HDMI Cables (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Covstu
- Start date
Coventry La La La
New Member
im-confused
New Member
With things like that, you pay for the brand name.
SkyBlueMania
New Member
I got mine for my PS3 for £3 quid and have never had a problem. It's a digital signal being sent down the cable, they are all made of the same wire, therefore they will all produce signal of the same quality. Some have gold plates on the contact points but that only protects against corrosion of the contact point and does not enhance the picture!
Danceswithhorses
Well-Known Member
Absolutely no difference...the signal is digital ie 1's and 0's, so makes no difference if lead has 'gold plated' connectors or other such mumbo jumbo...just look out for version 1.4 hdmi (newest type)
BenInTurin
Facebook User
Newsbeat: "Budget 10% of system setup price"
Soory but that is absolute bollocks. The only possible reason to spend more than a tenner on a hdmi cable is if it had to travel further than 10 meters. As others have pointed out, all a hdmi cable does is transfer digital information (1s and 0s) between two pieces of equipment. You'll only likely to get problems if your trying to send a full 1080p image with 7.1 dolby dts over a large distance.
Even with a home theatre setup, the distance between any two devices is still likely to be under 2 meters so even a couple of £10 cables should be fine.
I read an in depth review about this a month ago when a 3m cable costing something like £1000 came out. The reviewers used special software to test out some different cables of varying prices. They all gave the same results apart from a $2 cable from ebay that had broken connectors and so didn't work!
So in short, don't waste your money, just find a cable for about £10.
TheRoyalScam
Well-Known Member
I understand that the 3m cable costing £1000 was marketed by 'Emperor's New Clothes Enterprises Ltd.' If you bought two of them, they threw in some free magic beans.
Houchens Head
Fairly well known member from Malvern
I bought mine from Maplins a year ago so I could run my lappy through large plasma TV. Cost about £12 and works brilliant!
TheRoyalScam
Well-Known Member
Mine keeps showing a creepy crawly in the middle of my screen -
perhaps I should get a more expensive one...........:thinking about: ^^^^^^^
bloody hell it's there again.
Disorganised1
New Member
The really cheap ones will fall apart if you're swapping them about ~ the plug leads are only spot soldered not crimped ~ like everyone says - spend between £10 & £15 and you'll be fine.
flammablepiss
Facebook User
Cheap ones are fine and are the same image quality as the expensive ones. The build quality may not be as good but just look after them
And there is definitely a difference between sd and hd... try playing fifa on a scart! Everything is fuzzy as hell even the text is hard to read. I never realised until my hdmi cable broke and then I was like whoa thats a big difference!
And there is definitely a difference between sd and hd... try playing fifa on a scart! Everything is fuzzy as hell even the text is hard to read. I never realised until my hdmi cable broke and then I was like whoa thats a big difference!
Last edited:
dutchman
Well-Known Member
Retailer calls rivals' bluff on "HDMI scam"
By Nicole Kobie
Posted on 5 Jul 2011 at 09:14
Upstart retailer Kogan is threatening to shame retailers who attempt to sell expensive HDMI cables.
The Australian electronics firm - which opened shop in the UK at the beginning of the year - is attempting to shame rivals such as Currys and John Lewis for pushing customers to buy overpriced HDMI cables for their new televisions.
Kogan is offering TV buyers a free HDMI cable with proof of TV purchase from one of its competitors, to prove that its £4 cable is as good as the £20, £50 and £100 alternatives on sale at rival stores. It may even extend the offer to PC buyers.
"When you buy a TV from John Lewis, Currys, or countless other high street stores, you will be offered hideously expensive accessories such as HDMI cables," the company said in a blog post. "These cables are sold with absolutely ridiculous markups, many multiples of the actual cost of the items."
"These stores are trying to trick people into thinking they need an HDMI lead costing over £100 after buying a Full HD TV. This is simply not the case. You shouldn't be spending more than £4 on an HDMI cable," it said.
"An HDMI cable is an HDMI cable," Kogan added. "It's a digital cable. You either get a picture or you don't. Don't get conned into buying a 'fancy' HDMI cable because it will make no difference!"
A Kogan spokesperson said the deal may eventually be extended to PC buyers, but said TV sales were the "main realm where the scam is occurring". "If this starts occurring more and more with tablets and PCs, Kogan will certainly consider broadening the campaign," the spokesperson said.
Variety of prices
John Lewis and Currys-parent DSGi denied the upselling claims, saying they helped customers buy the "right" cable.
"We sell a large range of HDMI cables with different specifications and prices tailored to our customers' needs," said a spokeswoman for DSGi's retail arm. "Our entry level HDMI cable is currently on sale at £7.99 and our most expensive cable is at £100.99."
"In the rapidly changing technologies that surround TV we have highly trained staff in store to guide customers to making the right choice for their TV," she claimed. "It's not just about the quality of signal and image that HDMI cables can provide, particularly in higher-end televisions, it is also about the protection from interference and the long-time durability of the cables."
A spokeswoman for John Lewis echoed that response, saying the retailer offered a "wide range of options" with cable prices starting from £20 to £99. “Each of our HDMI cables offers excellent quality and value for money, and by providing our customers with a range of different cables which offer different specifications, we are able to help them find one to suit their specific needs, with features such as different cable lengths, ultra slim and high speed," she said.
"We advise customers to consider purchasing an HDMI cable which matches the quality of their television's components," she added. "For instance, a cable suitable for a premium 3D TV would not be required for many of our mid-range TVs. We pride ourselves on offering excellent customer service, and will always aim to advise our customers to buy the product that is right for them.”
HDMI cables on the latest 1.4 specification should work for any TVs, including 3D models. The HDMI spec is split out into five different types to make buying easier for consumers; the cable on offer from Kogan is the top rated "high-speed HDMI cable with Ethernet".
By Nicole Kobie
Posted on 5 Jul 2011 at 09:14
Upstart retailer Kogan is threatening to shame retailers who attempt to sell expensive HDMI cables.
The Australian electronics firm - which opened shop in the UK at the beginning of the year - is attempting to shame rivals such as Currys and John Lewis for pushing customers to buy overpriced HDMI cables for their new televisions.
Kogan is offering TV buyers a free HDMI cable with proof of TV purchase from one of its competitors, to prove that its £4 cable is as good as the £20, £50 and £100 alternatives on sale at rival stores. It may even extend the offer to PC buyers.
"When you buy a TV from John Lewis, Currys, or countless other high street stores, you will be offered hideously expensive accessories such as HDMI cables," the company said in a blog post. "These cables are sold with absolutely ridiculous markups, many multiples of the actual cost of the items."
"These stores are trying to trick people into thinking they need an HDMI lead costing over £100 after buying a Full HD TV. This is simply not the case. You shouldn't be spending more than £4 on an HDMI cable," it said.
"An HDMI cable is an HDMI cable," Kogan added. "It's a digital cable. You either get a picture or you don't. Don't get conned into buying a 'fancy' HDMI cable because it will make no difference!"
A Kogan spokesperson said the deal may eventually be extended to PC buyers, but said TV sales were the "main realm where the scam is occurring". "If this starts occurring more and more with tablets and PCs, Kogan will certainly consider broadening the campaign," the spokesperson said.
Variety of prices
John Lewis and Currys-parent DSGi denied the upselling claims, saying they helped customers buy the "right" cable.
"We sell a large range of HDMI cables with different specifications and prices tailored to our customers' needs," said a spokeswoman for DSGi's retail arm. "Our entry level HDMI cable is currently on sale at £7.99 and our most expensive cable is at £100.99."
"In the rapidly changing technologies that surround TV we have highly trained staff in store to guide customers to making the right choice for their TV," she claimed. "It's not just about the quality of signal and image that HDMI cables can provide, particularly in higher-end televisions, it is also about the protection from interference and the long-time durability of the cables."
A spokeswoman for John Lewis echoed that response, saying the retailer offered a "wide range of options" with cable prices starting from £20 to £99. “Each of our HDMI cables offers excellent quality and value for money, and by providing our customers with a range of different cables which offer different specifications, we are able to help them find one to suit their specific needs, with features such as different cable lengths, ultra slim and high speed," she said.
"We advise customers to consider purchasing an HDMI cable which matches the quality of their television's components," she added. "For instance, a cable suitable for a premium 3D TV would not be required for many of our mid-range TVs. We pride ourselves on offering excellent customer service, and will always aim to advise our customers to buy the product that is right for them.”
HDMI cables on the latest 1.4 specification should work for any TVs, including 3D models. The HDMI spec is split out into five different types to make buying easier for consumers; the cable on offer from Kogan is the top rated "high-speed HDMI cable with Ethernet".
