Nighthawk

Google 'HDMI scam'. Quite an eye opener. While looking around for a
32" LCD and DVD player, in many places I was told that for upscaling
to work I needed an HDMI cable. No arguments there. But most places
said I needed a good one, one certified to certain levels, etc. I was
told that the starting price of HDMI cables was, (NZ prices) in one
shop, $50, in another, $99. I was recommended to get one for $169,
another salesman recommended a $300 cable, saying there are visible
differences, with cables going all the way up to $800.

I did some research. The fact is that HDMI cable is pure digital and
is not subject to the things that cause signal loss (except in very
long lengths, or interference. A $16 HDMI v1.3 cable from a computer
shop would do the job. If the specifications for HDMI v1 cable makes
it good enough for Blu-Ray with 8-channel sound, it will do for DVD as
well, hey?

Atheist Chaplain

"Nighthawk" <nighthawk@allo.com> wrote in message
news:uf8sb4ls64lm2vge3q2s6hqto051ifdjt0@4ax.com...
> Google 'HDMI scam'. Quite an eye opener. While looking around for a
> 32" LCD and DVD player, in many places I was told that for upscaling
> to work I needed an HDMI cable. No arguments there. But most places
> said I needed a good one, one certified to certain levels, etc. I was
> told that the starting price of HDMI cables was, (NZ prices) in one
> shop, $50, in another, $99. I was recommended to get one for $169,
> another salesman recommended a $300 cable, saying there are visible
> differences, with cables going all the way up to $800.
>
> I did some research. The fact is that HDMI cable is pure digital and
> is not subject to the things that cause signal loss (except in very
> long lengths, or interference. A $16 HDMI v1.3 cable from a computer
> shop would do the job. If the specifications for HDMI v1 cable makes
> it good enough for Blu-Ray with 8-channel sound, it will do for DVD as
> well, hey?
>

got a home address, I can send you one, I have a couple just laying around
here :-)
serious BTW
--
"Calling Atheism a religion is like calling bald a hair color."
Don Hirschberg

Nighthawk

On Wed, 3 Sep 2008 178:39 +1000, "Atheist Chaplain" <abused@cia.gov>
wrote:

>"Nighthawk" <nighthawk@allo.com> wrote in message
>news:uf8sb4ls64lm2vge3q2s6hqto051ifdjt0@4ax.com.. .
>> Google 'HDMI scam'. Quite an eye opener. While looking around for a
>> 32" LCD and DVD player, in many places I was told that for upscaling
>> to work I needed an HDMI cable. No arguments there. But most places
>> said I needed a good one, one certified to certain levels, etc. I was
>> told that the starting price of HDMI cables was, (NZ prices) in one
>> shop, $50, in another, $99. I was recommended to get one for $169,
>> another salesman recommended a $300 cable, saying there are visible
>> differences, with cables going all the way up to $800.
>>
>> I did some research. The fact is that HDMI cable is pure digital and
>> is not subject to the things that cause signal loss (except in very
>> long lengths, or interference. A $16 HDMI v1.3 cable from a computer
>> shop would do the job. If the specifications for HDMI v1 cable makes
>> it good enough for Blu-Ray with 8-channel sound, it will do for DVD as
>> well, hey?
>>
>
>got a home address, I can send you one, I have a couple just laying around
>here :-)
>serious BTW

Wouldn't be worth the freight to NZ, but thanks.

Andy Wolfe

Nighthawk wrote:
> Google 'HDMI scam'. Quite an eye opener. While looking around for a
> 32" LCD and DVD player, in many places I was told that for upscaling
> to work I needed an HDMI cable. No arguments there. But most places
> said I needed a good one, one certified to certain levels, etc. I was
> told that the starting price of HDMI cables was, (NZ prices) in one
> shop, $50, in another, $99. I was recommended to get one for $169,
> another salesman recommended a $300 cable, saying there are visible
> differences, with cables going all the way up to $800.
>
> I did some research. The fact is that HDMI cable is pure digital and
> is not subject to the things that cause signal loss (except in very
> long lengths, or interference. A $16 HDMI v1.3 cable from a computer
> shop would do the job. If the specifications for HDMI v1 cable makes
> it good enough for Blu-Ray with 8-channel sound, it will do for DVD as
> well, hey?
>

Hi
quite right, they go by the old PT Barnum maxim about one being born
every minute. just like spams, how stupid would you have to be ......?

--
cheers, andy wolfe.

GDS

"Nighthawk" <nighthawk@allo.com> wrote in message
news:uf8sb4ls64lm2vge3q2s6hqto051ifdjt0@4ax.com...
>
<snip>

Exactly!
Although there's always going to be someone try to justify getting ripped off by a
salesman saying "well I can see the difference", the simple fact is so long as the HDMI
cable meets the minimum specifications there will be zero observable difference on the
screen and through the audio device.

The ONLY difference is going to be in construction quality, and even that isn't a real
issue.

Below is the mentioned video by the CBC...

http://www.cbc.ca/mrl3/8752/marketpl...g_the_deal.wmv

Ane here's the article...

<cut>
The HD GuruT has been warning readers since November 2006 about false claims made
regarding the superior HDTV performance of expensive name brand HDMI cables when compared
to a cheap ones. Canada's public television network, the Canadian Broadcast Corporation
(CBC) has extensively tested a brand name, very expensive HDMI cable against less costly
ones and confirmed the HD Guru's advice. It found that a generic $6.00 (plus shipping)
HDMI cable obtained from an internet retailer provided exactly the same high definition
performance as the name brand cable costing $216!
In a report by CBC's Erica Johnson, three HDMI cables were rounded up for testing and
supplied to Maxine Caron, a CBC production engineer. The group consisted of a well know
brand name cable ($216 Canadian), Best Buy's house brand (Rocketfish $110 Canadian) and a
the generic 15 ft. HDMI cable obtained via the internet for $6 plus $6 shipping (BTW
Canadian dollars are currently exchanging around 1:1 with the US dollar).

Caron compared his source HDTV test signals to the output of each HDMI cable being tested
at CBC's test facility. The findings, all three HDMI cables tested reproduced every single
pixel of the HDTV source. Caron commented that all three cables reproduced exactly the
same image, including color quality, sharpness and black level. There was no performance
advantage using the higher priced HDMI cables!

There may be differences in construction quality of the most expensive HDMI cables as
compared to the cheapest, and perhaps if you plan to disconnect and reconnect the same
cable dozens or hundreds of times, expensive cables will hold up better. However, the HD
GuruT has been using a number of inexpensive HDMI cables including ones made by Philips
(about $20 at amazon.com) that have been disconnected and reconnected to different sources
and displays dozens of times. To date, there has been no product failure.

One final note, buying a cable capable of passing a wider bandwidth (also referred to as
speed or expressed as Gbps) than required, provides no image improvement.

You can see the CBC report at

http://www.cbc.ca/mrl3/8752/marketpl...g_the_deal.wmv

</cut>

G.

Gettamulla Tupya

On Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:43:49 +1200, Nighthawk <nighthawk@allo.com> wrote:

> Google 'HDMI scam'. Quite an eye opener. While looking around for a
> 32" LCD and DVD player, in many places I was told that for upscaling
> to work I needed an HDMI cable. No arguments there. But most places
> said I needed a good one, one certified to certain levels, etc. I was
> told that the starting price of HDMI cables was, (NZ prices) in one
> shop, $50, in another, $99. I was recommended to get one for $169,
> another salesman recommended a $300 cable, saying there are visible
> differences, with cables going all the way up to $800.

In the "old days" the salesmen used to talk people into buying very expensive component cables by showing people the difference in
picture quality between composite and component. One tried it with me and I told him I much preferred the picture the composite
cable gave. ;-)

> I did some research. The fact is that HDMI cable is pure digital and
> is not subject to the things that cause signal loss (except in very
> long lengths, or interference. A $16 HDMI v1.3 cable from a computer
> shop would do the job. If the specifications for HDMI v1 cable makes
> it good enough for Blu-Ray with 8-channel sound, it will do for DVD as
> well, hey?

$16 is a bit much to pay. I've seen them for under $10 on Ebay.

GDS

"Gettamulla Tupya" <snapper@pookmail.com> wrote in message
news:bojsb4pi3a7frrudmnp61v1cunb9fe7epu@4ax.com...
>
> $16 is a bit much to pay. I've seen them for under $10 on Ebay.

That's $16 including postage, as opposed to eBay

G.

Nighthawk

On Wed, 03 Sep 2008 18:49:34 +1000, Gettamulla Tupya
<snapper@pookmail.com> wrote:

>On Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:43:49 +1200, Nighthawk <nighthawk@allo.com> wrote:
>
>> Google 'HDMI scam'. Quite an eye opener. While looking around for a
>> 32" LCD and DVD player, in many places I was told that for upscaling
>> to work I needed an HDMI cable. No arguments there. But most places
>> said I needed a good one, one certified to certain levels, etc. I was
>> told that the starting price of HDMI cables was, (NZ prices) in one
>> shop, $50, in another, $99. I was recommended to get one for $169,
>> another salesman recommended a $300 cable, saying there are visible
>> differences, with cables going all the way up to $800.
>
>In the "old days" the salesmen used to talk people into buying very expensive component cables by showing people the difference in
>picture quality between composite and component. One tried it with me and I told him I much preferred the picture the composite
>cable gave. ;-)
>
>> I did some research. The fact is that HDMI cable is pure digital and
>> is not subject to the things that cause signal loss (except in very
>> long lengths, or interference. A $16 HDMI v1.3 cable from a computer
>> shop would do the job. If the specifications for HDMI v1 cable makes
>> it good enough for Blu-Ray with 8-channel sound, it will do for DVD as
>> well, hey?
>
>$16 is a bit much to pay. I've seen them for under $10 on Ebay.

I am in NZ and price quoted was NZ$, which currently is about US$0.67.
Their HDMI v1.2 cables were cheaper, $12. EBay is probably in US$.

Nighthawk

On Wed, 3 Sep 2008 17:413 +0930, "GDS" <fake.mail@ii.net> wrote:

>
>
>"Nighthawk" <nighthawk@allo.com> wrote in message
>news:uf8sb4ls64lm2vge3q2s6hqto051ifdjt0@4ax.com.. .
>>
><snip>
>
>Exactly!
>Although there's always going to be someone try to justify getting ripped off by a
>salesman saying "well I can see the difference", the simple fact is so long as the HDMI
>cable meets the minimum specifications there will be zero observable difference on the
>screen and through the audio device.
>
>The ONLY difference is going to be in construction quality, and even that isn't a real
>issue.
>
>Below is the mentioned video by the CBC...
>
>http://www.cbc.ca/mrl3/8752/marketpl...g_the_deal.wmv
>
>Ane here's the article...
>
><cut>
>The HD GuruT has been warning readers since November 2006 about false claims made
>regarding the superior HDTV performance of expensive name brand HDMI cables when compared
>to a cheap ones. Canada's public television network, the Canadian Broadcast Corporation
>(CBC) has extensively tested a brand name, very expensive HDMI cable against less costly
>ones and confirmed the HD Guru's advice. It found that a generic $6.00 (plus shipping)
>HDMI cable obtained from an internet retailer provided exactly the same high definition
>performance as the name brand cable costing $216!
>In a report by CBC's Erica Johnson, three HDMI cables were rounded up for testing and
>supplied to Maxine Caron, a CBC production engineer. The group consisted of a well know
>brand name cable ($216 Canadian), Best Buy's house brand (Rocketfish $110 Canadian) and a
>the generic 15 ft. HDMI cable obtained via the internet for $6 plus $6 shipping (BTW
>Canadian dollars are currently exchanging around 1:1 with the US dollar).
>
>Caron compared his source HDTV test signals to the output of each HDMI cable being tested
>at CBC's test facility. The findings, all three HDMI cables tested reproduced every single
>pixel of the HDTV source. Caron commented that all three cables reproduced exactly the
>same image, including color quality, sharpness and black level. There was no performance
>advantage using the higher priced HDMI cables!
>
>There may be differences in construction quality of the most expensive HDMI cables as
>compared to the cheapest, and perhaps if you plan to disconnect and reconnect the same
>cable dozens or hundreds of times, expensive cables will hold up better. However, the HD
>GuruT has been using a number of inexpensive HDMI cables including ones made by Philips
>(about $20 at amazon.com) that have been disconnected and reconnected to different sources
>and displays dozens of times. To date, there has been no product failure.
>
>One final note, buying a cable capable of passing a wider bandwidth (also referred to as
>speed or expressed as Gbps) than required, provides no image improvement.
>
>You can see the CBC report at
>
>http://www.cbc.ca/mrl3/8752/marketpl...g_the_deal.wmv
>
Very good. But to get to the video I had to go through this link:
http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2008/0...king_the_deal/ and I only
got audio. But it was still good.

David Barnett

"Nighthawk" <nighthawk@allo.com> wrote in message
news:uf8sb4ls64lm2vge3q2s6hqto051ifdjt0@4ax.com...
> Google 'HDMI scam'. Quite an eye opener. While looking around for a
> 32" LCD and DVD player, in many places I was told that for upscaling
> to work I needed an HDMI cable. No arguments there. But most places
> said I needed a good one, one certified to certain levels, etc. I was
> told that the starting price of HDMI cables was, (NZ prices) in one
> shop, $50, in another, $99. I was recommended to get one for $169,
> another salesman recommended a $300 cable, saying there are visible
> differences, with cables going all the way up to $800.
>
> I did some research. The fact is that HDMI cable is pure digital and
> is not subject to the things that cause signal loss (except in very
> long lengths, or interference. A $16 HDMI v1.3 cable from a computer
> shop would do the job. If the specifications for HDMI v1 cable makes
> it good enough for Blu-Ray with 8-channel sound, it will do for DVD as
> well, hey?

At present I am satisfied with my Composite Red, White & Yellow cables!
I do have some Component (Blue,Yellow, Green) cables in a drawer, and have
actually connected one set to a TV in my study - can't say have noticed any
visible difference.
--
David Barnett