What is the difference between cheap and expensive HDMI cables?

[PRISMA]

Am I correct in thinking that the difference between a £7 HDMI lead and a £60 gold plated HDMI lead (same length) is absolutely zero? I mean, they are digital cables that carry a stream of 1's and 0's, so how could one cable be better than another?

[Lawrenzini]

The difference may not be zero... they may make zero difference however the £60 one is likely to be made of slightly better materials etc... not that that will effect performance, but to be fair to cable companies, they will cost more to make.

[JohnWH]

The reality is that up too a few meters almost any cable is fine, however over 5m the gauge of the cable and the construction quality can have some bearing along with how higher resolution a signal you want to push down it. It should be noted however that the resulitn image is not gradually degraded as with an analogue cable, it works, its has sparkleys, or it doesn't work so basically if you have a cable that works there's no need to change it for another more expensive one.

John.

[Nick_UK]

Originally Posted by Lawrenzini

The difference may not be zero... they may make zero difference however the £60 one is likely to be made of slightly better materials etc... not that that will effect performance, but to be fair to cable companies, they will cost more to make.

Hmmm.... I'm not sure a few microns of gold would cost £60

In any case, most of the gold has worn off after you've inserted it a dozen times. Digital devices all use error checking, so any small corruption to the 1's and 0's will be corrected anyway. By all means spend some money on buying cables whose connectors don't fall off, but these should not cost £60.

[JohnWH]

Originally Posted by Nick_UK

... Digital devices all use error checking, so any small corruption to the 1's and 0's will be corrected anyway ...

This isn't correct, to the best of my knowledeg no current consumer orientated digital interconnect allows for error checking/correction, all assume the data arrives intact (hence sparkleys on HDMI/DVI). Of course this doesn't mean there's a need for snakeoil TM though!

Later,
John.

[MPK]

The interesting thing is that recently all these 1080p HDMI cables have been popping up. Apparently, some or most HDMI cables may not be capable of putting through 1080p, only 1080i. Funnily enough, 1080p cables are quite a bit more expensive than the normal ones. I find that hard to believe as it is a digital cable and the plug is standard. Has anyone got experience with this?

[JohnWH]

The issue with 1080p only occurs with longer cable runs, say >5.0m, and even then many cheap cables have been shown to be fine, although there can be some dependency on the equipment sitting at either end.

[Nick_UK]

Originally Posted by JohnWH

This isn't correct, to the best of my knowledeg no current consumer orientated digital interconnect allows for error checking/correction, all assume the data arrives intact (hence sparkleys on HDMI/DVI). Of course this doesn't mean there's a need for snakeoil TM though!

HDMI is only a transmission standard. Error correction at the other end is not mandatory, but can be incorporated if desired.

[JohnWH]

Yes, but for it to be of any use it can't be proprietry, it must be defined as part of the interconnect standard, as it isn't defined as such it isn't relevent.

Edit: unless you mean cable correction/equalisation which is not the same thing.

John.

[Nic Rhodes]

Better cables (not necessarily more expensive ones) generally can go to long length (>5m), or higher resolutions (1080p) or both. However the thing that interests me most is the plug staying in the socket reliably with a variety of equipment. Some cables are definately better than others....and then there is how flexible they are....You just need to get 'smart' about what you buy and not throw money at the job but don't scrimp either. Good cables will not cost an arm and leg and the differenceis real.

[JohnWH]

Must admit that HDMI cables falling out isn't a problem I've ever had!

Edit: And I wouldn't personally pay bettercables prices anyway, definitely overpriced.

John.

[Nic Rhodes]

I was not talking about Bettercables but cables that were better, having said that if I wanted 1080p or long lengths I WOULD buy their cables. They are VERY good. I only have 3 here but have worked faultlessly, many others have gone back and I now use molex and bettercables exclusively outside of 'testing'. Re cables falling out, you are lucky it happens, just like SCARTs!!

[JohnWH]

Well you can get 1080p capable cables for half what they charge particularily for shorter runs, of course consistency may be an issue in cheaper cables at longer lengths.

John.

[Nic Rhodes]

tbh I use Molex for <5m as they work well, my last 5 cables were <£10 each, they seem great but mostly transport low band width signals to the VP. After, things increase in both resolution and length and more thought is required

[JohnWH]

What more thought like spending £80 for a 10m cable and finding that it still mysteriously carries 1080p without a problem?
(because its actually the same cable bought in a different country)

Later,
John.