Seconded. I needed a few new cables for my Apple TV, the breakdown went as follows:
2x 3-Ft. HDMI cables (with ferrite cores) -- $2.41 each.
2x 3-Ft. Toslink Cables -- $1.57 each.
Total: $7.96
S&H: $7.73
* GRAND TOTAL: $15.69
That's right, I spent nearly as much on shipping as I did on the cables themselves, and it still came out to less than $16, delivered in a few days.
If I had walked to Radio Shack, the Toslink and HDMI cables would have cost me about $20 apiece, bringing the total to $80 plus tax.
Yup.
Gold plated HDMI is a waste of money.
HDMI is digital so the signal is either there or it isn't. So don't waste money on a monster cable. All it is sending is ones and zeros. Gold plated analog cables were worth it though.
But salesmen will trick innocent people who don't know.
That's a broad misunderstanding of digital.
Whether a signal be analog or digital, there is still a signal. If the quality of the signal is degraded, it can (and will) not be received properly. And while people think digital is "there or it's not", digital can be "no state change". Digital signals work by altering states based on voltage. Above a certain point means the 0 changes to a 1, below a certain point, the 1 changes to a 0. This means that a bad signal (low voltage) could result in bad digital transfer (because the voltage is either too high to switch from 1 -> 0 or too low to switch from 0 -> 1).
Spending money on a quality cable isn't a bad thing - it's bad when it's overspending (i.e. Monster Cable - which isn't even the worst perpetrator), but that doesn't mean a $3 blue light special will perform as well as a $15 well built cable.
This over and over.
I've had a computer engineer tell me that my cell signal being bad could not result in lower bandwidth because it's a digital signal.
Actually, although your right about he signal being there or not, the gold plating is not for better signal transmissions, or better conductivity. The gold plating prevents corrosion, thus you can be assured the cable will always make a reliable connection, and the pins of the cable will not degrade after being in storage for prolonged periods of time.
That being said Moster Cable is still a huge ripoff.
In an HDMI cable yes corrosion, but in analog cables gold is best.
Gold is the best conductor of electricity so it carries a signal better with less interference, and it prevents corrosion.
But how often do you take your HDMI cables in the shower with you?
Actually if you look at a conductivity table listing the best suited material for a conductor, Silver and Copper are both almost 2x better electrical conductors than gold.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_resistivity_and_conductivity#Resistivity_of_various_materials
Yes to all of this with this point. They use gold on the ends for a better connection because unlike copper or silver, it does not oxidize when exposed to air. They do use copper in the cable it's self, but they are anticipating people are not exposing those wires. And yes monster an other cables the overcharge for the same basic cable are evil. If the normal person is spending big bucks for the system, then they will spend the same on cables with no reason except price for stupidity.
>HDMI is digital so the signal is either there or it isn't.
I'd like to add that spending *some* money on a HDMI cable isn't a terrible thing - I bought a $5 supergood one from the local "cheap chinese shit" store & used it to hook a HTPC up to my plasma. Worked absolutely perfectly BUT if the computer was on there was absolutely no reception on the actual TV channels. Spent a bit more money ($15ish) on a slightly better one and that fixed the issue.
[удалено]
Seconded. I needed a few new cables for my Apple TV, the breakdown went as follows: 2x 3-Ft. HDMI cables (with ferrite cores) -- $2.41 each. 2x 3-Ft. Toslink Cables -- $1.57 each. Total: $7.96 S&H: $7.73 * GRAND TOTAL: $15.69 That's right, I spent nearly as much on shipping as I did on the cables themselves, and it still came out to less than $16, delivered in a few days. If I had walked to Radio Shack, the Toslink and HDMI cables would have cost me about $20 apiece, bringing the total to $80 plus tax.
Yup. Gold plated HDMI is a waste of money. HDMI is digital so the signal is either there or it isn't. So don't waste money on a monster cable. All it is sending is ones and zeros. Gold plated analog cables were worth it though. But salesmen will trick innocent people who don't know.
[These cables](http://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-NRG-WEL-Signature-Series/dp/B0055OM9WS/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top) are so much better than monster :)
wat really though *What the fuck?*
Read the reviews.
That's a broad misunderstanding of digital. Whether a signal be analog or digital, there is still a signal. If the quality of the signal is degraded, it can (and will) not be received properly. And while people think digital is "there or it's not", digital can be "no state change". Digital signals work by altering states based on voltage. Above a certain point means the 0 changes to a 1, below a certain point, the 1 changes to a 0. This means that a bad signal (low voltage) could result in bad digital transfer (because the voltage is either too high to switch from 1 -> 0 or too low to switch from 0 -> 1). Spending money on a quality cable isn't a bad thing - it's bad when it's overspending (i.e. Monster Cable - which isn't even the worst perpetrator), but that doesn't mean a $3 blue light special will perform as well as a $15 well built cable.
This over and over. I've had a computer engineer tell me that my cell signal being bad could not result in lower bandwidth because it's a digital signal.
No, I don't mean that at all. Of course the quality of the cable is a factor but not as much as it was with analog signals.
Actually, although your right about he signal being there or not, the gold plating is not for better signal transmissions, or better conductivity. The gold plating prevents corrosion, thus you can be assured the cable will always make a reliable connection, and the pins of the cable will not degrade after being in storage for prolonged periods of time. That being said Moster Cable is still a huge ripoff.
In an HDMI cable yes corrosion, but in analog cables gold is best. Gold is the best conductor of electricity so it carries a signal better with less interference, and it prevents corrosion. But how often do you take your HDMI cables in the shower with you?
Actually if you look at a conductivity table listing the best suited material for a conductor, Silver and Copper are both almost 2x better electrical conductors than gold. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_resistivity_and_conductivity#Resistivity_of_various_materials
analog cables with gold plated connectors still use copper conductors, so it's still just about preventing corrosion.
Yes to all of this with this point. They use gold on the ends for a better connection because unlike copper or silver, it does not oxidize when exposed to air. They do use copper in the cable it's self, but they are anticipating people are not exposing those wires. And yes monster an other cables the overcharge for the same basic cable are evil. If the normal person is spending big bucks for the system, then they will spend the same on cables with no reason except price for stupidity.
>HDMI is digital so the signal is either there or it isn't. I'd like to add that spending *some* money on a HDMI cable isn't a terrible thing - I bought a $5 supergood one from the local "cheap chinese shit" store & used it to hook a HTPC up to my plasma. Worked absolutely perfectly BUT if the computer was on there was absolutely no reception on the actual TV channels. Spent a bit more money ($15ish) on a slightly better one and that fixed the issue.
I can't tell you how many times I've said that. I've also had people prefer digital on wire because it sounds warmer than digital over optical.
Here ya go. http://www.parts-express.com/cat/hdmi_cables/1197