Which HDMI cable ?

[John R.Hall]

I want to buy a 'reasonable quality' 2 metre hdmi lead.

It seems that the price for these varies tremendously. From say : £8 to £80 !
I know the old adage that "you get what you pay for" but is this really true in this case ?

At the moment the lead is to connect my Panasonic DVD recorder to the new HD ready
Pannie Plasma. I am ( of course ) thinking whether to buy Sky HD box and subscribe in which case the lead would be for that purpose also.

I realise that this is a very basic question for this forum but I'm sure that there must be a lot of amateurs like me puzzled by this huge price difference.

What price band would you recommend ?

longjohn_nle

[Paul W. H]

The Sky HD Box does come complete with a HDMI lead that apparently works OK according to my brother in-law.

Paul W. H

[John R.Hall]

Thanks Paul, but I want to buy a lead now and the Sky HD Box is a 'maybe' later.

I appreciate your prompt feedback.

regards, John

[Rob James]

I'd try CPC and buy the cheapest one they list of the length you require. If it works, its fine. If it doesn't, send it back. That's the beauty of digital.

There is absolutely no possible justification for the top end prices.

[Des]

I got my HDMI lead from Keene and it was fine BUT when I plugged it into my projector realised that I now had to get another pair of phono soundl leads to go to the sound amp because the projector sound is just for monitoring. I could have had a cjheaper DVI lead all along.

[infocus]

I tend to agree - the only advantage I can conceivably see of more expensive cables is possibly more robust, and may be less likely to corrode - hence more reliable. I doubt they're worth the money in general.

[John R.Hall]

Hi Rob , Des & Infocus,

Thanks all for your thoughts. We can buy 'gold' plated together with suppressors fitted for under £20 - delivered. That seems to be the route to go - unless anyone thinks differently ?

John

[Alan Roberts]

The more expensive cables probably have better screening. In domestic conditions that might not matter, but if you're laying it next to mic cables, for example, a cheap cable could well spray hf interference into the mic circuits (in exactly the same way that cheap SCART cables suffer when bi-directional video's used). Screening keeps stuff in, as well as keeping it out.

[John R.Hall]

Thanks for that Alan. I take your point.

In order to avoid such 'cross interference' , what sort of minimum price would you recommend ?

John

[Rob James]

I don't believe a particular price point will guarantee proper screening because you will find inferior cables at high prices simply because HDMI cables are relatively new and people "try it on".

The way to tell is to find the correct cable spec code from the HDMI specifications and check that it is printed on the cable or is in the cable specification. I realise this isn't very practical but it is the only way to be certain.

[harlequin]

Visit ALDI or LIDL

Last time i was in there , they had cheap priced , expensive cables you find in currys/pcworld etc.

[John R.Hall]

Thanks Rob & Gary
John

[steve]

Why not cut out the middle man and get them from the same place that many of the shops do, i.e.:
http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/search2/browse.jsp?N=500009+401+411+1005163&No=125&Ntk=gensearch_003&Ntt=hdmi+cable&Ntx=#results
Here you can choose from Pro-Signal, Bandridge, Molex and Profigold, as well as reasonably priced 'Unbranded' items.
I have bought many things from them without any problems. Also, delivery is free on orders over 40ukp istr.

Steve

[Rob James]

Hear, hear! See my earlier post...

[John R.Hall]

A great lead Steve many thanks and to Rob once again. I've bookmarked the page and will follow up tomorrow.

cheers,
John

[steve]

"great lead" pun?
No problems John. Just like hi-fi cables, video cables are often a real ripoff particularly with non-techies.

Steve

[Rob James]

Please let us know what you eventually buy and how you get on with it.

[John R.Hall]

To Steve & Rob.

You found me out over the 'lead' eh Steve !

I've decided to go for the Pro-Signal ,gold plated 1.5m @ £6.52 from cpc.

I'd be delighted to let you know. Give me a week or so.

kind regards,
John