try it, you can't say either way.

[pandy]

Qc is pretty lax, especially on the cheap stuff. I bought one at BestBuy that came apart the first time I unplugged it. Got a refund.

Nope - check:

subsequent production model

The point I've always made is that some work better than others. If you don't believe it, try it. If you don't try it, you can't say either way.

Nope - i told you - way how HDMI works made it fall only to two categories: working/non working at all - there is no subtle tone difference in color or slightly better acoustical space - also making point that you tested something seem to be confusing - do you have HDMI approved testing solutions such as Quantum Data or Astro equipment on your desk, or you using some formalized procedure (can you share it with us?) to avoid mistakes and how you are controlled ? - by your self and/or by someone else?
All those things are part of process named testing.