DVI or COMPONENT cables, Is there really THAT big of a difference?

[Mike500]

I installed a 211, today.

I tried the customer's $129 HDMI cable and my $15 component cable. None of his family and I could tell the difference.

He decided to use my $15 cable and to take the HDMI cable back. He had a large Pioneer Plasma, and we were in 1060i.

He was happy to save over $100.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

I had a situation where I was able to run a direct comparison of a low-end HDMI cable vs a Monster HDMI cable. This was using two cable boxes and two identical HDTVs. Side by side. Swapped the two cables after several minutes too. No difference whatsoever.

As long as an HDMI cable is properly made, there will be no difference. And it is rather trivial for a large scale cable manufacturer to make a proper HDMI cable. However it is possible to not terminate it correctly, or use inadequate shielding, etc.. So a cable can be out of spec and make a difference.

 

[RandallA]

"However it is possible to not terminate it correctly, or use inadequate shielding, etc.. So a cable can be out of spec and make a difference."

That my friend sums it all up. It's possible that Monster Cables have better quality control than the cheaper cables but is it worth paying that much money for a Monster cable? You could get a bad cable and a replacement for a lot less than a Monster cable.

 

[rdinkel]

Also try www.cablesforless.com They are very good quality at low prices. I have bought their cables several times.

 

[iKramerica]

Monster does not have higher quality control than other companies, just a higher price. Which is not to say some of their analog cables aren't good, but they cost too much.

Look at Impact Acoustics cables. The Velocity is a good every day cable. You can get them at tigerdirect.com. I use their Velocity cables for most applications, but the higher end SonicWave cables for long runs of Component and Subwoofer cable. I am sure their Velocity HDMI or DVI digital cables are made very well and reasonably priced.

You can buy directly from them, but shipping from them can be very costly. Tiger has better shipping rates, thought they don't carry every cable and some they do carry are out of stock.

As for Component vs. DVI/HDMI, unless your display is COMPLETELY digital all the way through, it shouldn't make much difference, becuase somewhere along the line it is being converted to analog. Most displays out there right now have an analog stage. But the longer the component run, the better quality cable you need, and that gets expensive. Then again, long HDMI and DVI cables aren't even recommended and can be costly, too.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

A lot of Monster cables are manufactured by companies that also build low-end cables. They do build to Monster's specs, which will often include using a thicker cable, sometimes better strain relief, and sometimes upgraded connectors.

However in many cases, especially on digital cables like HDMI and DVI, a lot of this is just building to overspecs. You can build a perfect cable for the application, say a 2 meter HDMI to HDMI cable for very little cost. You can make the cable thicker, the connectors heavier, etc., however it will not transmit digital data any more reliably than the cheaper cable. You can hook up an analyzer and the data error rates will be identical. The overspec cable & connectors may cost $3-$5 more to use, and they mark up the price 500% or more.

Again, this is assuming that you are buying a properly build HDMI or DVI cable. It can be done correctly for a very low cost (around $1-$2), but it can also be done incorrectly for a low or high cost.

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-11246_7-6361815-1.html

http://searchwarp.com/swa34479.htm

Consider this cable from monoprice. It is built to overspec. It uses thick 24AWG wires, has large ferrite filters, gold-plated connectors, and a heavy duty cable jacket. It is $18.80. This is probably better built than the $100+ Monsters.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...cs_id=1023102&p_id=2219&seq=1&format=2&style=

Their standard HDMI cable, which should work just as well, uses 28AWG wires, smaller ferrite filters, gold-plated connectors, and a standard cable jacket, sells for $7.65
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...cs_id=1023102&p_id=2412&seq=1&format=2&style=

And you know what? The $7.65 cable is still being built to overspecs. You don't need gold-plated connectors on a digital cable. And you won't always find ferrites on $50 cables. This is the cable that I compared to Monster and found no difference in performance.

So if you really want an overkill cable, that well exceeds HDMI specs, there is no need to spend any more than the $18.80 on the super duper monoprice cable.

 

[cebbigh]

The thing with digital signal is you either get the signal or you don't. You can make a better case for expensive analog cables where the waveforms really do make a difference. But digital is just transmission of 0's and 1's. The cheap HDMI/DVI cable should work just as well as the $100+ stuff. The rest is marketing ... if you're told one is better than the other you start thinking it really is, especially with a big disparity in price.

As far as Component versus HDMI/DVI, like others have said, it really depends on your display. I REALLY wanted HDMI/DVI to look better on my display than Component. But after trying very hard to convince myself, I finally decided to trust my eyes and decided that the hookup from the 942 to my display looked better over Component. In the long run that worked out to my advantage because my display has only one input for DVI and it's now connected to my OPPO DVD player.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

As far as digital video/audio over a cable is concerned, it is not a case of you getting it or you don't. An improper cable can induce data errors, which would be seen on your screen in the form of "sparklies".

It is just that it is relatively easy to make a perfectly good cable.

 

[Walter L.]

bettercables.com

 

[Tom Bombadil]

Bettercables sells expensive HDMI cables. No doubt they are well made, but there is no reason to pay $80 for a 1M HDMI cable.

 

[cebbigh]

As far as digital video/audio over a cable is concerned, it is not a case of you getting it or you don't. An improper cable can induce data errors, which would be seen on your screen in the form of "sparklies".

It is just that it is relatively easy to make a perfectly good cable.

If your cable is producing "sparklies" it is defective and should either be thrown out or returned to where you purchased it.

 

[downriver]

I don't think there is a single responder to this thread who preferred DVI over component.

Dang I guess I'm gonna pull that sony out again and compare, I've only had DVI connected since I've owned the 942.

 

[CochiseGuy]

I don't think there is a single responder to this thread who preferred DVI over component.

Dang I guess I'm gonna pull that sony out again and compare, I've only had DVI connected since I've owned the 942.

OK, I'll bite: I prefer DVI input - for my Denon 1910 DVD player. My Sony CRT rear projection HDTV has only 1 DVI input, and I reserve that for my Denon DVD player as it has upconverting capability to 720p or 1080i, but only on the DVI output. The video quality is far superior to other DVD players I used with component cable. My Dish 811 is connected with component. I think video quality with antenna OTA input in HD is superior to Dish's HD content, but I don't think Dish transmits its HD content with as much bandwidth as OTA.
Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[Dolfan]

I just changed my Dish 211 to component. Much better! Hooked up my Zenith DVB 318 to DVI for upconverting. Better also. Thanks a lot for this thread!

 

[Tom Bombadil]

I've seen DVD players where the DVI / HDMI connections were better than component. But on the three Dish receivers I've tried, component was anywhere from slightly to significantly better.

I suspect that Dish's DVI / HDMI implementation is not top quality.