[hex65000]

I did HDMI on my 360 and it does look really nice.

I also try to keep my eyes open for good prices on cables. It was a lucky hit for a friend of mine and I when I picked up two $4 Wii component video cables (Nintendo brand) at Toys R Us. I don't know why they charge $25 for a video upgrade now other than that they can.

Also, Monoprice is excellent in the bang for your buck category. I bought a few flat style HDMI cables from them and they work great. They are a little stiff, so I have to be careful when moving things about. At around a buck a foot of cable, I can cope with that. As a side note, they at least used to have a nice price on component video for the PS2 as well. Sure it's a 9 year old machine, at least you can see every pixel with decent clarity.

As for Monster brand cables, I wholeheartedly agree. The only reason to buy them is if you can get them at a deep discount that makes the price comparable to what you'd pay for a nice average cable. That's how I got some nice Monster S-Video cables for my N64 and Gamecube. Digital video does simplify the interface a bit and other than the fact that there is probably some DRM in the format, it's great. Honestly, I can't tell the difference between the video quality of my Wii with that of the 360. Just my opinion -- get HDMI if you can and your TV supports it, else component video is a very reasonable solution that works quite well.

Hex.
[ Okay, this was fun... I guess I should get back to writing my paper again... ]

[JamesD]

I really like HDMI for the one cable, one connector solution. But there is one thing I should warn you about.
I bought a rather nice (i.e. expensive) HDMI cable when I first bought my HDTV. When I was moving the TV around the cable got jerked a little and the shielding pulled right out of the end of the HDMI cable! The cable was built like a tank everywhere but there. There were just two little tabs holding the shielding in and the plastic that holds the wires in place came with it when it pulled out! Total waste of money!

[DrLove0378]

What's the difference between the el-cheapo HDMI cables and the more expensive ones, anyway? I just bought an HD DVR cable converter box, and went out today looking for a cable to hook it up with. I know Big Lots had some cheap ones at one point, but I couldn't find any there today. I didn't see any cables in the stores for less than $19 (and that particular one was only 3 feet long.)

So I got on eBay and got a 6-foot HDMI cable for $2.99 -- which is probably what they cost when they entered this country, anyway. Think I did OK there? I honestly don't know what the difference is.

[moycon]

DrLove0378, on Fri Feb 5, 2010 11:56 PM, said:

So I got on eBay and got a 6-foot HDMI cable for $2.99 -- which is probably what they cost when they entered this country, anyway. Think I did OK there? I honestly don't know what the difference is.

There isn't any difference as far as the picture is concerned.
Whether you paid $69.99 or $6.99 for an HDMI cable, it's going to be 1080p.

[liveinabin]

I got my xbox this week and, as I have no more hdmi ports free in my amp, I ordered the component lead.
It arrived after the xbox and, while waiting, I borrowed the hdmi lead (a good one - QED Qunex) from my DVD player.
Now I've got it hooked up with component and, I have to say, I think it's just as good (my tv is a 37" samsung).
I think it wholly depends on your tv. Some flat panels are less happy with component input so, I guess, if you've got a port free, go hdmi.
One other thing, not all hdmi leads are equal. That 'it's digital so they're all the same' argument you'll read in forums is bull.
I got a $30 techlink wires cable and a $80 QED cable and did a test.
My wife watched the same image from the PS3 on both cables (without knowing which) and the QED was better by a mile. Both were great but the depth and color saturation on the Qunex was amazing.
So spend as much as you can afford on a decent bit of wire (but don't buy monster cable).

[roland p]

Just 0's and 1's... And if your cable fails in passing them, you'll notice immediatly, because pixels are missing/false-colored, or image drop-outs.

[Bilnick]

As far as picture quality is concerned HDMI cables are pretty much the same, assuming short runs (under 10 feet). I have never wasted my money on one of the $75 Monster brand cables, but I did spend 25 dollars on a Belkin brand cable when I had to have a HDMI cable that day, and cannot tell the difference between the $4 cables I bought from Amazon.com. I bought some cheap cables from Monoprice and didn't care for them. The picture quality was the same, but the cables were very stiff, I was worried about adding stress to the HDMI ports on my receiver and television, so I stopped using them. Monoprice.com has a ton of different cables, I just chose the wrong one.

I cannot see any difference when playing a 360 at 1080i vs 1080p.

[Seob]

They are 1's and 0's but they are generated by electric current. So distance has a effect on the cable.
Look at this test. As long as you stay within 2 meters it doesn't really matter if you buy el cheapo or top range. Beyond 2 meters buying a good cable will make a difference.
gizmondo hdmi test

[remowilliams]

Good certified cables are inexpensive, there isn't any reason to buy either a $2 cheap ass cable or a $50 one really. I use Mediabridge category 2 HDMI cables, which run about $10 for a six foot cable.

[liveinabin]

Trust me, hdmi cables are NOT the same. A good, well made cable will yield better results than a cheap one.
While it is 1s and 0s, the better the cable, the more accurate the data transfer. I'm no expert on this (I can only report what Ive seen first hand) but I'd estimate that what gets lost across the wire gets subjected to error correction at the other end. Looks like that data includes color saturation because it sure makes a difference.
By the way, all my cables are just 1 meter runs.

This post has been edited by liveinabin: Sat Feb 6, 2010 7:30 PM

[moycon]

liveinabin, on Sat Feb 6, 2010 8:28 PM, said:

Trust me, hdmi cables are NOT the same. A good, well made cable will yield better results than a cheap one.

I've spent less than $7 each (off Amazon) on all 4 of the HDMI cables I have, I use them on an HD DVD player, my PS3 and two 360s. The picture looks crisp and perfect to me on all the devices. Are you saying the results will be better if I spend more, and if I already think it looks great, should I bother? I think all my HDMI cable runs are under 6 feet.

[Atariboy]

It's a digital signal, it shouldn't matter. They either work or don't work. There's nothing inbetween.

The only thing your extra money will get you is a cable that has connectors that are better suited to some wear and tear if you're often unhooking the cable.

[liveinabin]

Nope. While all hdmi cables will give a very crisp picture, it seems be the depth of color that improves with a decent cable.
That said, I'm beginning to doubt that you can buy decent av/hi fi cables in US. All I see anyone write about is either cheap stuff or monster cable (which is rubbish overpriced tat).
There's loads of actually well made stuff in UK and Europe. There must be some decent cable over there, surely.

[Bilnick]

I would be interested in seeing some TV screenshots showing the difference between cheap HDMI cables and well made European cables. Do you have the brand and/or specs of a well made cable? I would guess most of the cables sold in the US are made in China. I was under the impression that certified HDMI cables can carry more data than a source (PS3, Cable box, Xbox 360, etc) can deliver.

[potatohead]

There won't be differences like color saturation because of the digital nature of the signal. Either it's good, fringe, where major artifacts will be seen, or useless. Fringe only happens on longer runs on cables that can't carry the signal.

No need for screen shots. The signal is either valid or not, and either intermittent or not, and from there, it's very easily seen.

HDMI also has an encrypted handshake going on, which renders the signal results very binary. Either it's all working to spec, or not, because the handshake will fail, falsely indicating a hack attempt.

So then, if you see something with HDMI, you are seeing what you are supposed to see, leaving cable quality a simple mechanical thing (quality of connectors and such), or a length / signal thing, where longer runs won't carry the signal with enough precision to be rendered.

Under 6 feet, get the cable you like, with no worries. Over 6 feet, get cables designed for longer runs, and they are all about shielding mostly.

No signal quality gains are to be had by selecting cables. It's just seeing the signal, or not, and that's it!

One thing worth noting is whether or not your TV has a "game" mode or not. On my TV, there is a game specific HDMI port, that differs from the other port in terms of pixel perfect motion. There are more artifacts on moving things with the other port, and I don't fully understand why yet. Not a cable issue, but a display and how it chooses to render the signal issue.

[Seob]

Just look at this test. Even 900 $ 15 meter cable fails. It's all in the cable length. http://www.audioholics.com

[roland p]

Seob, on Sun Feb 7, 2010 9:49 PM, said:

Just look at this test. Even 900 $ 15 meter cable fails. It's all in the cable length. http://www.audioholics.com

Nice.

I had problems with 15m too. I solved them with a repeater. This is connected to the end of the cable and equalizes the signal.

[moycon]

The only issue I ever saw with an HDMI cable was running one from my PS3 through an HDMI switch...

(This very one)
http://www.amazon.co...ASIN=B000LH2FH8

From what I recall the picture was present but looked terrible. Taking the HDMI switch out of the cable run fixed the problem.
I wonder if the length of the combined cables was the issue? The one from the PS3 + the one from the HDMI switch to the HDTV. I can't recall what length I was using to the PS3, but my 360 and HD DVD player worked fine. Since then, it's all been taken apart.

[roland p]

moycon, on Mon Feb 8, 2010 9:05 AM, said:

I wonder if the length of the combined cables was the issue?

HDMI equipment can cause problems too. I had lots of them:

Marantz HDMI switch with two outputs: incompatible with the HDMI extender
JVC Scaler: no picture on tv (also JVC!) with 50Hz content
HDMI Switch with two simultanious outputs: incompatible with PC

Now I've thrown out my PC so the problems are fixed.

[Seob]

Make sure all components use the same hdmi standard. Don't use a hdmi 1.2 switch when your hardware uses version 1.3.

[Video]

Some HDMI switches will offer a signal booster (thought he one we bought you had to provide your own PSU) They should in no way have a problem with shorter cables though.

We got one and it even automatically switches when whatever is in port 2 is turned on, that's pretty cool, now we don't have to worry about the credit card remote that came with it