So you run to the store to purchase one of those new LED TV’s and realize when coming home and have everything unpacked, that the TV doesn’t come with a free HDMI cable. Mad, you grab your car keys and drive to the store while you imagine how amazing your new 50″ Smart TV would hang on the wall but when you walk in the store to the cable section, you realize that a damn cable costs about $20.
Why are HDMI cables so expensive?
There is no denying that HDMI cables can provide much better quality audio and video compared to your typical cable but this is no reason for it to cost more, because if you look online you can find HDMI cables for just $2. The problem with HDMI cables is that you aren’t paying more for the higher quality HDMI provides, that is what they want you to believe.
Will using a £5,000 USB cable make your printer better?
The answer is no. It is still a great question asked by Chris Pinder and is a great example of how a more expensive cable doesn’t affect quality, you might be paying more for a cable that has a special connector that allows it to be used better into wall-hung super-slim LED TVs but certainly not the quality.
What makes a good HDMI cable different from a bad one?
All material used in HDMI cables are pretty standard and the “standard” HDMI cable will provide everything you need if you are an average consumer. There is no Good or bad here, there is just good or slightly better then Good.
“All official HDMI cables use the best insulation possible, the same quality plugs, and usually solder-free cold-welding that prevents copper strands from being joined. “
When is it OK to pay a little extra for a HDMI cable?
Some HDMI cables feature a smart connector, which means that the head of the HDMI cable can be twisted to left, right and middle solving the issue where a HDMI cable couldn’t be connected to a TV that is hung on the wall because of the little space between the TV and the wall. Just like this, there are many examples of HDMI cables with slight modifications which might make it worth paying a little more.
The length of the cable
So when is it worth investing more in a cable that is slightly better than “standard”? Well, you should think about it the moment you need a cable longer then 3 to 6 feet long. The longer the cable, the higher quality it needs to be to pass the signal reliably, especially at distances of 25 feet or more. But, that doesn’t mean that it has to cost $100+ per foot and don’t be fooled into thinking that there’s much difference between two 25 feet HDMI cables, in those cases just take the cheapest one.
