Do cheap HDMI cable work?

[wtfwtf]

Hi gentlemen

I've just bought a 8 dollars Hdmi cable (1 metre) for my LED TV off from Sim Lim today.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work well, as the display will go off once in a while (white screen filled with black dots). It's extremely fustrating.

I'll go back tomorrow to demand for a replacement.

The problem is I got a feeling that the hdmi cable will fail me again. Do these 8 dollar cables actually work for my tv?
Should I just ask for a refund and invest on a better HDMI cable? I've seen a couple of 19.90 hdmi cable but I "researched" online that 8 bucks ones work as well. No diff.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Regards

 

[tuckloong]

Hi gentlemen

I've just bought a 8 dollars Hdmi cable (1 metre) for my LED TV off from Sim Lim today.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work well, as the display will go off once in a while (white screen filled with black dots). It's extremely fustrating.

I'll go back tomorrow to demand for a replacement.

The problem is I got a feeling that the hdmi cable will fail me again. Do these 8 dollar cables actually work for my tv?
Should I just ask for a refund and invest on a better HDMI cable? I've seen a couple of 19.90 hdmi cable but I "researched" online that 8 bucks ones work as well. No diff.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Regards

Nigel

ya some of these do work...but failure rate ish a little on the high side though

 

[guilingkwek]

Hi gentlemen

I've just bought a 8 dollars Hdmi cable (1 metre) for my LED TV off from Sim Lim today.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work well, as the display will go off once in a while (white screen filled with black dots). It's extremely fustrating.

I'll go back tomorrow to demand for a replacement.

The problem is I got a feeling that the hdmi cable will fail me again. Do these 8 dollar cables actually work for my tv?
Should I just ask for a refund and invest on a better HDMI cable? I've seen a couple of 19.90 hdmi cable but I "researched" online that 8 bucks ones work as well. No diff.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Regards

Nigel

These cables are all the same... it's only a matter of transmitting the digital signal. it should work, go ahead and try to replace it. I bought mine for $3 on ebay and it works as well as the obnoxiously expensive ones that my sister bought.

 

[Zon]

disagree... i tried better hdmi cables and i can clearly see a difference in picture/colour quality.

does not have to be expensive HDMI cables. try seaching for Aiborg HDMI cables from china.. cost $10+ only.

If mods dun mind me link a local AVR forum.
HDMI cables - Aiborg vs the rest

 

[suuhhc]

Check Qoo10 for cheap HDMI cable. A SONY one cost less than $9. Can always read buyers' reviews before purchase.

 

[sandyph]

disagree... i tried better hdmi cables and i can clearly see a difference in picture/colour quality.

does not have to be expensive HDMI cables. try seaching for Aiborg HDMI cables from china.. cost $10+ only.

If mods dun mind me link a local AVR forum.
HDMI cables - Aiborg vs the rest

there should be no difference in picture/colour quality since its digital signal, its either 1 or 0.

Cheap cable may have problem with parts quality which could make the cable not plugged in correctly or easy got loose, but its either works or it does not.

 

[htngwilliam]

In engineering perspective, there is definitely a difference due to shielding and also the quality of cables. Some may disagree but these are facts. As for whether your eyes can see the difference, it depends on individual.

My personal recommendation is to spend 5-10% of your equipment cost on interconnects. No problem buying a $3000 led TV, $300 3D DVD player, $1000 plus home theatre system and then buy a $8 hdmi cable. Get one that is $30-40 should be good enough.

 

[Norman Chan]

Buy too cheap HDMI cable , some may work and some may not work...just your luck. No one you can complain to or angry about..it is your choice of selection and your hustle to bring back to change. So far you will never hear someone who bought a S$15 to S$20 hdmi cable and complain failure or the picture quality bad. Sometime the appearance of the HDMI cable also can tell you is a good made or bad made cable...just my thinking.

Same as the picture quality..you have a LED TV but because of cheaper picture sources...are you going to watch VCD movies on it...and start complaining the picture quality is bad ???

 

[koroshiya8]

I've been selling 'cheap' HDMI cables for 2 years or so for that period of time. Since i no longer sell them, let me share my experience.

1. HDMI cables are generally very cheap.... if you think those selling $25-$30 are 'expensive', they are not really so.. what you are paying is for the packaging as well as the 'brand'. strip all these cables down, the inside are the same.

2. These cables are extremely cheap to produce.. if i can get 1 piece for $3 3D v1.4 version, from China then guess how much it actually cost to produce....

3. Having sold cables of up to 4 digit over the last 3 years the faulty rate is about 1 in 150 pieces.. so is that high ?

My observation is that the quality of the cable itself is normally very reliable.. the problem is on the connector itself, some tends to fall off over time.. this is probably 1 big difference between cheap and very expensive (e.g. monster?) cables.

About whether you are getting a real deal by paying 20 times the price more than a 'cheap' cable, just go google.. there are mixed reviews of course but most of them will tell you it is just 1 and 0... whether anyone can really TELL the difference, it's really up to individual.. i'm glad i cant

 

[Kiwi8]

It's more cost-effective to buy a cheaper cable. If it spoils, just replace with another cheaper cable. It doesn't happen that often.

 

[mlwang]

Go and buy from monoprice cheap and good.

 

[Vincent Tan]

pay bananas, you get monkey.
pay peanuts, you get elephant.
From my experience, some of the cheaper HDMI cables the quality of the pins at the contact might not be that good when inserted. (few pins not making contact with the HDMI TV port)

 

[mlwang]

Why all HDMI cables are the same - CNET Mobile

All hdmi are the same.

 

[Zon]

Why all HDMI cables are the same - CNET Mobile

All hdmi are the same.

u link 1 and you expect all to follow?
i link another... you all got read?
Cable in question is only SGD$10++ for the economical version.
i can clearly see the differences in shades of grey in my ps3 game, compared to another china $10+ one where i see all black. Colour is also more vibrant.

Guys, test it out before discounting it please.
its only 10++.
HDMI cables - Aiborg vs the rest

 

[Norman Chan]

Maybe is true that all HDMI cables are the same but the major differences will be the connector portion,whether the cables are properly solder onto the connector pins.

 

[ambasnakeman]

i have tested $4 hdmi vs $30 hdmi vs samsung/bose hdmi cables. they are all the same. only the $4 dies without warning.

as for quality when playing back 3D bluray, $4 hdmi occasionally had problem getting signal over. so will see digital distortion or green pixels as TV not getting data.

as for connectivity, hdmi cable direct from bluray to tv was sharper vs bluray to bose to tv. but this is due to bose video processor.

this is my experience.

 

[pustefix]

CNet has written a 3rd article on why all HDMI cables are the same:

Still more reasons why all HDMI cable are the same | TV and Home Theater - CNET Reviews

As some of you said, it is digital transmission, very different from all the other analogue transmission that we are used to. I had a bad cheap cable and I am seeing sparkle with it (some flashing red dots on dark areas). However its PQ is the same with another $30 cable that I have, just minus the sparkle.

 

[mrsun18]

CNet has written a 3rd article on why all HDMI cables are the same:

Still more reasons why all HDMI cable are the same | TV and Home Theater - CNET Reviews

As some of you said, it is digital transmission, very different from all the other analogue transmission that we are used to. I had a bad cheap cable and I am seeing sparkle with it (some flashing red dots on dark areas). However its PQ is the same with another $30 cable that I have, just minus the sparkle.

Cheap cable with sparkles and $30 cable without them. Aren't they different?

Quote from HDMI.org with the link provided by CNET (right at the bottom of the web page):

Is there an HDMI 1.4 Compliance Test Specification? If so, can I download it?

The Compliance Test Specification is still being developed. HDMI Adopters will be notified as soon as it is published.

Bottom line is, without compliance test specs, how do we know that a cable that claims to be 1.4 complies with the specs of 1.4?

As for cables that claim to be compliant with earlier versions, unless one can find the manufacturer's name of the finished product in the List of HDMI Adopters, there will be doubts.

In the same web page the List of Terminated Adopters is available.

So cheap cables may have failed quality control - not to specs, or may have been made by dubious manufacturers (does this ring a bell?)

The choice is yours, caveat emptor.

 

[pustefix]

I think what the CNET articles are trying to imply is that with a working cheap HDMI cable, it is the same as a working expensive HDMI cable. There is no difference in picture/sound quality or transfer speed. I have a bad cheap cable but I also have another that is working fine. Maybe the probability of getting a bad cable is higher with cheap cable but you can just buy another, the overall cost is still less.

 

[Kiwi8]

Yes, I thought the CNET article nailed it right there.


Cheap doesn't mean always bad, and so far I have not have any problems with cheap HDMI cables so far.