Why Are HDMI Cables So Expensive?

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
Joined
May 9, 2000
Messages
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If you’ve ever shopped around for HDMI cables as most of us have, you are probably still baffled by the wide range of prices you will find for what looks like the exact same cable. So what’s the difference? Inquiring minds want to know. :D

All material used in HDMI cables are pretty standard and the “standard” HDMI cable will provide everything you need if you are an average consumer. There is no good or bad here, there is just good or slightly better than Good.
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The worst part is many of the employees at retailers are adamant there is an actual difference in image quality due to cable construction when working with digital signals.
 
I buy "Twisted Veins" cables off amazon, they look fancy (braided sleeving and all that)but they are cheap. I paid about $6 for two 6' cables, they also came with a right angle adapter, velcro tie downs and a tiny flashlight.
 
cables are so expensive because there are enough idiots who would pay the price.
There are so many rich people in this world because suckers bought their products.
 
I always buy from Monoprice. I recommend everything of theirs except the jacketed HDMI cable - I broke two of them a few years ago due to how horribly inflexible they are. I know there were other complaints of the same nature, so hopefully they have revised the design since then, because it looked nice.
 
PersonalJ said:
The worst part is many of the employees at retailers are adamant there is an actual difference in image quality due to cable construction when working with digital signals.
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They have to be if they want to keep there jobs as tvs have very little margin on them so they have to sell HDMI cables of risk getting to boot
 
It's all hype. Just like with audio cables and speaker wires. The average consumer will believe just about anything printed on a box or passed on by your local Big Box retailer... :eek:
 
Because they are an accessory and accessories always get marked up? Audio cables are the same way at B&M stores... even Gamestop is marking up the latest console accessories where in the past they haven't. If the (uninformed) consumer is willing to pay $5-$10 more for the convenience of getting the product the same day that's their prerogative.
 
ironsight2000 said:
They have to be if they want to keep there jobs as tvs have very little margin on them so they have to sell HDMI cables of risk getting to boot
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I am aware of why it is done, but what I meant is that many employees literally believed it was entirely true and not marketing nonsense. I am a former employee of some of these types of stores and some of my coworkers were adamant the cables made a difference (I remember a 30 minute discussion in the break room about this).
 
I bought Monster cables once. Menards had Monsters 90 some dollar kits on clearance (because who the hell pays that much?) for $29. It came with two 6 ft. cables & a big ass surge protector. That was & probably will me the only time that I buy a Monster product. All the other cables that I have gotten have been online for $3 a piece.
 
PersonalJ said:
I am aware of why it is done, but what I meant is that many employees literally believed it was entirely true and not marketing nonsense. I am a former employee of some of these types of stores and some of my coworkers were adamant the cables made a difference (I remember a 30 minute discussion in the break room about this).
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I wont argue with you on that I had the same thing at my store
 
PersonalJ said:
The worst part is many of the employees at retailers are adamant there is an actual difference in image quality due to cable construction when working with digital signals.
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Exploiting the ignorant. Its fraud or false advertising.
 
I thought i read a review somewhere that determined the cost of hdmi cables do play a role in quality.... but only at large lengths.
 
I go to monoprice for my cables. I get the shortest run I need with the thicket gauge they sell. That's what really won me over, was being able to get thicker gauges in shorter runs. If I had to pay more for the thicker gauge, so be it. I like the peace of mind knowing that the cable I picked out won't have any trouble sending the signal.

The only thing I can't seem to find a straight answer on, is whether or not ferrite cores are necessary.
 
KingSmoth said:
I always buy from Monoprice. I recommend everything of theirs except the jacketed HDMI cable - I broke two of them a few years ago due to how horribly inflexible they are. I know there were other complaints of the same nature, so hopefully they have revised the design since then, because it looked nice.
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The Monoprice HDMI cable with braided sleeving/jacketing looks nice, but it's the only HDMI cable I have that's not reliable. I have mostly Monster cables I got on clearance for about the same price as Monoprice cables, but are rated for higher data rates (15.8 Gbps). It's not currently relevant as HDMI 1.3 and HDMI 1.4 both top out at 10.2 Gbps. But if they have a bit of overhead in their spec it MIGHT be useable for HDMI 2 as that has an 18 Gbps max.
 
Analog cables are one thing, where the shielding and materials DO matter. Digital cables like USB, HDMI, optical, etc? No, it doesn't matter. Not the gold-plating or the shielding or whatever.
 
Eisenblut said:
Analog cables are one thing, where the shielding and materials DO matter. Digital cables like USB, HDMI, optical, etc? No, it doesn't matter. Not the gold-plating or the shielding or whatever.
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It still matters with digial, it just doesn't matter as often or as obviously. I have plenty of really cheap USB cables that often don't work at all with certain high speed devices because their shielding and/or crosstalk is so bad the signal doesn't survive. When they do work data transfer rates for HDs are abysmally slow compared to using a higher quality cable. They work fine with slower devices.
 
No need to get the expensive cables but I did learn the hard way that some cheap cables don't do what they're supposed to. I bought a cheap 1.4a rated cable last year and it couldn't handle 1080p, 1080i and 720p worked but took a couple extra seconds to display on my TV but at 1080p neither my TV or Monitor could detect a signal.

I've had good luck with Monoprice but shipping costs make them a bad deal unless you have several cables to order so if I need 1 or 2 cables I get them from Amazon when I'm ordering something that gives me free shipping.
 
Its all bullshit, with analog cables materials, plating and all that matter but for hdmi cables, it either works or it doesn't.
 
Might not pay for "quality", but may want to spend a few dimes on avoiding defects.

With digital there is no such thing as quality, it works or it doesn't. You still have to watch out for the "it doesn't".

A intermittent short can give you nightmares, especially if you're trying to get something a little unconventional setup like a rasp-pi going through a switcher. I spend more than $1 on hdmi cables now. Feel more confident it will work/last for around $5-6 price point.
 
You know, if you play a next-gen console with a Monster super duper double braided HDMI, you get full 1080p60 gaming. Proven fact.

:)


Anyone remember the monster scandal from years back where they put two TVs side by side and said one was their HDMI and the other was a low-quality one? The other one was the hooked up with component.
 
Hey, snake oil's expensive. You know how many snakes need to be sponged down to provide the oil to let the video flow smoothly down a quality HDMI cable? No less than three per linear foot. Don't get me started on the audio; you don't want those 7.1 channels of sound to get caught on a dry spot, you'll end up with the phase getting out of sync, and then what would you do?

It's amazing that Monster cables so cheap; no other company can make so little snake oil go so far...
 
leezard said:
I buy "Twisted Veins" cables off amazon, they look fancy (braided sleeving and all that)but they are cheap. I paid about $6 for two 6' cables, they also came with a right angle adapter, velcro tie downs and a tiny flashlight.
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Me too, good stuff!
 
ironsight2000 said:
you can go to cheap as the construction of them will not hold up
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I haven't had any issues, but honestly....I don't go around moving my HDMI cables around a lot. I plug them in, and there they stay.

IF I was using this for a laptop that needed to be moved and frequently hooked up to various equipment, I might go with something else. For my purposes, the Amazon basics cables work fine.
 
EviL-aLphA said:
Clearly no one has seen the quality of a $300 cable in action.....








:p
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I'm convinced there is price fixing in regard to accessories in retail.

Also, I don't think printer manufacturers decided to stop putting cables in the box on their own. I know how shady this shut is firsthand.
 
amazon basics ftw. Used to go monoprice until they became a hackathon.
 
Mike89 said:
I get all my cables at Monoprice. Monster Cable can suck my dick.
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Your dick is too good for Monster Cable. They need to be anally chainsaw raped.

Low priced HDMI cables here and here and here and a thousand other places.
 
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TheCAD said:
I'm convinced there is price fixing in regard to accessories in retail.

Also, I don't think printer manufacturers decided to stop putting cables in the box on their own. I know how shady this shut is firsthand.
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Retail stores basically told printer vendors that if you include a USB cable with your printer we won't sell it. Period. Retailers make more profit off of the "high priced" USB cable than the printer itself. And the ink jet ink. That's a goldmine for retailers. That is why printers come with a "starter" ink set. Get you hooked, then you come back for more ink.
 
Cables makes zero differences in picture quality when transmitting a digital signal. If you aren't getting artifacts (think the kind of artifacts you get on satellite tv or digi cable), then you will gain zero benefit. Long distances change this because the cable has to be thick enough, otherwise the signal degrades too much, and the device will just not detect a signal at all (ask me how I know).

Long story... they are flat out lying to us. All these BS vendors and "high def" cabling companies. The signal gets there or it doesn't. As long as the picture the picture displays and isn't showing artifacts, the TV, projector, monitor, or whatever, is receiving 100% of the signal. If you spend 100$ on a 3 ft section of "premium" HDMI cable, it still only receives 100% of the signal, not 150%, not 85%.... 100%.
 
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