HDMI cable - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: canibalimao
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 02, 2015, 05:52:35 pm
content: I'm looking for a new HDMI cable and I can't decide if I should spend more than 10€ on branded one or if I should get one from a chinese market for a fraction of the price.I know that HDMI is all digital and the signal SHOULDN'T be different between a gold plated connectors cable and a basic one (in cables with arround 1m length, of course). But I also now that's a digital signal isn't allways 0 or 1 when we apply it to the real life...With that, what do you recommend to me? Are you using chinese HDMI cables on your TV's?Thank you all in advance.

author: klunkerbus
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 02, 2015, 06:25:32 pm
content: As long as I can wait on shipping, I purchase all the cables I need from monoprice. Somewhat of a brand name with a track record behind their cables. Back in the DVI days, I had purchased the cheapest cables I could find on eBay, and they quickly ended up in the trash. I won't go that route again. EDIT: The cables from monoprice don't cost that much more.

author: mos6502
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 02, 2015, 06:35:14 pm
content: Quote from: klunkerbus on September 02, 2015, 06:25:32 pmHuh. I've got a bunch of the cheapest HDMI cables off of eBay (like, 90 Eurocents including shipping). Never had a problem with any of them. I mean, it's not like SATA, where youmight possiblyhave data corruption or whatever. It's the freaking monitor. It should be pretty easy to spot if there's any problem with the cable.

author: georges80
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 02, 2015, 06:39:52 pm
content: Cheap HDMI cables can emit a lot of RFI versus a quality cable, especially where the cable portion terminates at the connector/housing ends. We had to choose carefully when one of our designs was going through FCC B compliance testing (4 HDMI cables, 4 monitors etc etc running full HD). Cheap cables were an instant compliance fail.So, there's more to it than signal integrity. If you don't care about potential RFI issues, then buy whatever 'works'.cheers,george.

author: bktemp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 02, 2015, 06:47:29 pm
content: For short cables it does not matter. When the cable is short enough you can even use ribbon cable.As the cable gets longer the correct impedance and low losses at higher frequencies gets more important otherwise you get bit errors (flickering pixels).

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 02, 2015, 07:36:53 pm
content: Any time I need a cable, I almost always buy from Monoprice. They sell good quality items and will ship by USPS for cheap, fast delivery.

author: chickenHeadKnob
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 02, 2015, 09:50:18 pm
content: Well I have had problems with the cheapmicroHDMI cables sold by Ameridroid (see here:http://ameridroid.com/t/cables.Ameridroid is the US/Canada distributor for Hardkernel's product and I bought 2 Odroid C which require micro HDMI to standard HDMI which I can not easily find in local stores. It turns out there is a known issue with Odroids and cheap cables that don't connect the sheild. When I substituted a cable I bought from Ada-fruit 2 years ago for use with a Beagle-bone-black which also has micro HDMI the Odroid worked fine. I can't vouch for currently sold Ada-fruit supplied cables but will buy a new one shortly when I order a RasPI camera. Makes me angry the Ass-hats at Ameridriod sell cables that don't work, if I didn't have the Beagle-bone cable I would have been left scratching my head. Its not worth the 6 bux to send them back.EDIT: the crap cables are labeledcopartner E119932-T AWM style 20276 80 C 30 V VW-1Adafruit cable isMonoprice Copartner V10451 E119932-T AWM 20276 80 C 30 V VW-1The Adafruit cable is noticeably thicker and has a toriod near the micro connector end!

author: canibalimao
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 02, 2015, 10:25:37 pm
content: Thank you all for the replys.I guess I'll try a chinese one and the cheappest I can find on a local store. At least the one on the local store should have pass the CEE tests for RFI and all those emissionsBut those goldeen plated ones.... Hmmm meh, I won't spend 20 or more euros on one!

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 03, 2015, 11:17:40 pm
content: Don't go really cheap, especially for longer ones. I've seen dropouts at Full HD signals on really nasty cable (but they work fine at 720P and lower resolutions). That said, good quality cable isn't hard to find and is inexpensive. I was buying some gear from an AV company just recently and they just threw in a bunch of their HDMI cables they run through ceiling and wall installations. All those Monster cables etc... are just bullshit.Just off the top of my head, if a short HDMI cable costs less than $5, I'd be questioning its construction and connector quality. Somewhere between $5 and $15 is not unreasonable in my opinion for a good quality cable that will last.

author: daqq
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 04, 2015, 06:31:54 am
content: To be fair there's SOME minimal quality you need to achieve to transfer HDMI signals correctly, have the mechanic specs OK, mating cycles OK, all in all, a certain build quality is desired - this might have nothing to do with signal integrity (beyond a certain point), it has to do with not damaging your devices connectors, being resistant to mating, wear and tear.However, the above can easily be achieved by 10-15 EUR cables. Anything above 20 EUR (for small lengths) you pay for marketing and vanity and has little to no effect on anything relevant.

author: canibalimao
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 04, 2015, 08:21:16 am
content: Quote from: daqq on September 04, 2015, 06:31:54 amI didn't remember about the connectors integrity. That's a big and important issue! Thanks for the advice!Quote from: evb149 on September 04, 2015, 07:06:00 amThe cable will be just to plug a DVD/BR player to the TV and a Set Top Box. Booth devices will be under the TV, so the cable don't need to have more than a meter long.For a cable this big, a thin wireshoulddo the business well, but the insulation could be a issue also and I don't know how good that is until I break the cable appartWith this, I'm going to check prices on the local stores and see what prices they practice.