Looking For A Great HDMI Cable

[Jack in Wilmington]

I'm looking for an HDMI cable to go with my new Panny Plasma. Need around a 3M length to reach from my Verizon HD DVR to the Panny. Do I also need an HDMI cable to go from my Verizon box to my Onkyo receiver? In that case I would move the other cable to go from my Onkyo to my Panny. Sorry, but I'm new to HDMI cables. Thanks.

[blackraven]

Go with the bluejeans cable HDMI. I own 2 of them and they work great with good build quality. For runs of 15' or more, go with the more expensive thicker cable. This is according to Bluejean tech support.
http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/hdmi-cables/index.htm

They are very reasonably priced and reviews have been good. Picture quality is outstanding with my Blu Ray.

[Jack in Wilmington]

Go with the bluejeans cable HDMI. I own 2 of them and they work great with good build quality. For runs of 15' or more, go with the more expensive thicker cable. This is according to Bluejean tech support.
http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/hdmi-cables/index.htm

They are very reasonably priced and reviews have been good. Picture quality is outstanding with my Blu Ray.

Thanks BR. Will I need two of them, as I described in my original message?

[blackraven]

If you want to run the sound of the DVR through the amp then you will need 2 cables. You may want a third if you get a Blu-Ray player

[Mr Peabody]

Whether there's improvement between lower and higher priced cables is debated and I'm sure always will. I've experienced improvement with a better cable. It's worth trying for yourself. I've had good luck with my Tributaries. I haven't used Blue Jeans and they very well may be fine.

[Jack in Wilmington]

If you want to run the sound of the DVR through the amp then you will need 2 cables. You may want a third if you get a Blu-Ray player

Doesn't everyone run a cable from their cable box to their receiver? Most of my HD broadcasts are in 5.1.

[Jack in Wilmington]

Whether there's improvement between lower and higher priced cables is debated and I'm sure always will. I've experienced improvement with a better cable. It's worth trying for yourself. I've had good luck with my Tributaries. I haven't used Blue Jeans and they very well may be fine.

Mr P. which Tributaries HDMI cable are you useing? I've looked at the DCDH and the Silver Series.

[RoadRunner6]

From the other end of the price spectrum with the same performance (that should bring some feedback):

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10243&cs_id=1024012&p_id=4159&seq=1&format=1#largeimage

I had my Monoprice cables for my new Emotiva amp in two days flat! 21 day return guarantee.

[02audionoob]

Doesn't everyone run a cable from their cable box to their receiver? Most of my HD broadcasts are in 5.1.

The audio from my DVR to my receiver is just a simple coax from the orange output on the DVR to the orange input on the receiver. I have an optical from the Blu-ray player to the receiver.

[Mr Peabody]

I'm using Series 7 but the lower series I'm sure are fine as well. The 7 is what my dealer was stocking at the time I was experimenting with better HDMI.

http://www.tributariescable.com/products/video/vidhdmi.cfm

Most people run HDMI to the receiver from their sources (ie. satelite/cable box/DVR or DVD/Blu-ray) and then one from the receiver to TV. This allows for easy switching of video and audio simultaneously from source to source.

If your DVR has two HDMI outs I doubt if you could use both at once, one to TV and one to receiver. When using surround you'd need one to TV for video and the one to receiver for the audio. I'm wonder if they both would output the same thing simultaneously for that set up..

02audionoob, you should use HDMI from Blu-ray if available. Optical nor coaxial will deliver Tru-HD or DTS-MA to your receiver.

[cybermax1]

HDMI is digital. Speaker wires carry analog signals which will attenuate with increased distance which is why you use larger speaker wire for longer distances. Digital is on or off and 3M long is nothing. Save your money, ignore the hype. Get the least expensive cable you can find but check the version is what you need. v1.3 is the latest.

[Jack in Wilmington]

Go with the bluejeans cable HDMI. I own 2 of them and they work great with good build quality. For runs of 15' or more, go with the more expensive thicker cable. This is according to Bluejean tech support.
http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/hdmi-cables/index.htm

They are very reasonably priced and reviews have been good. Picture quality is outstanding with my Blu Ray.

Hey BR, I ordered 2 cables from Blue Jeans Cable. An 8 foot long series 1 and a 3 foot long series 7. Thanks

Sorry Mr P. had to get two new speaker wires also and that ate up a lot of my cable budget. Didn't have the $100 to put out for the Trib's. But as always, I appreciate your knowledge and help.

[blackraven]

Jack, you wont be sorry that you went with Blue Jean, all their products are well made. I own their speaker wire, digital coax cables and HDMI cables. Great price and great cables. My friend owns a pair their IC's that he bought to replace his much more expensive MIT IC's and he loves them.

[nightflier]

From the other end of the price spectrum with the same performance (that should bring some feedback):

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10243&cs_id=1024012&p_id=4159&seq=1&format=1#largeimage

I had my Monoprice cables for my new Emotiva amp in two days flat! 21 day return guarantee.

RR, what if I need to go 30-40'? I know digital is 0s and 1s and should not degrade over much longer distances, but there are still two camps on this issue: the one says that for distance you should go with a better (i.e. more expensive) cable, and the other says it doesn't matter. So for those who are using longer cable runs, what's the scoop?

[blackraven]

You need to go with a good cable for long runs. The Blue Jean Cables HDMI series 1
http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/hdmi-cables/index.htm has been tested good past 50feet. You really need to be careful on what cable you choose for long runs because the signal degrades with distance.

[nightflier]

What about this one:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=181-782&scqty=1

I seems to meet all the specs/numbers.

[RoadRunner6]

RR, what if I need to go 30-40'? I know digital is 0s and 1s and should not degrade over much longer distances, but there are still two camps on this issue: the one says that for distance you should go with a better (i.e. more expensive) cable, and the other says it doesn't matter. So for those who are using longer cable runs, what's the scoop?

I am a born sceptic and question almost everything until I see objective proof (oh, one of those guys). I feel the general guidelines on any decent quality cable below 5m satifies me. I know there is a lot of disagreement on this subject but I keep my money in my wallet until I see otherwise. Right now I'm comfortably in the Monoprice camp. The quality looks excellent although the cables are somewhat stiff and not nice and supple like others. I think this is an interesting test by Audioholics with some quotes I pulled:

http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/long-hdmi-cable-bench-tests

"..... I have to come away saying that most cables under 4-5 meters will pass just about anything in today's arsenal of 1080p - and that's likely to include Deep Color if and when it ever makes an appearance (not likely soon due to current Blu-ray limitations). For cables over 5 meters it's a good bet that you'll want to stick with trusted manufacturers who deliver on their specs. For long cables, Blue Jeans Cable, DVIGear, MonoPrice, Monster Cable 800HD, and WireWorld seem to be the best bets of the cables we tested - however the price variance between these cables is revealing. We're sure there are also other cables we didn't test which are also likely to perform well. Some of the other manufacturers, such as NGHP, RAM Electronics, Sewell Direct, and Tributaries also showed themselves to be great performers at <7.5 meters, however they either didn't have longer length cables or they didn't supply them in ~10 meter lengths for our testing.


Your take-away from all this should be the following:


At lengths less than 4 meters you can just about use silly string (OK, not really) and get HDMI to pass at any current resolution. At less than 3 meters you'll even extend that to 12-bit color and possibly the next crazy idea HDMI Licensing decides to throw at consumers. Don't spend a lot on these cables and if you want to save money you won't let anyone at a big box store talk you into buying from them.
At long lengths (over 10 meters) you really need to pay attention to the manufacturer if you don't want to risk running into potential problems with 1080p and future formats such as Deep Color. With that said, just about any cable at or under 10 meters will pass 720p/1080i and nearly everyone will pass 1080p at 8-bit color as well.
If you have an existing HDMI cable and are running into problems, we'd suggest at least attempting the insertion of an active component at the sink (display) side. This is going to be far cheaper than ripping out your walls and re-running new cables - and likely just as effective.
HDMI has proven to be a moving target and there is no telling what crazy (likely unnecessary) format they will try to push down the cable next. Due to this, it's always good to "overbuild" your cable install, especially if it's a longer distance and going to end up behind drywall.
If you're not prone to upgraditis and think 1080p will be your maximum resolution for the life of your install, don't sweat it...

There are going to be exceptions to all these "rules" but in the end I'd have to say that I really thought I'd see more differences in the real-world performances of longer-length cables. Since we're all basically pinned at 8-bit 1080p, I didn't. It's likely you won't either. So all those people saying "buy any cable you want, it doesn't matter" are, for the most part, correct - at least until manufacturers advance to 12-bit software and signal transmission. Where they are not accurate is in assuming HDMI (since it is digital) is either "on" or "off" (it either works or doesn’t). HDMI signals can be partially corrupted as you saw above. The other area in which they are off concerns the future. If and when 12-bit "Deep Color" video truly comes to market (as more than just a listed spec) individual cable situations can (and likely will) change. For this reason take all of the above measurements and principles into account and make sure you build your installation wisely......"

For the Objective HDMI Cable Test Results see here (scroll down)

http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/long-hdmi-cable-bench-tests/hdmi-cable-testing-results

RR6

[blackraven]

.

And here's an interesting test comaparing HDMI cables that you should read.

http://www.audioholics.com/education/cables/long-hdmi-cable-bench-tests

[blackraven]

Looks like RR and I had the same idea! Go with BJC's or Monoprice based on these tests. The parts express cable looks good but with BJC and Mono price at least you have a real world comparison.

[JSE]

I bought two 15' cables from Oppo and have been very pleased with them. Great value and very well made.

[Rich-n-Texas]

What about this one:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=181-782&scqty=1

I seems to meet all the specs/numbers.
How 'bout this: Buy whatever our new president-elect tells you to buy. :biggrin5:

Just kidding flyboy, but tell me, why do you need to run an HDMI cable that far?
Everything I've read here tells me you better have QUALITY HDMI cables if you're running long distances such as that.

And Jack in Wilmington, I run my FiOS HD DVR, and my PS3 to my receiver's HDMI in, then HDMI out to my TV. Less cable clutter that way. I also recommend Blue Jeans cable for all your wiring needs. :9: <== Rush

[RoadRunner6]

I suspect from looking at their cable photo that OPPO buys their cables from Monoprice (:biggrin5:).

[nightflier]

Using two baluns and Cat5/6 cable between them? Or is that just asking for trouble?


why do you need to run an HDMI cable that far?

Tex, My TV is on one wall, and the A/V rack on another. I want to run the cable along the ceiling instead of over the floor.

[Jack in Wilmington]

How 'bout this: Buy whatever our new president-elect tells you to buy. :biggrin5:

Just kidding flyboy, but tell me, why do you need to run an HDMI cable that far?
Everything I've read here tells me you better have QUALITY HDMI cables if you're running long distances such as that.

And Jack in Wilmington, I run my FiOS HD DVR, and my PS3 to my receiver's HDMI in, then HDMI out to my TV. Less cable clutter that way. I also recommend Blue Jeans cable for all your wiring needs. :9: <== Rush

Thanks Rich, That was how I was going to hook them up. Do you have just the HDMI cable going to the TV, or do you also have a coax cable? I realized in all this moving around that my Tara Labs speaker cables are too short, so I ordered a set from BJC and they threw them in with my HDMI cables and credited my account the $9.50 shipping on the second order. Nice touch.