HDMI cables direcTV

[Evan]

Are the cables that come with directv good or should I go to best buy and get better ones?

[robino2001]

They're alright but I bought new ones from Monoprice.com... this is the absolute greatest website for connections and stuff. It's all made in house - top of the line, and SUPER wicked cheap. I bought my 6' hdmi cable for like $13 or something.... same cables run $60+ at the normal stores.

I know it sounds as if I work for them or something - but the website is AWESOME... I bought VGA cables for my 360, component cables for my wii and a few other things from them last week - all of them are great - spent $30 total.

[Evan]

could you link me the ones you bought? Thank you

[MannyIsGod]

I doubt you're going to see a difference with different cables. If you got a free HDMI cable just use it IMO.

[Evan]

ok. Any other needed add-ons?

[xrayzebra]

They're alright but I bought new ones from Monoprice.com... this is the absolute greatest website for connections and stuff. It's all made in house - top of the line, and SUPER wicked cheap. I bought my 6' hdmi cable for like $13 or something.... same cables run $60+ at the normal stores.

I know it sounds as if I work for them or something - but the website is AWESOME... I bought VGA cables for my 360, component cables for my wii and a few other things from them last week - all of them are great - spent $30 total.

I bought two from monoprice for $14.84, including
shipping back in March of 07. Have they gone up that
much?

Someone wanted a link for monoprice: Here Tis....

http://www.monoprice.com/home/index.asp

Added: Glad someone posted this, it reminded me to order some more. Which I just did, got
the 10ft this time, three of them. total cost with shipping about 24 bucks. thanks for
reminding me......LOL

[BonnerDynasty]

I think HDMI are all the same.

Just like everything else at these lame BestBuy, Circuitcity, etc...they are grossly overpriced.

Internet ftmfw.

[robino2001]

I don't see the EXACT ones I bought on there anymore... anything from them will do the job though.

As for the quality difference - I won't lie at all... I don't notice the very smallest of differences that these wires may provide in some cases - but I did notice the difference when getting my new wire from monoprice in compared to the hdmi in the directv box. With that said, if you're going to buy one, why not buy the best quality possible at a fraction of the price. Albeit, this is the type of place I might buy something from once a year, I absolutely love what you can get for the price.

[MannyIsGod]

There is no difference with digital cables. HDMI is a digital format, so you'll get no difference.

[robino2001]

There is no difference with digital cables. HDMI is a digital format, so you'll get no difference.

Yes and no to a point.... there are slight differences in things like the connectors, some cables are effected by interference more so than others... these really come into play if you go with longer cables. A generic directv cable is going to be bottom of the line but it might not be anything you would notice. The larger the tv, the more you might notice the differences in the cable. I have my directv cable on the 32" in the bedroom because I won't see the difference but I have my monoprice wire on the 47" 1080p because you could tell the difference between cables.

[PlayoffEx-static]

There is no difference with digital cables. HDMI is a digital format, so you'll get no difference.

Unless you're talking optical cables, there is always the chance for ty shielding or cheap connectors.

[TwAnKiEs]

OMG! I need a vga to dvi adapter to hook up my hd xbox 360 cable, and I can only find one near me for $30 and its $1.94 on their site!!!

[Wild Cobra]

Unless you're talking optical cables, there is always the chance for ty shielding or cheap connectors.

Yes, those are definate concerns, and something that likely will not present a problem until past any honored return time. Definately want gold connectors.

I didn't know anything about HDMI signal format before this posting, but it is digital, you don't get varied differences like an analog signal. I used to work with giga-hertz signals and know more than most about digital communications. As long as the required signal to noise ratio is maintained or exceeded, the quality of the cables don't matter. If you have periodic drop-outs in the signal, they are immediate and notable. Substandard quality in a digital cable vs. analog will cause complete losses in at least part of the signal rather than a change in quality that might not be noticeable to severe in an analog signal.

Distance may make a requirement for higher quality cabling. The bottom line is whether or not the minimum signal to noise ration is always maintained. Will a nearby CB distort it? Will turning on the microwave oven, or using the cell phone distort it? I don't know if a these will affect the HDMI signal, but they are among several possibilities I can assume.

By just looking at a pin out, it appears to be a twisted balanced signal. A twisted pair using a balanced signal is good at rejecting external noise. Cable quality does matter for distances longer than normal. These cables are using pretty high frequencies so the signal strength diminishes rapidly with distance and external noise becomes a concern.

Depending on how the cable is actually made, there may be a maximum acceptable distance. It appears they solve the part of the distance problems with what is called "Adaptive Equalization "

Here is a short write-up out of wiki concernig distance and quality:

Cable length

The HDMI specification does not define a maximum cable length. As with all cables, signal attenuation becomes too high at a certain length. Instead, HDMI specifies a minimum performance standard. Any cable meeting that specification is compliant. Different construction quality and materials will enable cables of different lengths. In addition, higher performance requirements must be met to support video formats with higher resolutions and/or frame rates than the standard HDTV formats.

The signal attenuation and intersymbol interference caused by the cables can be compensated by using Adaptive Equalization.

HDMI 1.3 defined two categories of cables: Category 1 (standard or HDTV) and Category 2 (high-speed or greater than HDTV) to reduce the confusion about which cables support which video formats. Using 28 AWG, a cable of about 5 metres (~16 ft) can be manufactured easily and inexpensively to Category 1 specifications. Higher-quality construction (24 AWG, tighter construction tolerances, etc.) can reach lengths of 12 to 15 metres (~39 to 49 ft). In addition, active cables or extenders that use fiber optic, and single or dual Cat-5 or Cat-6 cables instead of standard copper can be used to extend HDMI to 50 meters for 1080p and 100 metres or more for 1080i or less. For HDMI over single UTP extender, to be compliant with HDCP requirements, the HDCP handshake signals must be multiplexed with the TMDS video signals. Some HDMI extenders strip off the HDCP encryption to reduce the cost. These kinds of HDMI extenders are illegal to be imported and used in the countries that adopted HDCP standard. Some companies also offer amplifiers, equalizers and repeaters that can string several standard (non-active) HDMI cables together. However, because of the ac ulation of signal skew and clock jitter, the total cable length is limited to around 40 meters no more than two equalizers and repeaters for 1080p. Also, due to the limitation of DDC on which the HDCP is based, the longer cable may cause the instability of HDCP and result in the blink on the screen.

What does this mean? Well, you might find a cable that works find for 720p or 720i which most signals currently are, but as soon as you introduce a 1080p signal, it may not work at all. Make sure you can test any new cable with the highest signal you can.

[Heath Ledger]

If you ever buy Monster Cables, you Fail. You might as well piss your money away by throwing it into a fire or mailing it to me.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

bigalee bigalee