Poll: Do expensive HDMI cables actually make a difference?

[Keewa]

Cables are the last "acceptable" snake-oil scam.

Replace your hi-fi audio cables with coathangers and it's the damn same.

 

[Nalgas D. Lemur]

An unfolded metal coat hanger will work just fine in leiu of one of the wires in that cable.

I forget who it was that tested/proved that just to make a point, but it was pretty great. Still, it never hurts to paint arrows on it so the electrons know which direction to go.

 

[Goody]

The only that makes a difference is whether or not it's gold, and you can even get gold ones dirt cheap, one of my friends found me a gold connector HDMI cable in a pound shop. it was only a meter long but it's quality is exactly the same as my £15 gold plated one from 3 years ago (it was cheap at the time)

 

[Nigh Invulnerable]

I work in sales for Comcast, so I hear these types of questions all the time. The explanations I have heard generally say that if the signal comes through, it'll be just as good on a $2 cable as a $100 one. However, getting the "high speed" HDMI cables may be worth it if you're using a smart tv that's internet capable, like the Google TVs (so I've heard). Somehow the high speed HDMI cable allows better data flow in and out for such equipment, but I don't really know the details.

 

[Hazy992]

Did you swap both cables out at both ends? The different HDMI inputs on your tele possibly have different presets or different manual settings, so if you only switched at the console end, that could account for the difference. Also, it's not uncommon for tv manufacturers to put one good socket on a television and then cheap out on the rest...I wouldn't necessarily expect consistency.

No, just on the console. I never removed the cables from the TV. However, as far as I'm aware, there aren't any different settings. Also, I wasn't aware manufacturers did that with HDMI sockets. Thanks for the info

 

[Hazy992]

[snip]

Short answer: no.
Long answer: nnnnooooooooooo.

But silliness aside, it doesn't really matter what price a HD cable you get, in the end it's pretty much all the same quality, whether it's a $5 one or a $500.

That's what I thought. I've always bought cheap cables (I think the most I've spent is £5). It just seemed odd that it came through brighter than before.

 

[JochemHippie]

It does, coating and cable quality are important. Though it's mostly cable length that effects it, cables being bend to far can also affect it. Not all significant, but it adds up.

 

[lettucethesallad]

Asked my brother-in-law about this before buying my PS3, on the subject of whether I should get the expensive Sony HDMI cable or not. He pretty much scoffed and said it was just a way to sucker people out of money. This coming from a man who has programmed for the last 25 years, I figure he'd know his shit.