Good - Better - Best in HDMI cables.

[TheMoose]

Widescreen review did a 2 part story on HDMI cables & there is a difference.
Just because it's digital doesn't mean it's "just 1's & 0's.
Construction, materials & especially the soldiering of connections are important to the quality of the picture.

This picture shows the difference between good & bad cables.


I have some 1M Monoprice cables & they work fine but when I'm putting a 15M HDMI cable behind drywall, it will be a higher end cable like a Kimber Kable, not the cheap stuff!

[rex]

Moose, please correct me if I am wrong; but I believe that the "eye" patterns you show indicate the space in between digital data bits, one's and zero's. HDMI has its own specifications as to how large the octagon in the center of the eye (called the "mask") must be in order to comply with the standard and ensure accurate data transmission. (As the signal degrades and the space between ones and zeros becomes blurred there is greater chance of a one being mistaken for a zero and vice versa.)
Nevertheless we are still talking about ones and zeros. So any cable that complies with the HDMI specifications is going to transmit the exact same ones and zeros that any other cable does, regardless of how much it costs. Hence, there will be no difference in picture quality. People who say they can see a difference in picture quality are mistaken. The same ones and zeros are going to produce the same picture. If on the other hand, the digital bits are not getting thru accurately, (ones are being mistaken for zeros and vice versa), then you won't have any picture at all, or a severely damaged picture. (In this case, the cable must not be conforming to the HDMI standard.)

[Lotus]

Originally Posted by rex

Moose, please correct me if I am wrong; but I believe that the "eye" patterns you show indicate the space in between digital data bits, one's and zero's. HDMI has its own specifications as to how large the octagon in the center of the eye (called the "mask") must be in order to comply with the standard and ensure accurate data transmission. (As the signal degrades and the space between ones and zeros becomes blurred there is greater chance of a one being mistaken for a zero and vice versa.)
Nevertheless we are still talking about ones and zeros. So any cable that complies with the HDMI specifications is going to transmit the exact same ones and zeros that any other cable does, regardless of how much it costs. Hence, there will be no difference in picture quality. People who say they can see a difference in picture quality are mistaken. The same ones and zeros are going to produce the same picture. If on the other hand, the digital bits are not getting thru accurately, (ones are being mistaken for zeros and vice versa), then you won't have any picture at all, or a severely damaged picture. (In this case, the cable must not be conforming to the HDMI standard.)

Actually some 1s being mistaken for 0s leads to pixelation. The block of the data is corrupted. Now if it's a major problem you won't see a picture.

I've seen the difference between HDMI cables 1st hand. The pixelation problems mostly.
However I've seen 1 $10 cable replace another $10 cable and fix the problems.

Then I've seen the "Hand-Shake," issues. I've seen $150 cables have these problems. Price isn't the problem.

The only HDMI cables I've not had the problem with are Transparent and Acoustic Zen.

Basically with HDMI it is "Does the Cable work or not?" with 95% of them. However you can get a cable that works but has slight visual problems.

[rex]

I don't really blame retailers for their huge markups on cables. See: http://consumerist.com/353938/monste...off-80-markups
After all, consumer electronics is fiercely competitive business and margins are slim. They have to make money somehow. They do it, in part, by selling overpriced cables, other accessories and stuff like extended warranties (another big rip-off). I guess this helps keep prices down on the stuff I buy, so I should not complain.
But I do object to salespeople who mislead by saying things like "you should "invest" in the "best" cables you can afford to get the most out of your system, the picture will look much better, these cables will last longer, etc." So far, I have never heard of any HDMI cables "wearing out"!

[Ken S]

Originally Posted by rex

Moose, please correct me..... People who say they can see a difference in picture quality are mistaken. The same ones and zeros are going to produce the same picture.

Rex,
These are the same people that buy $1000.00 power cables, spikes for their CD players, wood blocks for their power amplifiers and claim that there is a immense improvement in sonic performance.

[TheMoose]

Originally Posted by rex

Moose, please correct me if I am wrong; but I believe that the "eye" patterns you show indicate the space in between digital data bits, one's and zero's. HDMI has its own specifications as to how large the octagon in the center of the eye (called the "mask") must be in order to comply with the standard and ensure accurate data transmission. (As the signal degrades and the space between ones and zeros becomes blurred there is greater chance of a one being mistaken for a zero and vice versa.)

I've read the story twice & still don't understand all of it but what I'm saying is there is a difference between cables, yes the pic on the left is still sending the information but it's on the edge of not sending it.
What's going to happen when you have that cable in the wall & when HDMI 1.4 comes out & the speed is higher & the cable won't send a signal?