HDMI Cables help

[mo_money2supe]

The fiancée and I just bought a new LCD tv and blueray player (Samsung 46" 650 series tv & p1600 player in case anyone's interested) and picked up just a plain ole hdmi cable to connect it all but am confused about the cable's packaging info. It says on the cable's packaging that it's 1080i/720p. Now does that mean we can't make use of the 1080p of our hardware? I thought hdmi, being digital, only deals with 1's and 0's? Is there really a difference? I've searched through several company sites and various beyond threads that all seem to lead me to believe that there's no difference but somehow, those numbers on the packaging are making me confused. Can someone confirm?

[eglove]

there is no difference

[mo_money2supe]

That was a quick response. Thanks!

[UndrgroundRider]

Originally posted by eglove
there is no difference

This is not true. It means your cable is only certified to work with 1080i. It might work with 1080P, but there is no guarantee.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI#Cable_length
To reduce the confusion about which cables support which video formats, HDMI 1.3 defines two categories of cables: Category 1-certified cables, which have been tested at 74.5 MHz (1080i/720p), and Category 2-certified cables, which have been tested at 340 MHz (1600p).[59] Category 1 HDMI cables are to be marketed as "Standard" and Category 2 HDMI cables as "High-Speed".[1] This labeling guideline for HDMI cables went into effect on October 17, 2008.[60][61] Category 1 and 2 cables can either meet the required parameter specifications for interpair skew, far-end crosstalk, attenuation, and differential impedance, or they can meet the required nonequalized/equalized eye diagram requirements.[59] A cable of about 5 meters (16 ft.) can be manufactured to Category 1 specifications easily and inexpensively by using 28 AWG (0.081 mm²) conductors.[58] With better quality construction and materials, including 24 AWG (0.205 mm²) conductors, an HDMI cable can reach lengths of up to 15 meters (49 ft.).[58] The HDMI website has stated that many HDMI cables under 5 meters of length that were made before the HDMI 1.3 specification can work as Category 2 cables, but cautions that only Category 2-tested cables are guaranteed to work.[62] Long cable lengths can cause instability of HDCP and blinking on the screen, due to the weakened DDC signal that HDCP requires. HDCP DDC signals must be multiplexed with TMDS video signals to be compliant with HDCP requirements for HDMI extenders based on a single Category 5/Category 6 cable.[63][64] Several companies offer amplifiers, equalizers, and repeaters that can string several standard HDMI cables together. Active HDMI cables use electronics within the cable to boost the signal and allow for HDMI cables of up to 30 meters (98 ft.).[65] HDMI extenders that are based on dual Category 5/Category 6 cable can extend HDMI to 250 meters (820 ft.), while HDMI extenders based on optical fiber can extend HDMI to 300 meters (980 ft.).[66][67]

[mo_money2supe]

We're probably gonna be renting a blue-ray movie tonight to try out the new equipment; would we be able to tell the difference (visually) if I'm only getting 1080i vs. 1080p? If I'm getting jipped on the cable we bought, I'd like to go return it right away, get the ridiculously marked-up price back in my pocket, and pick up a proper HDMI cable from monoprice or something.

[eglove]

i would just pick one up from monoprice anyways, buy 10 for the price you paid for the one at the store

[Mibz]

Originally posted by mo_money2supe
would we be able to tell the difference (visually) if I'm only getting 1080i vs. 1080p? You'll be able to tell the difference because your TV won't stay on the 1080p output. It should tell you what mode it's in when it starts up and every time it changes, probably in the top right corner. Look for it to say 1080i or 1080p on the TV when you start the movie.

[Boat]

Let me guess: You bought it at visions and they had the cheaper one with 720p which was like 40 bucks and then they showed you the 1080p one for $100+ ? :rolleyes:

Great TV though, you will be happy with your purchase!

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by mo_money2supe
We're probably gonna be renting a blue-ray movie tonight to try out the new equipment; would we be able to tell the difference (visually) if I'm only getting 1080i vs. 1080p? If I'm getting jipped on the cable we bought, I'd like to go return it right away, get the ridiculously marked-up price back in my pocket, and pick up a proper HDMI cable from monoprice or something.

On 46" I think you'll be hard pressed to tell the difference between 1080i/720p and 1080p. Your TV might just try scale everything up to 1080p anyways.

If you want to be sure about your cable just buy one for $5 from www.monoprice.com It's by far the best place to get that sort of thing and the quality is top notch.

[Shogged]

walmart has a great hdmi cable for 10 bucks right now if you dont feel like waiting for the mail! I betcha you won't notice a difference from any of the monster cables out there!

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by Shogged
walmart has a great hdmi cable for 10 bucks right now if you dont feel like waiting for the mail! I betcha you won't notice a difference from any of the monster cables out there!

I was in Soundsaround the other day (unfortunately ,they are the only Pioneer Elite dealer in Calgary), they have short Monster HDMI cables for $300+ :rofl: :rofl:

I've always wanted to walk in there with my $4.95 monoprice cable, let them hook up their highest end equipment (or whatever they wanted), and switch between their $300+ cables and my $5 cable and have them tell me which one is which. I would bet everything I own that they couldn't tell me which is which without simply guessing.

[KrisYYC]

Funny this topic came up, I am looking for long (6m) HDMI cables to run from my PC to my 52 inch LCD TV. Friends have told me that I could get a 6 meter cable for around $30. Needless to say I was dismayed when I walked into Future Shop and the 6m Monster cables were $210....


Is there truly no difference in quality? Not just picture, but sound as well. I'm a total audiophile and can pick apart variations in sound on a minute scale.

[Mibz]

Originally posted by KrisYYC
Funny this topic came up, I am looking for long (6m) HDMI cables to run from my PC to my 52 inch LCD TV. Friends have told me that I could get a 6 meter cable for around $30. Needless to say I was dismayed when I walked into Future Shop and the 6m Monster cables were $210....


Is there truly no difference in quality? Not just picture, but sound as well. I'm a total audiophile and can pick apart variations in sound on a minute scale. The difference depends completely on the situation.

In a 3m or less run then there should be near, if not completely, zero difference. Up to about 50ft the difference would be too negligible for the average person to notice. At very long lengths and in high-interference areas the Monoprice cable will suffer from a lack of shielding.

Don't listen to anybody that thinks digital signal can't be affected by interference.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by KrisYYC
Funny this topic came up, I am looking for long (6m) HDMI cables to run from my PC to my 52 inch LCD TV. Friends have told me that I could get a 6 meter cable for around $30. Needless to say I was dismayed when I walked into Future Shop and the 6m Monster cables were $210....


Is there truly no difference in quality? Not just picture, but sound as well. I'm a total audiophile and can pick apart variations in sound on a minute scale.

Absolutely zero difference between Monoprice and Monster cable other than the 98% price difference. In fact, I find much of the monoprice stuff to be built better. I've got 35ft, 25ft, 15ft, 6ft, and 3ft monoprice HDMI cables and the picture/sound is absolutely identical between them all. I consider myself quite picky when it comes to audio/video quality and I was viewing them on a 92" screen with a high-end 1080p projector so if there were any noticable real-world differences, I should have been able to see them.

[KrisYYC]

^^ After reading numerous reviews saying the same thing, I decided to order cables from monoprice.com.

20 foot HDMI cable and choosing the fastest shipping option available (1-3 days) the total cost was $48.

How can Monster, Future Shop/Best Buy justify such a massive price difference?

If the Monsters were maybe 20-30% more ok, but literally 10 times the price????

Thanks for the feedback.

[Boat]

Originally posted by KrisYYC
^^ After reading numerous reviews saying the same thing, I decided to order cables from monoprice.com.

20 foot HDMI cable and choosing the fastest shipping option available (1-3 days) the total cost was $48.

How can Monster, Future Shop/Best Buy justify such a massive price difference?

If the Monsters were maybe 20-30% more ok, but literally 10 times the price????

Thanks for the feedback.

Its a big deal, they have been bending over the early adoptors of HD tv and media for years and years. They still haven't realized that its time to lower the prices now that the mainstream consumer groups are adopting HD.

I got my dad a blu-ray player for fathers day and it only came with the cheap rca audio video cable. :guns: :guns: . It was a samsung. Has anyone encountered a blu-ray player that acutally comes with HDMI yet?

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by KrisYYC
^^ After reading numerous reviews saying the same thing, I decided to order cables from monoprice.com.

20 foot HDMI cable and choosing the fastest shipping option available (1-3 days) the total cost was $48.

How can Monster, Future Shop/Best Buy justify such a massive price difference?

If the Monsters were maybe 20-30% more ok, but literally 10 times the price????

Thanks for the feedback.

Think of how many people walk into their local BestBuy/FutureShop/Visions/Soundsaround, etc. thinking these are good places to buy from. Granted, if you know exactly what you're looking for, they can be quite good but they will try and sell you a lot of what you don't need. The average person who knows nothing about home theater will likely believe what the salesperson has to say, and often people do indeed associate higher price with better performance. Unfortunately, this is not the case with many high markup items (cables, speakers, TV wall mounts, etc.) and those stores make an absolute KILLING selling those items to uneducated customers.

Every time I'm in those stores I hear sales people leading around customers telling them "you'll need this, and this, and this" and the person just goes along with it because they don't know any better. The funny thing is that they will still try and tell you they are right even when presented with evidence that suggests otherwise. Like I said before, I would love to go into those stores with my $5 cables and have them tell me with any sort of accuracy when the $5 cable is being used and the $300 cable is being used.

[KrisYYC]

This video shows some of those salesmen in action:

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[Mibz]

Try not to get angry at the salesmen either. They aren't gurus on the subject. The best salesmen I knew didn't know shit about the product they sold past what the reps had told them. I bet you any money that a large percentage of FS and BB employees actually believe what they're saying. It's the blind leading the blind.

[KrisYYC]

Well I have my monoprice cables hooked up and they work perfectly.

I ordered them on a Monday night, it was shipped on a Tuesday and they arrived on Wednesday!

Good heavy duty build quality too. Not flimsy at all.

Monoprice FTW!!!

[Disoblige]

Originally posted by Mibz
I bet you any money that a large percentage of FS and BB employees actually believe what they're saying. It's the blind leading the blind.

Damn right, there's maybe 1-2 guys in the whole store who know what they're talking about or else they all have a mediocre knowledge base. I just use them to guide me around the store.