Hi-tech-tv.com: Television technology news & answers

Question: I have heard of people buying hdmi cables for really cheap online just wondering where people have bought theres and for how much. And if these are just as good as the $100 ones at best buy ect.?

Answer 1: You can get them for under 10 bucks i think. go to monoprice.com. the cable business is the biggest scam out there. monoprice.com. use it for everything cable related:)

Answer 2: Note sure if you’ve bought the TV yet, but my new Panasonic HDTV came with the cables.

Answer 3: You can’t really beat monoprice.com and yes, they’re every bit as good as overpriced Monster cables. Certainly the answer. Great products. Great service. Great shipping times. I ordered 2 optical cables for a new CD player and I got them in 2 days. I have gotten optical, coaxial, and HDMI cables from there. All great quality without crappy prices.

Answer 4: I did the stupid Circuit City Monsters for $90. Hey, who’s more stupid than me?

Answer 5: Yes you can get cables for less, and I have checked out monosite, but if you scan through it you will notice even they have a large array of prices from 6.00 to 131.00. the prices are affected by many things…is it realistic to pay 100.00 for Monster cables? You can find them online for much cheaper than in the retail store but i sell all types of HDMI and Monster is by far the best quality i have used…read the description on their website monstercable.com….cheaper isnt always the way to go…just research the lower prices of monster…its worth it.

Answer 6: Monster is an f’n ripoff and the only reason I have a few monster cables is because I bought them on Amazon for like 85% off.

Answer 7: It’s insane how much of a scam the cable industry is. sickening. i work in the gaming industry, where that sort of stuff is important. i don’t think i’ve ever seen a monster cable anywhere.

Answer 8: Anyone who thinks monster isnt worth it, has either never done side by side comparisson or has no clue. I am not going to type a 10 page letter on why they are better… 30-40$$ is worth it for a monster HDMI…plus they offer lifetime warranty as long as you keep the package. it it ever fails, it is replaced for free

Answer 9: One more for monoprice… It has been said before and I will say it again…HDMI is digital. On or Off. One or Zero. There is no signal degrading. It either works or it doesn’t, I redid my entertainment room and hid all the equipment in the closet this past January…everything is running on 10-30ft monoprice cables from wherever it is in the room to the special away-from-the-eye spot. All the speakers, the receiver, the flatscreen,the dvd, the directv,the cd player, everything….all monoprice. Trust me on the quality.

Answer 10: There are different grades of cable, yes all will work, but sheilding and internal filling are a factor

Answer 11: I have some experience with RF and microwave transmission and can tell you this about cables: With an analog signal, quality is very important. Get the better stuff and you will notice a difference. Digital signals are just binary digits (usually ranging 0-5vdc) sent thru a cable and yes, they either make it or do not. If they are making it thru the cable there is no way to improve the quality “through the cable”. The only thing left is for superior DSP, which hi quality (and cost) cables have NOTHING to do with.

So I’m going to buy my first HDTV this July 4th (when the sales begin). I already know what model and size TV I want but I have questions about other things:

1) I live in a cablevision home but I bought Direct TV for the YES Network/NFL pckage a few years back. What box offers better channels? How much does it cost to upgrade to an HD cable/direct box?

2) Besides the HDTV adaptor, what else do I need?

Answer 1: Direct TV is ~$10 more a month for HDTV. You also have to have a different type satellite installed, and also purchase a new convertor box (~$100.) You can get a HD/DVR Direct TV convertor box for ~$250. It’s a freaking pain but it’s worth it.

Answer 2: You will need to get HDMI cables. What about the existing cables? For the HD signal can you use the existing coax cable from the dish to the receiver? I understand you need an HDMI cable from the receiver to the TV.

Answer 3: If you have cablevision and you get a TV with a QAM tuner, you should be able to just plug the cablewire into the wall to get the network HD channels (fox, cbs, nbc, pbs, abc). Also, if you get a cablecard ready TV you can rent a cablecard from cablevision instead of a cable box (cablecard is only $1.95/month) you can get the fully io HD lineup. You can’t get on-demand stuff with the cablecard though.

Answer 4: The RG-6 you already have is what they use for HD installs. If you upgrade to HD, Directv will upgrade the dish and run any additional cabling for you. You need component or hdmi cables to connect HD to your new tv. Go to monoprice.com to buy these for a few bucks. DO NOT waste money on so-called “high-end” cables.

Yes — you can run on coax, component or S-video just fine until you pick up your HDMI’s.

Answer 5: Well if you are going the satellite way, they will need to install a new HD satellite on your roof and will wire it up to the box for you. I’m getting DirectTV satellite. I am trying to avoid any more holes drilled into the house so I want to know if they can use the existing RG6 coax which is already buried in the walls.

It appears that I can save hundreds of dollars by buying a large screen HDTV (50+ inches) over the Internet rather than from a retail store. What are the risks or drawbacks to buying a large TV over the Internet?

Will my old VCR tapes (like the ‘86 Super Bowl) play on an HDTV?
Will my old VCR recorder and DVD player work with an HDTV?
Are there any cables/connectors or accessories that I will need for HDTV that don’t come with the TV? (I have Time Warner Cable. They will supply the HDTV cable box.)

Answer #1: You can save alot of money through the internet. We bought our Sony there as opposed to the local market and saved about $1,100. When buying via the internet, make sure that the brand you buy is “authorized” by that seller. For example, if your buying a Samsung from XYZ Electronics, XYZ will need to be authorized in order for you to get the warranty. If there not, you’ll forfit the 1 year standard warranty form the manufacture. Now some don’t care about this, they buy an extended warranty, as I would reccomend anyway to cover there arses. Do some homework, you can pit these online sellers against each other as well.

Answer #2: I’m in the same boat - I’m looking at a Samsung 42″ HDTV online for only about $680…the shipping will add on about 200 more though. But I still think it’s a pretty good deal. I’m also wondering what kind of cables I need for my DVD player, Xbox 360, etc.

Answer #3: The TV you get will likely have HDMI/DVI imputs and the old three plug imputs(that you can run from your DVD or VHS). You will get a slightly better picture if you use an HDMI cable. At stores like best buy they run from 75 to 125 bucks, but you can get them for under 10 online.

Answer #4: If you have the $400 360 bundle it comes with the hd cables. You need the regular composite cables for the dvd player.

Answer #5: Your older equipment should be fine with the new HD unit. However you should start looking at upgrading to truely get the most out of your HDTV, DVD player for example (HD or Blu-Ray). HDMI cables are now all the rage, they are the best right now, just don’t get sucked into spending $50 to $125 for these cables…$25 should be just fine when you start buying these.

Answer #6: If you dvd player has HDMI thats what you will want to hook it up through for the best quality. As for your 360 it will go through component. The 360 looks great on big HD tv’s I have a Panasonic 50 inch HD Plasma. Gears of War looks awesome on there. lol

Answer #7: If you live near NYC you can order it from J and R and save money in delivery by picking it up your self. Whenever you see an inexpensive price online, make sure it is a new TV, not a refurbished one.

Answer #8: I’d suggest using Vanns.com . Ordered my 71″ Samsung DLP form them. No problem at at and saved a ton. Also, for any cables you need, Markertek.com

Answer #9: I bought my plasma from Dad’s Toys in St. Louis after seeing his name repeatedly on ebay. Called him and asked him the questions you’re asking. He gave me the answers w/o a sales pitch, and I bought the unit from him at the best price with no sales tax or shipping.

Answer #10: Take your best internet price and take it to HH Gregg. They likely wont be able to match it but they’ll get pretty close. Close enough to justify spending a little extra to get it locally and remove all of the worries of an internet purchace & shipping. Plus you can take it home that day. You can negotiate with the retail guys.

I thought my TV technology blog was fairly specific, but this HDMI blog is about as focused as they come. This site’s categories include HDMI Adapters, Cables, Equalizers, Switches, and HDMI to DVI.

The site is the future home of an online HDMI store, but for now they have suggestions and links to the right products. For example the post on long HDMI cables tells us some of what we need when buying a cable (like double shielding for maximum performance). In the HDMI adapter section, we have adpters for HDMI female to DVI male as well as HDMI female to HDMI male. My last example will be the 4 port HDMI switch that supports resolutions from 480p & 720p to 1080i &1080p.

I bring this site to your attention because if you’re planning to buy HDMI cables, you want to go to a specialist.

Need help re: HDMI cables for super DirecTV deal - Though I’m an existing DirecTV customer, I was able to get the HD/DVR system for a net $18.00. Now I need the HDMI cables before Saturday when they come to install it. I’ve checked HDMI cables out and they’re anywhere from $50-$200. What’s the story? Any suggestions on what to or what not to get? Monster cables the best? Thanks.

By the way, the cables they are bringing are “standard” cables not HDMI. The deal was basically this: I’m getting a HD/DVR, regularly priced at $299 or $199 and the HD dish free with everything installed at no charge. The first 4 months of HD programming at $9.99/mo. is free. $10/mo off my bill for tweleve months - no reason - just being nice. The delivery charge of $19.99 is being waived, too. $100 + $40 + $120 + $20 is roughly $280 minus $299 is $19.00 give or take.

Answer #1: From personal experience, monster cables are definitely the best, but the difference in quality isn’t worth the extra 100 bucks you’d pay at a retail store.

If you really want a monster cable, get one online. I recently got one from an amazon retailer, 50 bucks, 125 dollar retail value. That was with shipping.

Answer #2: MarkerTek sells a high quality HDMI cable made by canare for 40% less than Monster and it’s just as good.

Answer #3: I paid a crap load for my HDMI cable and $200 would have been a bargain. But I needed a lot of it as I was stretching it across a room and hiding it in the wall. Consider how much you invested in your entire system, how much it means to you and go from there.

Answer #4: Any HDMI cable should provide the same results so Monster cables are a rip off. HD is a digital signal, either it comes in or it doesn’t. Cables used to make a difference with analog signals, but you should see absolutely no difference in HD or digital cable/dish channels.

Answer #5: Crutchfield offers multiple brands and lengths so you can actually buy a decent cable for an affordable price. The retail stores screw you with minimal selection including cable lengths that are twice what you need. Order today and you will have the cords in two days.

Answer #6: Monoprice cables are great. I got them for nothing compared to what Monster costs with great results.

Answer #7: Mine came w/ an HDMI cable. You might want to look up the model that they are bringing and see what the box contains. I was ready to go out and buy the cable after the guy came to install it, but the HDMI cable came w/ the HD/Tivo unit

Answer #8: I’m not sure of the quality of the cable but the D* installer did hook up an HDMI cable, as part of the installation, when I went HD recently.

Answer #9: Monster Cables look so cool…they really do. That said, I only used Monster where others weren’t available. Buy another brand if you can. I also needed 12′ cables and the cost difference is huge.

Answer #10: I hope the receiver works with an HDMI. The receiver I just got from Directv doesn’t and the replacement they sent didn’t either. They said the software upgrade might be coming next month sometime. They were not DVR. I also got the cables from Monoprice. Came in 2 days.

I want to buy an LCD TV but don’t know where to begin. Can someone give me some advice on what TV to buy and where to buy it?

Answer #1: Vizio 37” LCD TV. Got one 24 days ago and love it. Buy from Costco if you can. They have the best return policy. My TV cost $999.000. They have a 32″ for $699.00. If your TV breaks down 6 months from now, take it back and get a new one. You do have to have a membership, $50.00 for one year. I saw the same TV at Walmart for $1500.00. My son loves it, he has xbox 360 and he’s in love. Football is the best I have ever seen, OTA HD that is.

Answer #2: So you’ve decided on LCD over plasma? As best I can tell, the big issues are:

Plasma: Truer Black, Colors “jump” a bit more
LCD: Brighter overall picture, slightly sharper image, more glare-resistant

My wife and I picked up a 46″ LCD as opposed to a 50″ Plasma, largely because we liked the way it resisted glare (our family room has A LOT of light). Look at both side to side, and decide which picture you like better. It’s purely an issue of taste, you can’t go wrong if you buy a solid TV. Make sure it has 2 HDMI inputs if you plan on watching HDTV as well as playing next-gen video games and/or DVD’s. Honestly, the main way the cheaper sets seem to let you down in their inputs.

I am looking at several HDTVs and so far they either come with DVI or HDMI, but not both. Is one better than the other? Should I buy an HDTV with DVI or HDMI?

Answer #1: DVI is Digital Video Interface, HDMI is High Definition Multimedia Interface. DVI and HDMI are both the same, meaning they both can handle 1080P. They both transmit video in same manner. The difference is HDMI also carry audio while DVI is strictly video. BUT, if you have a high def set up with a surround sound system, then it makes no difference. You wouldn’t be using HDMI for sound anyway.

Answer #2: You can drive yourself nuts but don’t go crazy, they are the same encoding (hence the reason you can connect one to the other via a simple HDMI/DVI cable). Both work. HDMI and DVI are both exactly the same quality wise. They use different connectors, and an HDMI can carry audio across the connection.

Pick the TV you like best. Don’t sweat it too much, a DVI source can be connected to a HDMI monitor and Vice Versa with a DVI/HDMI cable.

Answer #3: Get HDMI because support for DVI televisions is dwindling as HDMI is the popular interface for High-Def components like DVD players, game consoles, etc. Like it or not, HDMI is where the industry is headed.