Should a HMDI to Micro HMDI Cable Cost $40?

[deerminator]

So, the wife does me a favor and comes home from a place where you can get a best buy with such a cable I requested so we can watch Amazon Prime movies and shows on our big screen. I left my other one in a hotel room while on the road for work I think. In any case, as usual, the "tech" guys at the store told her first of all that there was no such cable in existence. And then, after asking about 10 people, they gave her a $40 Rocketfish "Advanced Series" cable that is 8 feet in length. It touts the following features as being "advanced": HMDI High Speed with Ethernet; Full HD 1080p; and 3D Ready. So, wouldn't every such cable do all this??? What's advanced and why should I pay $40? I mean, I can buy HMDI to MicroHMDI cables for as low as a couple of bucks it looks like online.

[LMITOUT]

That's pretty much Best Buy in a nutshell. Over-priced cables.

I think you'd be just fine getting one online for a lot cheaper, like you said.

[deerminator]

Cool. That's like when I bought my "fancy to me" Sony surround sound system many years ago. I forget whatever electronics store it was that is out of business now, a chain store by Ridgedale in Minnetona, where the guy who sold it to me gave me a hard time for wanting to use the supplied speaker wire that was in the box with the system. "Dude, you don't want to use those cheapo wires with such a nice system." 12 years later and those cheapo wires still work great.

[LMITOUT]

Ha! Yep, that's where they make their money...on the inflated cables and accessories.

Every HDMI cable I have was purchased online for a fraction of what they want in the stores.

[riffraff]

Ha! Yep, that's where they make their money...on the inflated cables and accessories.

Ah. But don't forget the mighty extended warranties...

[LMITOUT]

How could I forget about those!

[deerminator]

The only extended warranty I ever buy is at the local appliance store. In that case, they let you put what you paid toward a new appliance after 5 years if you've not taken advantage of their warranty. That's a no brainer to me these days as the salesman put it best "appliances today are built for convenience, not durability which is the way it used to be."

[upnorth]

The only things we have got the extended warranty on was a Cannon camera, mainly because it would cover breakage, easy to drop or bang a camera. And a water heater, mainly because it would cover in house replacement/repair in the house at %100. The rest of them no.

[Whoaru99]

You got off easy. Be happy they didn't sell her the $80 one from Monster Cable.

[riffraff]

In 2004, 50 percent of Best Buy’s operating income came from warranty sales, according to Consumer Reports. They have not released the exact numbers since then.

Salesman have pushed the the "super great high power wonder cables" at me too....Monster cables are overpriced and rarely if ever needed in a normal setup.

But hey, bigger has got to be better eh??

[CAMAN]

I've had very good luck with Mediabridge available on Am@son. Usually about 1/4 the price of Best Buy.

[Nick Kuhn]

I remember back when everyone was using component cables there was a study that compared a $100 set of monster cables to some wire coat hangers. The conclusion was consumers couldn't tell the difference. Of course with HDMI, there is absolutely no difference.

[delcecchi]

In 2004, 50 percent of Best Buy’s operating income came from warranty sales, according to Consumer Reports. They have not released the exact numbers since then.

Salesman have pushed the the "super great high power wonder cables" at me too....Monster cables are overpriced and rarely if ever needed in a normal setup.

But hey, bigger has got to be better eh??

Some of my buddies and I who worked in the Signal Integrity and Packaging field at a large computer company with a facility in Rochester used to laugh out loud at some of the claims from the various "audiophile" cable companies.

Some special giggles came from the notion that cables were directional, that they needed break in, and that the type of copper made any difference.

[upnorth]

Yeah marketing ploys do catch a few.

[Kyhl]

Last week I bought a 15' micro hdmi from monoprice. Twice the lenghth for half that price, shipping included. Arrived in a couple days.

The thing with HDMI cables is the signal is sent as a balanced signal so it either works or it doesn't work. When it doesn't work you will see sparkles on the screen where the signal is failing. Therefore, one working cable is no better than another working cable.

Yeah, stay away from best browse's wires and warranties. That is where they make all their margin.

[robert40a]

Go to a HSOforum called newegg

[Whoaru99]

Some special giggles came from the notion that cables were directional,

Well, actually, some are due to the configuration of the shield grounding. However, the audio signal certainly passes through them in either direction, considering audio is an AC waveform. It goes both ways in every cable.

[amateurfishing]

just got HDMI to HDMI for laptop to tv to watch videos, movies, family slide shows etc. searched long and hard online and saw prices as high as $55......c o s t c o 2 for $20 (6 ft cables) great buy

wife bought em, they may have what ur looking for as well

[EBass]

+1 for monoprice

[Getanet]

What's advanced and why should I pay $40? I mean, I can buy HMDI to MicroHMDI cables for as low as a couple of bucks it looks like online.

I don't know as much about these cables as some of the guys on here, but in this weeks' Menards ad they have 6-foot Extreme Brand HDMI cables on sale for $2.79. The package says "3D, Ethernet, and audio return channel." It also says 10.2GBPS and 240HZ, if that means anything to you.

That is the price, no mail-in rebate or anything other hassles.

Jut thought I'd mention it.

[SkunkedAgain]

I read a few online reviews about cables, where they used high end LED tvs and audio equipment. They found no detectable difference between the $40/$80 cables and the cheapest ones that they could find on the internet. That's all that I needed to know

[Whoaru99]

And if you read a few more you'll find those claiming a night and day difference.

[upnorth]

I think to be listed as a HDMI standard cable it has to meet HDMI standards. Like motor oil, they have to meet certain criteria to be listed as certain type of oil.

[Whoaru99]

Yeah, HDMI cable specs are confusing. In the past they used a revision number to indicate the capabilities of the cables eg HDMI 1.1, HDMI 1.3, HDMI 1.4a, etc. Now they have gone to HDMI Standard and HDMI High Speed if the product is in compliance with the HDMI branding/labeling standards.

HDMI Standard is generally for 720p and 1080i type of setups whereas HDMI High Speed is for all of that plus 1080p, 3D, and even higher resolutions like 4K.

[mainbutter]

Take it from someone who worked in electrical engineering, specifically with all kinds of cables and cables with integrated circuitry:

Cables should be cheap. Often times, that $5 cable should actually cost pennies. The markup is unbelievable.

Buy cheap HDMI cables online to save your wallet unneeded expenses.