HDMI Cables - worth the extra $$?

[HiFiJeff]

And I am waiting a month and a half. 08/31 for the release of the XBOX ONE-S. It's a UHD player, gaming system and great multimedia hub. I think the 2TB console is only $349 or $ 399. I think it would be a waste to buy the Samsung UHD player. So I will be able to play the movie Sicario in 4K! Already own it but waiting to watch.

 

[RJolly87]

I am attacking this thread from the cheap side of the fence. I picked up 10 6' cheapos for $1/each several years back. I am down to my last few. It seems like the primary concern is reliability. They simply don't hold up to a lot of abuse. I have 1 device with audio dropouts (cause not yet determined) and one lose video until I touched the cable.

I have also had some trouble with clipping on one device too, but I have yet to track down. Sounds like an input overload of sorts.

My recommendation is to get decent generic, because it's either going to give you everything, or a headache. As mentioned, I cannot see any justification for pushing past this level. I have no experience in long runs, so I cannot comment on that aspect of it, but I can see how the cheapos don't make the trip.

 

[skriefal]

And I am waiting a month and a half. 08/31 for the release of the XBOX ONE-S. It's a UHD player, gaming system and great multimedia hub. I think the 2TB console is only $349 or $ 399. I think it would be a waste to buy the Samsung UHD player.

$399 for the 2TB model. The 1TB model is $349, but isn't due out until December or so. And the One S may not support bitstreaming of the audio to an external A/V receiver, so you won't get Dolby Atmos (may be other audio limitations that I'm not aware of).

 

[Nightwisher]

I love the Amazon Basics HDMI cables for ~$7 apiece. I have like 6 or so of them and zero issues. They hold up very well - several have taken the abuse of 4 years of college (to be fair, even my cheap Dynex cable is holding up very well). Mediabridge is great if you want a bit better-looking and more solidly built cable, but signal quality-wise there is zero difference. Any difference between HDMI cables is a reliability or build quality issue - the signal is either there or it isn't.

So, the answer for the OP and anyone else is NO. Just buy something that has a solid build quality like the Amazon cables and you'll be fine. Worse case scenario is that one breaks after a while (never had a decent one break) and you replace it - no big deal.

 

[woofmytweets]

i go though a number of these for multiple-monitor configurations when i setup new computers. i generally find that cheap cables work well, although sometimes, there are issues (like black screen). but for $5/cable - it's not worth the time to ship them back to the distributor....i just get the $6 ones in that case.

 

[MikE]

I'm a "cable guy" and I've had good luck with the cheapo HDMI cables from Monoprice. 4+ years of use and no problems.