What is up with the cost of HDMI cables? After upgrading our family’s television to a 46″ Sony Bravia LCD HDTV and purchasing a Sony Blu-Ray player, I was on the hunt for cheap HDMI cables. To my surprise, there was no such thing as “cheap” HDMI cables at any of the retailers in my area. HDMI cables ranged from $50 for 3-foot cables, to $250 for 25-foot cables.
What is HDMI and why are they HDMI cables important for HDTV? Are cheap HDMI cables able to produce the same quality of sound and picture as the more expensive HDMI cables? It seems that opinions varied from retailer to retailer, and it became quite evident that the cost of HDMI cables made me suspicious.
HDMI is an acronym for high definition multimedia interface. It allows for the transmission of uncompressed digital signals. It has become the standard interface between any audio and video source that transmits in high definition video plus multi-channel audio across a single cable. HDMI has enough bandwidth to transmit data at between 5 and 10 Gbps, depending on the HDMI standard being used. The highest resolution available on a HDTV is currently 1080p. The Blu-Ray player I purchased has the cabability to produce that quality of video but only if I used HDMI cables. Using analog component video cables, the maximum resolution available using the equipment purchased was 1080i. Thus, I had a need to purchase HDMI cables.
In searching for HDMI cables, I quickly found that there was a major variance in price. There was no such thing as cheap HDMI cables. Most single 3 to 6 foot HDMI cables cost approximately $50 per cable. Cables between 6 and 10 feet in length cost approximately $70. I also found HDMI cables that cost upwards of $250 per cable, 1/4 the cost of my 46″ Sony LCD HDTV! Why such a price difference? Did the cable mean a better quality audio and video experience? Was there a different version of HDMI that I was not aware of?
In researching the differences in HDMI cables, I stumbled upon an episode of CBC’s Market Place. In an episode called “Packing the Deal” in which CBC Marketplace explored the high cost of HDMI cables. In the episode, production engineers tested a $12 HDMI cable with two of the “industry standard” HDMI cables manufactured by Monster and RocketFish.
Was there any difference in these “high” quality HDMI cables or the cheap HDMI cables purchased off an internet website? Nope! The cables performed exactly the same, no loss of video quality, no loss of audio quality – they expensive cables performed the same as the cheap cables. What was uncovered during the testing is that retailers have cut the prices of their televisions to a point where they make very little profit from the sale. However, by selling things such as screen cleaning solutions, expensive cables, and extended warranties, retailers could increase their profit. Thus the term “packing the deal”.
I was still out of luck because no retailer in my area carried cheap HDMI cables. I did find cheap HDMI cables from an online retailer MonoPrice.com. A single 6 foot HDMI cable with shipping to my location would cost me $8.07 USD. Factor in the exchange rate and any customs charges, the HDMI cable would cost me approximately $12 CDN. Some people would want you to believe that there is a difference in the quality of cables. Monster Cable and RocketFish offer lifetime warranties with their cables. MonoPrice.com offers a lifetime warranty on its cables.
What is the difference?
The only difference I can tell is perception and sales tactics. People who purchase Monster or RocketFish cables do so because they are sold a cable that sales people perceive as being better because of the brand. Some have argued that the lifetime warranty makes these expensive cables better but how is that different from the cheap HDMI cables that offer the same lifetime warranty? Plus, what wear and tear is a cable going to have plugged from my Blu-Ray DVD player and my television? I was not planning on skipping rope with the cable or using it to tie items into the back of my pick-up truck.
Are the manufacturing processes different? Probably not – most of the HDMI cables are probably manufactured in China. There has to be a technical difference right? Nope, not really. HDMI cables transmit a digital signal – 1′s and 0′s – there is either a signal making it through, or there is not. There can be no middle ground here. Marketplace’s tests showed just that. The signal produced by a HDMI device and sent across the cable was the same strength and quality at the destination as what it was at the source of the signal. There was no difference between the cheap HDMI cables and the expensive HDMI cables other than price.
I eventually did find a cheaper HDMI cable than those offered at most retailers. It was in the video game section and being sold as a PS3 HDMI cable. Even though the salesperson told me it would not work with my television and Blu-Ray player, I knew the difference. I picked the cable up for just under $30 CDN and it worked quite nicely.
Still, I have placed an online order for several cheap HDMI cables from MonoSpace.com which I will tuck away for use with my other high definition devices. I purchased four HDMI cables, shipped to my door for just under $30 CDN.
