Cables cost how much? Yikes!

Popped into Sevenoaks today to get a component-to-component cable (for the DVD recorder to the pj) and a HDMI-to-HDMI cable plus a DVI-to-HDMI converter (to hook up the PC, and leave me with a proper HDMI cable for when Sky goes HD).

I don't have the pj yet and don't know exactly how I'll arrange things yet, so I decided to go for 5m cables

For the HDMI cable he started off with the £250 option, probably so that the £100 option wouldn't sound quite so bad afterwards.

The component cable was going to be around the same.

And as soon as you go over 5m the price rockets.

I know with audio systems the advice is generally to spend 10% of the cost of your system on the cabling, but there are a lot more cables for a home-cinema audio system so it doesn't seem unreasonable.

In my experience cables for digital audio are a rip-off, I've got a £50 one and a cheapo phono-to-phono intended for analogue audio. Both give me the same quality.

I know that even for digital you need decent quality cabling for longer distances, but £100 seems like a rip-off for a 5m HDMI cable.

Somebody posted this site today: http://www.tmfsolutions.co.uk/homecinema_AVcables_molex.htm

They have much cheaper cables, my question is whether they're any good, particularly the 5m ones. Does anyone have any experience of them?

 

Look around for prices, Sevenoaks are not the cheapest retailer (and thats being polite). My 10m component cable was about £15 from Farnells.

 

That's a bit more like it

I had a look on ivojo too, where I got the projector from, and their 5m cables were over £100 too. I guess they're just not offering the cheap option.

Farnell looks pretty cheap, I may give them a go, cheers

I like Sevenoaks because they're there, without them I'd have had a lot more trouble auditioning a DLP. It hurts to buy anything from them though, knowing how much more I'm paying.

By the way what happened to B&B Hifi? Our local one has closed down, their website seems to be dead; did they go bust or get bought out?

 

Thanks for the info Joe. Initially I'll be driving the HDMI from the DVI-out on my PC's graphics card. I've no idea what length of cable it can drive, I think I'll wait until I know where everything will be and then get the right length of cable rather than just going for a long one.

I see what you mean about the adapter, definitely better to get separate cables instead. That'll also allow me to use a HDMI switcher with the two cables when Sky HD hits.

 

I use a 15m Lindy DVI cable, beautifully made, works fine, and only cost fifty quid...PJ

http://www.lindy.com/uk/catalog/14/04/index.php

 

I too use Lindy dvi cables and have two 7.5m cables buried in my ceiling, they are excellent value for money, via dvi i have noticed no difference in picture quality between a 7.5 metre Lindy cable a 1 metre dvi cable i used to use when my set up was in a different room.

I also have a 10 metre farnells component cable buried in the ceiling, this replaced a 5 metre belden component cable, with this there was a slight difference.
The Belden cables are just so well made, the picture through my xbox is slightly softer (and i mean very slightly) than via the belden. I was worried about this when i was installing it but hoped that i would only be using the component cable for a year or so as i hoped the next gen consoles would have dvi/hdmi.

 

If you think that is bad you should have a look in Comet...they are selling the Monster 1m HDMI cable for £100

I got a 15m componant cable made up by Hi Fi Store and it cost me £130..it is amazing quality and the picture is superb to say that it is a long run.

 

I get most of my cables from Farnells, they do a range of van damme cables that are very good and as they are a trade supplier the cost is a fraction of what you will pay at a retail outlet. my 10m vga cost 40 quid, and 10 m scart (even though I don't use it ) was 25 quid,10 m component was 35 quid and i've tested it against a 150 cable and u really cannot tell the difference, deano will testify to the quality of these cables as he uses them as well. The lindy hdmi/dvi cables are also very good, I bought a 10m for 45 quid but decided not use it as I couldn't see any improvement over the vga that I already had installed. Some of the prices retailers quote are just ridiculous , you can get equally good cables at a fraction of the cost if you shop around.

 

use normal phono stereo leads for the componant video, about 50p a meter

3 meter HDMI cable £5
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=88022

 

I've got a 10m component cable that I used just once before changing over to a 10m HDMI lead. Cost me about £65 as I recall. Biggest problem I found with it is how unwieldly the damn thing is. About an inch in diameter and about as bendy as a piece of wood. I'd let it go for £30 plus postage. Got a JS component buffer I don't use too. Fitted for all on one day before being removed as redundant. That cost me £60 an' all. If anyone wants one cheap lemme know.

Regards

Mark

 

Well I still have my custom 8 m Canary compoenet tri colour cable which cost me $50 Cdn ...

I have since bit the bullet and purchased a 10m HDMI Ultralink PRO Mark II which list at $350
Cdn plus tax but I managed a dealer deal and got it for $250 tax in ...The dealer deal also included the Monster HDMI > DVI-D adapter ( $50 retail value ). http://www.ultralinkcables.com/index2.html

It is nice to have the extra length in case next PJ has to move back on the ceiling to get bigger is better picture ...

 

I bought a 12m Bettercables HDMI - HDMI from Joe, & it works a treat (thanks Joe
for the quick delivery). I had it installed before I could test it & was worried about
the length, but there are no problems with it & image is wayyy better than component.

I guess it's maybe more important to get good quality cables when going long distances.

When buying one or two metre digital cables, especially audio ones, I really
wonder if you will tell the difference between cheapo ones & hi end.

 

Bought a 10M cable from Maplins - £30, no problem at all with the image.

If they're local, might be a convenient choice