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Jasper
27-May-2009, 19:34
I am looking to buy an HDMI and Optical cable to connect a 108op upscaling dvd to my 42" LCD tv.

The price of the cables ranges from £20(tesco/Technika Gold plated) to £69.99:o at Comet.

How important is this to maintain a quality picture?My TV is 1080i,not 1080p.

Tv is not used for gaming.

Any suggestions for good dtuff from pixmania/ebuyer or anywhere online that isn't £70 welcome!!
Shazaam!
27-May-2009, 19:58
There's no correlation between HDMI cable price and performance. Buy the shortest cable for your need however.

http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/long-hdmi-cable-bench-tests/hdmi-cable-testing-results
andys 900ss
27-May-2009, 20:29
Get the best leads you can buy.

I got Richer Sounds to do me a deal with the LED tv & stand we brought from them. I didnt go too mad, about £35 for the HDMI and £15 for the optical. Looks and sounds excellent to me but I have found an occasional delay with the sound which annoys me. TV is samsung, amp is Sony. I also got another set for the PS3 for Blue Ray which is awesome.

Andy
Mac-Os
27-May-2009, 22:30
HDMI should also carry the Audio components so you shouldnt need the optical. The latter is normally used when using Component Video/S-video or old HD DVI format where the audio channels where separate.
Jasper
27-May-2009, 22:34
HDMI should also carry the Audio components so you shouldnt need the optical. The latter is normally used when using Component Video/S-video or old HD DVI format where the audio channels where separate.

The optical is for the surround sound from the tv to the home cinema.
swannymere
27-May-2009, 22:47
The only possible POSSIBLE difference a higher quality cable would make is in shielding. I should imagine the higher quality ones are less susceptible to electrical interference meaning you get less pictures glitches, but really, that's grasping at straws. Just get the cheapest one you can.
badmanners
28-May-2009, 02:23
because HDMI cable is digital (10101110 etc) it either works or it doesnt work.....simple as that really.

I have a Van den Hull cable and an ebay special......no difference whatsoever...apart from price.

As said before, buy the correct length you need at the price you want to pay :-)

Have a look on ebay for ThatCable
or ThatCable.com
Magpie
28-May-2009, 14:24
hmmmm, I disagree, to a point.

not all HDMI cables will do Full HD/1080P at 24fps, so buy-cheap-buy-twice.

as your screen is for gaming then you'll have no issues with a cheap/cheerful HDMI lead.

magpie.
Ray
28-May-2009, 15:39
Try a look here.

http://www.misco.co.uk/applications/factfinder/search.asp?query=hdmi+lead&page=2

page 1 had some more expensive cables.

The only thing stellar about comet is the price.

Ray
rockhopper
26-May-2010, 21:43
An HDMI cable is simply a glorified USB cable. If you run your printer with a cheap USB cable do you get fuzzy prints with the black not very black etc?
No of course you don't!

Someone far more qualified than me once said that if you stick a piece of spaghetti into the back your TV and you get a picture you won't get a better picture by using a £100 HDMI cable.
clint
26-May-2010, 22:14
[QUOTE=badmanners]because HDMI cable is digital (10101110 etc) it either works or it doesnt work.....simple as that really.

Spot on. Don't waste your money.


Clint.
Jasper
26-May-2010, 22:25
Well,I can tell you this:

I bought a cheap as chips HDMI cable for £9.99 and had white speckles when playing a movie in 1080i.

I swapped it for another,same thing.

I bought a Panasonic at £19.99 and hey presto,no snow.The fact it is next to 1/2 dozen power cables and scarts suggests that there was an interference issue and the more expensive one had better screening.
Gobert23
17-Dec-2010, 15:05
I have to admit that I'm a little confused by the whole 'cabling' and 'HDMI' (of various standards) thing...

I've spent pretty reasonable monies on cabling for my stereo system, but was talked out of spending equal sums in cables for the Blu-Ray to screen.

The explanation that, the whole point of a digital signal was that there would be no degradation, seemed to make sense.

How exactly would 'analogue' background interference effect a digital signal?

Anyways, I've got a pretty chunky HDMI cable, only in the thought that I don't intend to have to buy another...