HDMI cables

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kandjc

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#69806 13-Oct-2010 10:17

Looking at connecting a Sony 40EX500 TV with a Panasonic DMR-XW380 recorder. Do I need the gold plated connector, expensive HDMI cable when I can see all the connections from the UHF aerial through the splitter box to the wall outlet and to the TV are all common alloy or plain tin? I can buy a plain cable thru TMe for $8 or a plastic boxed cable from HNm for $150. Thanks.

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#391219 13-Oct-2010 10:19

$8 works wonders this is well covered to a quick search.

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NzBeagle

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#391221 13-Oct-2010 10:20

http://www.rapalloav.co.nz/ - for great value, quality cables

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#391228 13-Oct-2010 10:31

mentalinc: $8 works wonders this is well covered to a quick search.

+1

Subject has been done to death here and on other sites :) My $10 cable worked fine for me, and same with the free one from SnatchADeal they offered a few weeks back :)

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Jaxson

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#391249 13-Oct-2010 11:06

General rule of thumb is to start cheap and work your way up.
More expensive ones do have better build quality but essentially offer nothing signal wise over the cheaper ones that pass the same signal just as well.

If you are going to be taking them in and out often etc then the more expensive ones have build aspects that might appeal for example.

reven

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#391252 13-Oct-2010 11:14

cheap ones are fine, HDMI is all digital so no real issues with signal quality. the expensive ones are just trying to rip you off.

all my ones are cheap ones from pbtech etc, perfectly fine. all from 1 - 3m in length. perfect picture quality.

Nety

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#391309 13-Oct-2010 12:53

As above. If you were going 10m+ then worth spending a bit more but for shorter lengths go cheap (within reason). Oh and NEVER buy one from the likes of HN as your $150 cable real value is around $15.

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dclegg

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#391319 13-Oct-2010 13:23

While cheap should generally work, my experience is that some cheap cables may be a little too cheap.

I had a HDMI cable purchased on the cheap from TradeMe which was working well to connect my PS3 directly to my TV. When I got MySky HDi, I purchased a cheap HDMI switch from TradeMe (the telly only has one HDMI input). When I used the cheap HDMI cable through this switch, I would get a line of interference flicker across the screen approximately every minute or so.

The guy that sold me the HDMI switch had also included a bonus HDMI cable. This one looked to have a little more rugged construction, and looked to be better insulated. I swapped the other cheap cable for this one, and I've not had any interference problems since. Both cables are < 2M in length, and have gold plated connectors.

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mcraenz

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#391348 13-Oct-2010 14:50

When I bought my TV the sales man tried to up sell me a ~$200 HDMI cable and laughed when I told him I got a free HDMI cable with my xbox. I said "yeah you're probably right, it's probably junk. I'll tell you what, I'll go home and try if it give me any trouble at all I'll come right back and buy the top end cable"

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NzBeagle

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#391351 13-Oct-2010 14:54

When i'm suggesting an HDMI cable I cut the price to <$20 to make it reasonable, if they're buying a tv its the least I can do.

reven

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#391354 13-Oct-2010 15:01

same thing goes with those expensive power boards. the sales person asked if i wanted one when i bought my $6000 tv a few years ago, the way he said it, sounded like he was giving it to me for free. it wasnt until later i noticed i actually paid $200 for it.

sure i should have been paying more attention, thats my fault, but still. $200 for a powerboard is a joke, $300 for a 1.5m HDMI is highway robbery.

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#391387 13-Oct-2010 16:07

Yeah but it is where they really make the money. TV's etc. are fairly lean on profit while HDMI cables, power boards etc. are almost all profit. It is not surprising then that they push them hard. The problem is that often sales people will say things that just are not true in order to get the sale, and most people have no idea that what they are being told is bs.

valtam

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#391390 13-Oct-2010 16:10

Before spending any money on an HDMI cable, spend 30 mins scouring the net for info, most sites will tell you that there is absolutely no need to spend $100+ on a cable for home use.
People/companies that try to sell you expensive HDMI cables should be waterboarded.

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Dunnersfella

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#391503 13-Oct-2010 20:03

NzBeagle: When i'm suggesting an HDMI cable I cut the price to <$20 to make it reasonable, if they're buying a tv its the least I can do.

I bet your boss loves you!

But in all seriousness, if you see an issue with the playback of your cheap HDMI cable, try another one.
If there's an issue... go up from there.

Dunnersfella

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#391504 13-Oct-2010 20:04

reven: same thing goes with those expensive power boards. the sales person asked if i wanted one when i bought my $6000 tv a few years ago, the way he said it, sounded like he was giving it to me for free. it wasnt until later i noticed i actually paid $200 for it.

sure i should have been paying more attention, thats my fault, but still. $200 for a powerboard is a joke, $300 for a 1.5m HDMI is highway robbery.

By power board, do you mean surge guard?
Or a $5 white board with an orange fuse button on the end?

reven

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#391521 13-Oct-2010 20:25

Dunnersfella:
reven: same thing goes with those expensive power boards. the sales person asked if i wanted one when i bought my $6000 tv a few years ago, the way he said it, sounded like he was giving it to me for free. it wasnt until later i noticed i actually paid $200 for it.

sure i should have been paying more attention, thats my fault, but still. $200 for a powerboard is a joke, $300 for a 1.5m HDMI is highway robbery.

By power board, do you mean surge guard?
Or a $5 white board with an orange fuse button on the end?

surge protected power board, big gray thing with 8 plugs, phone line + aerial inputs.

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