Connecting PS3 via HDMI

[sedalbis]

I have read on AV forums that all HDMI cables will produce the same picture quality, be it a £50 one or a £10 one. Is this true? Because when I went to buy one today, the guy in Curry's said that more expensive or known brand HDMI cables will produce a much better picture.
Anyway, I ended up buying the Gameware cable, as it is cheap and the guy in Game said that all HDMI cables will produce the same picture quality:

http://www.game.co.uk/ViewProduct.aspx?cat=&mid=330441

So what do you think? I have noticed that some HDMI cables have gold connectors but my one from Game has silver connectors. Does this make a difference? Does anyone own this cable that can tell me their experience with it?
Would a 50 quid cable rather than the one I bought today ACTUALLY make a difference when I connect my PS3 to my HDTV which I am getting tomorrow?

http://www.mirai.eu/Europe/ProductDetails&product_id=46&cat_id=43

Any help appreciated. Cheers guys

 

[yauchter]

hi siblades,

ive viewed many threads on this very site and it seems that anybody with the technological explanations have the right answer over people who seem to just believe what they are told by salespeople!! check out the threads for yourself for a long drawn out answer. the short one is keep your cash and spend it on a game instead !!

 

[nil102]

I replaced my cheap Game cable with one from Mark Grant Cables £27 and the picture is brighter and sharper.For instance on Gran Turismo HD the menu where it shows the cars available is much clearer and crisper,though I have no idea why.Paying more than £30 might be overkill though

 

[Dean]

The key thing here is that it is digital (whereas analogue cables do benefit a lot from better cable design) so there would be little if any difference between using cheap or expensive HDMI cable. Unless you experience a lot of EM and RF interference through power cables etc (true there is usually better shielding in the more expensive cables) or have longer lengths of > 10 metres, then you should stick with a normal cheap HDMI cable.

 

[figoagogo]

the HDMI lead will be carrying a digital signal so a cheap one should in theory be just as capable of a more expensive one.

You should only need to consider a more expensive "better quality" one if you were connecting the devices over a long distiance (say 10meters or more) as there would be some potential for signal loss.

But dont be fooled by the marketing, he was only trying to sell you a more expensive product, which is likely to have ridculous mark up!

 

[figoagogo]

The key thing here is that it is digital (whereas analogue cables do benefit a lot from better cable design) so there would be little if any difference between using cheap or expensive HDMI cable. Unless you experience a lot of EM and RF interference through power cables etc (true there is usually better shielding in the more expensive cables) or have longer lengths of > 10 metres, then you should stick with a normal cheap HDMI cable.

we posted similar comments at the same time, weird

 

[Dean]

we posted similar comments at the same time, weird

haha great minds think alike I guess

 

[yauchter]

thats the cable issue sorted then. what about the tv. it would seem obvious that they would develop it to work best with there own latest tv's. ( i.e bravia's) any evidence of problems?

 

[fatfingers73]

haha great minds think alike I guess

Either that or neither of you know what you're talking about

For the record my mark grant 1080p cable give me a far more 'solid' picture than the freebies that came with my tv drives. Just cause it's digital don't mean you can't get interference.

 

[sedalbis]

Either that or neither of you know what you're talking about

For the record my mark grant 1080p cable give me a far more 'solid' picture than the freebies that came with my tv drives. Just cause it's digital don't mean you can't get interference.

But my TV can only support up to 1080i so it shouldn't make a difference with the cheap Game cable, right?

 

[fatfingers73]

But my TV can only support up to 1080i so it shouldn't make a difference with the cheap Game cable, right?

Find a shop that will let you return one, if you can't see any difference between the basic cable and the higher quality one then you can return it.

 

[nil102]

But my TV can only support up to 1080i so it shouldn't make a difference with the cheap Game cable, right?

Mine only goes up to 1080i and it did make a noticeable difference with the more expensive cable (£27)as i have said before paying more than that might be a waste

 

[craigsrocco]

My Mirai Tv will only display 1080i aswell, however i couldn't tell the difference in picture quality between the £40 hdmi cable that i borrowed from my brother and the £4.99 that i now use, which i bought from Lidl.

You have to remember that the sales team at places like Curry's run a sell-up scheme where they are instucted to sell as high as possible and the profits on accessories are massive, so they will always tell you that the more you pay the better it is, which isn't always true.

Buy the best you can afford.

 

[figoagogo]

Either that or neither of you know what you're talking about

what ever make us happy I guess!

 

[nil102]

My Mirai Tv will only display 1080i aswell, however i couldn't tell the difference in picture quality between the £40 hdmi cable that i borrowed from my brother and the £4.99 that i now use, which i bought from Lidl.

You have to remember that the sales team at places like Curry's run a sell-up scheme where they are instucted to sell as high as possible and the profits on accessories are massive, so they will always tell you that the more you pay the better it is, which isn't always true.

Buy the best you can afford.

Starting to doubt my own judement now so I have changed the cable back to the cheaper Game HDMI cable and it is no where near as good even the dear wife noticed..Feel better now you were getting me worried...Ah well

 

[sibeer]

Having tried a couple of Mark Grant cables I think that he is offering excellent performance for the price. His 2m 1080P cable is £32, probably worth the extra compared to £20 for the Sony branded one. Not sure about if it is 10 times better than the £3 one I am currently using for my DVD player though

https://markgrantcables.co.uk/index...s_id=90&shop=1509f6ec106a9ee2eea1fe17899dbfd4

 

[winstano]

I bought this one from PC world, £20

And I've got no complaints... Looks stunning on the Samsung!

 

[Tony Hoyle]

Someone posted a link to the molex cables earlier which are extremely well built and good value. OTOH if you get a picture it's the same whatever... especially over 1m or 2m.

I wouldn't listen to a Comet salesman on cables! They're on commission to push Monster cables (I'm told Comet make about 30% on each one).

 

[WibXL]

I've always been told (and believed) that as it's a digital signal then you either get a perfect picture or a picture with sparklies but you'll never get improvements such as a sharper picture or better contrast etc and yet people seem to report that they do.

So is it a lot of people spending more money than needed on cables and seeing an improvement because they think that they should be seeing one or is the picture actually improving and if that's the case how can it be as apart from the sparklies you shouldn't the picture be the same?

 

[Tony Hoyle]

Maybe the ones are so much more natural and really lifelike and the zeros have a warmth to them that only videophile cables can convey

(Scarily I can imagine the likes of What-Hifi actually saying that...)

Seriously, if you'd just spent £300 on a cable wouldn't you be convinced it looked better? Few people alive could give an objective assessment with that kind of outlay to justify... it's not that they're making it up - they really do see a difference - but it's all in the perception.

 

[WibXL]

Maybe the ones are so much more natural and really lifelike and the zeros have a warmth to them that only videophile cables can convey

(Scarily I can imagine the likes of What-Hifi actually saying that...)

Seriously, if you'd just spent £300 on a cable wouldn't you be convinced it looked better? Few people alive could give an objective assessment with that kind of outlay to justify.

£300 is more than most of my equipment cost but yes I probably would.