HDMI cable - does price matter?

[lexulous]

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to buy the Panasonic projector with Onkyo HT for my home. Here are a few questions:

1. Is this a good projector? The best rate I got was Rs. 1,60,000 from an authorized Panasonic dealer in Kolkata.

2. Along with this, I'm also buying the Onkyo speakers that come with an AV receiver. Is that a good choice?

3. I'm planning to get just ONE HDMI cable that will go out from the receiver to the projector. All devices I have will connect with the receiver. The projector gets just one HDMI cable. Does this cable have to be of extreme quality? A few vendors told me that I need to buy cables that are worth Rs. 20,000! While the Panasonic dealer suggests one for Rs. 1,500. The cable length I need is 10-15 meters max. So does it really make a difference if I buy a super powerful cable from Monster or some similar company?

4. Does the entire setup sound good? Have I missed anything? My main purpose is to enjoy 1080p movies I have on my laptop and watch TataSky HD.

Cheers,

Lexulous

 

[hifijay]

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to buy the Panasonic projector with Onkyo HT for my home. Here are a few questions:

1. Is this a good projector? The best rate I got was Rs. 1,60,000 from an authorized Panasonic dealer in Kolkata.

2. Along with this, I'm also buying the Onkyo speakers that come with an AV receiver. Is that a good choice?

3. I'm planning to get just ONE HDMI cable that will go out from the receiver to the projector. All devices I have will connect with the receiver. The projector gets just one HDMI cable. Does this cable have to be of extreme quality? A few vendors told me that I need to buy cables that are worth Rs. 20,000! While the Panasonic dealer suggests one for Rs. 1,500. The cable length I need is 10-15 meters max. So does it really make a difference if I buy a super powerful cable from Monster or some similar company?

4. Does the entire setup sound good? Have I missed anything? My main purpose is to enjoy 1080p movies I have on my laptop and watch TataSky HD.

Cheers,

Lexulous

I bought a HDMI cable from Chroma. There are plenty of options in that in that shop - including many over priced ones.

Breaklin is with lifetime warranty but costs Rs.900

Mine is Sunar chinease brand. Costs Rs.700.

Quality is superb. Much better than the HDMI cable which comes with TataSkyHD. TataSkyHD cable also is okay for many purposes.

Please ensure to buy HDMI version 1.3 and 10MBps cable. Look carefully in fine print if this is not found don't buy it.

 

[chirag007]

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to buy the Panasonic projector with Onkyo HT for my home. Here are a few questions:

1. Is this a good projector? The best rate I got was Rs. 1,60,000 from an authorized Panasonic dealer in Kolkata.

2. Along with this, I'm also buying the Onkyo speakers that come with an AV receiver. Is that a good choice?

3. I'm planning to get just ONE HDMI cable that will go out from the receiver to the projector. All devices I have will connect with the receiver. The projector gets just one HDMI cable. Does this cable have to be of extreme quality? A few vendors told me that I need to buy cables that are worth Rs. 20,000! While the Panasonic dealer suggests one for Rs. 1,500. The cable length I need is 10-15 meters max. So does it really make a difference if I buy a super powerful cable from Monster or some similar company?

4. Does the entire setup sound good? Have I missed anything? My main purpose is to enjoy 1080p movies I have on my laptop and watch TataSky HD.

Cheers,

Lexulous

looks like you don't have budget constrains. Please drop Onkyo from your list.
Please provide modal name, number of the projector. There are experts on the forum who will guide you about both projector and HT setup. For HDMI cables, in short I can say that generally they are all same and only standard differs ( 1.3a, 1.3b, 1.3c , 1.4 etc. ) - You need sturdy cable whose connector does not get broken very often.

 

[just4kix]

I purchased a 12m HDMI cable on eBay.in for Rs. 2000 or so. It is working superb. So my answer is that brands such as Monster, etc. are overhyped (like Bose).

 

[akhil7j]

Yes, HDMI quality matters. I have tested this by myself. I connected my TV and AVR with a cheap HDMI and picture quality dropped down. Then I connected Audioquest Forrest HDMI and then the picture quality was much better.

If you are spending so much money, why not getting a good HDMI? There are better options for speakers other than Onkyo.

 

[akhil7j]

Please ensure to buy HDMI version 1.3 and 10MBps cable. Look carefully in fine print if this is not found don't buy it.

HDMI bitrate is 10.2Gb/s. At 10Mbps it wont even support DTS-MA which has bitrate of 25Mb/s

 

[wlg]

HDMI carry's digital signals unlike analogue which looses signal strength due to length, HDMI is not affected by lenght if 11101 is inputted by using gold plated cables the output will not change to 111011, either it works or does not however some HDMI cable can carry noise, no use spending on monster cables

 

[just4kix]

For carrying video signals to projector, a high-cost/branded cable is not mandatory. A decent gold plated cable will also work.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Obviously a cable, of any kind, should not be fragile, and should have secure, sturdy connections. Apart from that, there is just a lot of "monstrous" marketing aimed at emptying your pocket!

 

[Bluu]

Obviously a cable, of any kind, should not be fragile, and should have secure, sturdy connections. Apart from that, there is just a lot of "monstrous" marketing aimed at emptying your pocket!

That's not entirely true. There is also a large amount of research going into cable manufacturing. Not all of it is just marketing. A better quality, which almost always translates to more expensive, cable will always be better than a lower quality one. Thing is to not fall into the trap of buying a spendy cable just because it is spendy.

 

[hifijay]

HDMI bitrate is 10.2Gb/s. At 10Mbps it wont even support DTS-MA which has bitrate of 25Mb/s

Akhil,

Thanks for correcting my typo.

 

[hifijay]

I purchased a 12m HDMI cable on eBay.in for Rs. 2000 or so. It is working superb. So my answer is that brands such as Monster, etc. are overhyped (like Bose).

12 metre cable will be too long. Did you really buy 12 meter or is it a typo? Why do you need such a long cable, especially shorter cables are better for video.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

There is also a large amount of research going into cable manufacturing. Not all of it is just marketing. A better quality, which almost always translates to more expensive, cable will always be better than a lower quality one.

Where analogue interconnects and speaker cables are concerned, I think this is true, although there will still be plenty to argue over at the exotic end of the market.

Where digital signals are concerned, the signal either gets through, or it doesn't. The cable may last a month, a year ... or for ever.

If there is data loss, or interference, then it is likely that the cable was mis-sold and did not meet the specification in the first place.

 

[akhil7j]

Akhil,

Thanks for correcting my typo.

No probs mate.

 

[Bluu]

Where analogue interconnects and speaker cables are concerned, I think this is true, although there will still be plenty to argue over at the exotic end of the market.

Where digital signals are concerned, the signal either gets through, or it doesn't. The cable may last a month, a year ... or for ever.

If there is data loss, or interference, then it is likely that the cable was mis-sold and did not meet the specification in the first place.

You are correct! I was speaking about cables in general. In case of HDMI, a regular cable should do just fine.

 

[just4kix]

12 metre cable will be too long. Did you really buy 12 meter or is it a typo? Why do you need such a long cable, especially shorter cables are better for video.

I just checked. It was 10 meters. For running video from AVR to projector.

 

[Bluu]

Digital cables can be as long as needed without loss in quality, no?

 

[just4kix]

Digital cables can be as long as needed without loss in quality, no?

Not too long. I have heard that HDMI cables need repeater/enhancer after 20m or so.

 

[borg]

Digital cables can be as long as needed without loss in quality, no?

How Long Can HDMI Cable be Run? -- Blue Jeans Cable

 

[acoustics]

If you are paying more than 200 Rs for a 1.5 mtr hdmi cable , then you are being robbed.
hdmi signals are digital in nature so that says it all.