HDMI Cable Price Difference: Is it Worth it?

Do you need to pay over $100 for an HDMI cable in a retail store, or can you get by with a $10 cable from the Internet? The short answer is, pocket $90 or spend it adding to your collection.

The world of HDMI is in a sense, standard. This is where a lot of marketing comes in similar to a recent post I had regarding sound systems. While Monster or Belkin might be more of a household name, Dynex or another store/house brand will work just the same.

All of the cables play at 1080p and consolidate both video and sound. Needless to say, don’t be fooled by the name.

There is a difference; however, between the different technologies. The most recent technology 1.3 has the ability to stream higher resolutions of video and sound at break-neck speeds, although, there aren’t any mainstream devices yet that can fully benefit from the increase. If you do have one of these devices though, I’d like to know how well the increase in tech has helped it – if at all.

Comments

[angelynn gebstadt]

trying to register for the blu-ray give away

[Bert]

Just purchased a Sony Blue Ray player---@ Jetson in Stuart, Fl---salesperson wanted to sell me a $50 HDMI 1.3 and said I must have that 1.3 to get full advantage of the Blue Ray--I found a Belkin 1.3 for $30---and also a GE HDMI for $ 12 "Black Friday" Sales. Plan to compare them to see if any difference---based on your comments above it would seem there probably will not be a noticable difference. Marketing and technical difference don't mean you can see or hear any difference---machines and monitoring equipment may find differences but us humans aren't that sensitive.

[Wade]

I just bought a Magnavox Blu Ray player at Walmart on "Black Friday". The best deal I've seen anywhere around town and on the interenet...$128. Since then I've been researching HDMI cables. Seem like 1.3 is the way to go. Is there a difference between the 1.3a and the 1.3b?

[Dougie Fresh]

Are premium HDMI cables insanely overpriced? Absolutely! That's not the argument though. Take a display like the Pioneer Elite PRO-111FD and a Blu-ray player like the Sony BDP-5000ES, and you will without question see reduced motion blur, more vibrant colors, and greater shadow detail on a Kimber Kable HD-29 as opposed to the latest special over at Monoprice. Is the improvement worth the $200 difference? That's for you to decide.

[BigMike]

To the person that said you will see less motion blur, more vibrant colors, and and more shadow detail on an expensive HDMI cable, well that's just nuts. I am an electronic technician, and believe me when I tell you none of that is true. The signal is sent in digital format through the cable, and therefor and fault in the cable will result in data transfer errors or total loss of signal. Buy a decent quality 1.3 cable for around 30 bucks, and safe your money for Blu Ray disks.

[Karen]

I just came from Best Buy, where I was planning on buying my husband a Blue-ray player for Christmas. The sales person told me that we would eventually need a wireless internet modem in order to keep the player up-dated. He also tried to get me to pay $59.99 for the hdmi cable to hook it up to our 1080 H.D. T.V. They had other cables there for $19.99 but he said they would not work as well. I finally left the store without buying a thing and also feeling like I was being raked over the coals. Please tell me what I need so I know what to look for. Thanks!

[luis padilla]

well I have a ps3 with the blu ray and a directv hddvr and I bought a pair of hdmi cables rate at 10.2gps but when I play my blu rays on my ps3 I get a fuzzy picture can anyone tell me whats wrong

[Timmmaah]

I just bought a blue ray player and two HDMI cables to compare the difference. One cable is the $25 copper kind and the other is the $110 silver kind, both 1 meter. After comparing, I'm taking the $25 one back to the store, the difference is worth the extra $85. If someone tells you all HDMI cables are the same, first ask them why the hell is there like 10 different levels of quality if all HDMI cables are the same, then try it for yourself, if you have a 1080p TV, You'll see the difference.

[Dave]

What is the difference between HDMI player and a blu ray player

[sharon]

Dear Purchasing Manager,

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Sharon

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Address: NO. 237, Wanfeng Industrial Zone, Shajing Town, Bao'an District, Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, China
Tel: +86 755 27363162
Fax: +86 755 27281369
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[Amy]

Good Day to You!

This is Amy from Lenkeng Technology, a Chinese manufacturer of Video/S-video/VGA/YPbPr converter, HDMI Switch, HDMI splitter, HDMI Converter, etc. www.lenkeng.biz

List Some of our offer with prices for 100-500pcs:

-4x4 HDMI Matrix:US$237;
-4x4 HDMI Switch: US$157;
-Special offer: 4x4 HDMI Switch: US$127;
-3x1 HDMI switch: US$19.5;
-1x4 HDMI Splitter: US$59;
-1x8 HDMI Splitter: US$109;
-SCART/ AV to HDMI Scaler: US$49;
-VGA/YPbPr to HDMI Converter: US$33.
-Video-to-VGA Converter: US$24.5;
-PC-to-TV Converter: US$18.5;
-PC to TV over CAT5 Extender: US$38.5;
-Wireless PC to TV Transmitter: US$49 ;
-YPbPr to VGA Converter: US$27;
-VGA to HDMI Converter: US$33;
-Remote VGA Transmitter: US$109.
-IPTV STB with HDMI: please contact for more info.

As a manufacturer we can provide most competitive price, reliable quality and OEM services. Please forward my email to some one concerned.

Best Regards

Amy
Sales Manager
LenKeng Technology Limited
Tel: 86-755-82518937
Fax: 86-755-82500201
Email: amy@lenkeng.com
Website: http://www.lenkeng.biz
Skype: amy00860
Address: Western 4F, Jinguangxia Culture & Tech Park 3, Guangxia Road,
Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518049, China

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[David LaRue]

You should never pay more than $10 for a standard six-foot HDMI cable. And despite what salesmen and manufacturers might tell you, there's no meaningful difference between the $10 cable and the $50 cable. Unless you see something obvious, such as dropouts or a flashing screen, the digital information transmitted by both cables is exactly the same--no cable can make the picture any better or any worse. We've used cables from many different companies in the past--such as Belkin, Accell, Monoprice, Monster, and SimplayHD--and have not run into any consistent issues with any brand of cable. With working cables and solid connections, we've seen no dropouts and "sparklies"--just consistent, dependable, high-quality audio and video. It's that simple.

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[Alltp]

Is there a different type of HDMI cable that's better for Blu Ray?

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[Richard]

You only need standard (up to 1080i) or high-speed (1080p and higher) cables. Standard may work on Blu-ray but if not,up grade to high-speed with the HDMI certification logo. Watch out for marketing claims of "ultra."

See: http://www.hdmi.org/learningcenter/faq.aspx#49

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[jonathan]

yeah I felt that with the blue ray and the HDMI cable set in it actually makes the sqaures on the video alot smaller the mico sqaures on the graphics on the television alot smaller and makes ps3 games alot more realistic and clearer better graphics I would also like to ask if i could make the ions on the television screen even smaller and better with the HDMI cables its amazing.