Don't believe 3D BluRay HDMI Cable Hype!

[Brainiac]

Hi all

I just wanted to pass along my experience with my 3D BluRay player that I recently purchased.

The player, a Sony BPD-S590, was purchased at Walmart. I was strongly urged to purchase a high speed HDMI cable to go along with the player so that I could view 3D movies without problems. Being that I spent a good amount of money already (I also purchased a 3D 47 inch TV), I didn't want to spend $40 or more for a 6 foot HDMI high speed cable.

So I took a chance and went to Big Lots and purchased a 12 foot non high speed HDMI cable (an off brand). Got home, plugged it in and it worked flawlessly. No high speed needed. And the price was LESS THAN HALF of the price for the high speed HDMI cable at Walmart.

So if anyone is planning to buy a 3D BluRay player, keep this in mind.

Brainiac

[Hoser Rob]

"High speed" hdmi cables? Ridiculous. "High end" cables are the biggest scam in electronics.

[jman98]

Who does want to spend $40 for a cable? But then again, I'm not some rube who thinks his only option is to buy from WalMart, Sam's, Best Buy, or whatever happens to have a physical location in his town. Check this out:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882816054

That price beats your "deal" by a lot.

To be honest with you, I don't know what the hell your post even means. On other forums they sometimes say that "Speed is meaningless, only the HDMI number (1.3a, etc.) is meaningful" or they say the exact opposite that "HDMI numbers are completely irrelevant and only normal and high speed have any meaning". So since I truly do not know which side of this debate is right, for all we know you bought a cable that of course would work. Good for you in saving money, but I'm not going to give you a standing ovation for spending about 4x what you needed to because you're afraid to buy online.

[Brainiac]

It's not that I'm afraid to buy online. As a matter of fact, I buy online almost all of the time.

I just wanted people to know that they don't have to pay those exhorbitant prices at the brick and mortar stores nor do they have to believe the hype. I know that I could have gotten a better deal online, but I chose to buy locally because I wanted to. In the end, I still ended up saving money and that's fine by me.

Brainiac

[sanlyn]

$40 is expensive ! ? ? ! ?? Gimme a break. People spend that much on godawful Starbucks coffee in a week. Depends on the brand, though. You can get 6-ft Audioquest top-rated wire for under $40. HDMI is crap anyway, it's nothing but two extra twisted-pair leads of cheap Ethernet with tin connectors. Make your own.

[jagabo]

$40 is expensive ! ? ? ! ??

It is when you can buy the same cable for $5. I often get them (6 to 10 feet) on sale at Frys (loss leaders) for a buck or two. Never had a problem.

[Cornucopia]

"High speed" hdmi cables? Ridiculous. "High end" cables are the biggest scam in electronics.

I'm no big fan of "highend cables", but you don't get it here.
Just like the difference between Cat5 UTP vs. Cat5e vs. Cat6 cable can mean the difference between 10, 100, and 1000Mbps expected speeds, so too is the cable winding difference between Low speed and Hi speed HDMI. The tighter the tolerances in the construction, the higher the "guaranteed" speed.
Sure, low speed hdmi might get up to (or beyond) the 320Mbps required by the hi speed rating (necessitated by the 3d, 4k, etc media used by hdmi 1.3 or 1.4), but in any digital cabling scenario, the higher the speed, the greater the errors generated by reflections, etc.
The hi speed is guaranteed (with low noise/error) in the hs cables, not so in the ls cables. You just have lucked out - and only SO FAR.

Scott

[sanlyn]

I do own 1 Audioquest and am pleased with it, althiugh it's used only on the plasma because the noise through the wire's silver plating is more visible on the LCD. For the latter I have a couple of $8 HDMI's (http://www.whathifi.com/review/thatcable-hdmi ). Otherwise, the Audioquest Pearl looks worth the price to me. Beats Monster Junk any day, at half the price. But most of the time we're on component cable. I got tired of 3D in 1954.

[Cornucopia]

...I got tired of 3D in 1954.

Well, there's no accounting for taste.

Scott

[turk690]

$40 is expensive ! ? ? ! ?? Gimme a break. People spend that much on godawful Starbucks coffee in a week. Depends on the brand, though. You can get 6-ft Audioquest top-rated wire for under $40. HDMI is crap anyway, it's nothing but two extra twisted-pair leads of cheap Ethernet with tin connectors. Make your own.

4 pairs actually: data0, 1, 2, & clock.

[pandy]

4 pairs, impedance is slightly different than for Ethernet (100Ohm), additionally You need 2 lines for DDC, HPD and 5V

Anyway HDMI cable should be cheaper than comparable DVI cable - HDMI use cheaper connectors.

I've made small experiment and i've cut one of wires in clock cable (CLK- ) - guess what...? nothing with reasonable cable length (i've tested this on 1.5m cable) even completely broken impedance in CLK line make no problems with video.

Better cables are important when we going for 1080p60 and distance over 3 - 5 meters.