I'm recycling an old PC as a universal media player/digital video recorder and the last piece of the puzzle is an HDMI cable to connect the PC to the TV. No problem, just nip down to Curry's and grab one, they can't be more than a tenner, right? Upon perusing their AV cable selection I almost passed out - check this out. Then compare and contrast with this. WTF???

Now I know that audiophiles will argue for hours about the relative merits of electromagnetic shielding and vacuum sealed connectors etc. etc. but at the lengths that I'm interested in, I'm totally unconvinced that such ****ery makes any difference at all. Grrrrrrrrrrrr........

Edited December 27, 200817 yr by neonsurge

Just bought a scart lead from B&Screw for

Check this out http://reviews.cnet.com/hdmi-cable/?tag=rb_content;rb_mtx

Yes, it's basically a rip-off........HDMI is digital data and doesn't suffer the same degrade that analog signals get traveling along cables.

The only time you "might" need an expensive HDMI cable is when trying to run HDMI an extra long distance, like tens of metres. Cheap cables can, but not always, have too high an inherent capacitance and affect the digital signals.

However, the ironic thing is that, sometimes, cheaper cables are built with less shielding etc and can have less capacitance and therefore work better over longer cables runs.

What you will also get with an expensive cable is a specification......i.e. the materials it's made from, the capacitance per metre etc etc. But who cares!.....if the cheap cable works you'll notice absolutely no difference with an expensive one. Knowing the numbers don't make for a better picture.

You are also paying for the name for the likes of Belkin.

Grrrrr........Rip-off Britain!

I'm off to complain to Curry's. Will let you know how I get on.

Ian.

Edited December 27, 200817 yr by IanJ

Thanks guys I was just about to buy a lead for the new tele and true to the stuff you read was about to take out a mortgage to get one.

Down to the pound shop now!!!

Yup. I put an aerial extension through to my partner's bedroom last night so she could have a proper TV in there rather than her old portable. Sent her off to Wilkinsons for the bits - Y-splitter

It may not suffer from degradation in the cable but if the connectors are not properly shielded then RFI creates havoc with the signals. Don't forget these things carry both Audio and Video digital signals at very high bit rates. In the case of Dolby TrueHD it's 18Mbit's. As for aerial cable's I have found the pre made ones pretty awful. I buy my own plugs and cable and make my own.

Edited December 31, 200817 yr by Telecat