Need help with some HDMI questions

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mobster011

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I'm looking to get an HDMI cable for my Xbox 360. I've never bought one before so I don't know anything about them. I would appreciate some help with my questions before I make a purchase. In parenthesis I've related my questions to TVs to better explain the question I'm asking.

1. What features or attributes differentiate HDMI cables? (TV ex: screen size, resolution, refresh rate)
2. Of these features, what is considered good and bad characteristics?(TV ex: 720p, 1080p, 100,000:1)
3. What are good brands? What are the best brands?

Thanks in advance for any help!
 
I'll let others give more detailed answers, but I will give you one piece of advice - HDMI cables are the single most overpriced electronic item there is. Get all of your cables from monoprice.com.
 
[quote name='Scorch'] Get all of your cables from monoprice.com and don't believe that $100 cables are any better than $20 cables.[/QUOTE]

That's true...I can't tell the difference between a gold plated one to a normal one. I'd get your basic HDMI cable off of eBay or Walmart and get the right length you'll need...because that's an equation in how they price as well.
 
1. What features or attributes differentiate HDMI cables? (TV ex: screen size, resolution, refresh rate)

Nothing. Cables are cables and are all made the same. All HDMI cables will support any TV size, resolution, etc. Don't let any salesman tell you differently.

2. Of these features, what is considered good and bad characteristics?(TV ex: 720p, 1080p, 100,000:1)

HDMI cables (or any input cable for that matter) do not dictate what the TV can or can't do. Your TV and output device control what you see on the screen. A 1080p TV with a 1080p output device (PS3) will display 1080p. A cable/satellite box can usually only display 720p (HD standard) unless specified.

3. What are good brands? What are the best brands?

Any brand will do. Just go by the price and the length you need and that's it.
 
If brand doesnt matter, can someone recommend one from monoprice? I checked the site and saw all kinds of cables. Male to male, male to female, high speed, normal speed. What are the differences between all these types?

I just need one to connect my 360 to my tv. I'd like a 6 foot cable.
 
[quote name='mobster011']If brand doesnt matter, can someone recommend one from monoprice? I checked the site and saw all kinds of cables. Male to male, male to female, high speed, normal speed. What are the differences between all these types?

I just need one to connect my 360 to my tv. I'd like a 6 foot cable.[/QUOTE]It's male-to-male, unless you're extending an existing cable, and for that you'd need a male-to-female cable.

Take your pick from any of the 6' cables on this page:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10243

The difference between 28AWG and 24AWG is that the 24AWG cables use a slightly thicker wire gauge than the 28AWG cables, so it's a slightly better cable. For the Xbox 360, which is a HDMI 1.2 device, either AWG cable works. I prefer the 24AWG cables and have all of my devices hooked together with Monoprice 24AWG cables.

This one would work fine:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10243&cs_id=1024008&p_id=3992&seq=1&format=2
 
Yeah like it has been said before this is by far the biggest scam in electronics. Back in the day when I worked at Staples they pushed these like crazy because the profit margin is huge.

The funny thing is this, I would try to inform customers that as far as they were going to be able to tell a $5 cable is the same as a $80 Monster HDMI Gold Plated cable from Best Buy and many wouldnt listen. I would advise to not purchase it from our store for 40 bucks but to order one for 2-5 bucks.

I even had one guy argue that I didnt know what I was talking about because clearly they are different but he couldnt give me a reason why.
 
the one I used to use before I got an elite that came with the xbox HDMI cable was $2.50 from amazon...shipping cost more than the cable so I bought 4. Haven't noticed any difference in picture quality between the two. I use all the other HDMI cables on my dvd player and other tv's. Again, no noticable difference ever.

i'm not an audio/video expert but the reason why I use an HDMI cable is less wires going in and out of my xbox/tv.
 
[quote name='Scorch']I'll let others give more detailed answers, but I will give you one piece of advice - HDMI cables are the single most overpriced electronic item there is. Get all of your cables from monoprice.com.[/QUOTE]

Yep pretty much what he said, the difference in a gold plated one or a cheap one is little to nothing as far as picture goes.
 
I buy my HDMI cables from monoprice.com. This is the best site for any cables you may need. They have just about any type or size you can think of and the quality is good and they are cheap.
 
I bought a $2 cable from amazon that has been good for a couple years now, and an $8 one that is higher quality about 8 months ago, I get the same results from both.
 
[quote name='shrike4242']It's male-to-male, unless you're extending an existing cable, and for that you'd need a male-to-female cable.

Take your pick from any of the 6' cables on this page:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10243

The difference between 28AWG and 24AWG is that the 24AWG cables use a slightly thicker wire gauge than the 28AWG cables, so it's a slightly better cable. For the Xbox 360, which is a HDMI 1.2 device, either AWG cable works. I prefer the 24AWG cables and have all of my devices hooked together with Monoprice 24AWG cables.

This one would work fine:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10243&cs_id=1024008&p_id=3992&seq=1&format=2[/QUOTE]

Ok, I'm going to order this one then. Last question, what does 28AWG mean? I saw some also said 24 and 26AWG.
 
28 and 24 AWG refer to the gauge of the wire. Think of a wire as basically a cylinder, and the gauge represents the cross section area.

Likely you have lots of various wires about your house. Mentally compare a headphone cable to, say, a heavy duty power cable. The first probably has a much higher (thinner) gauge than the second.

Generally the thicker the wire, the harder it is to bend. This can be a problem for sharp turns. However a thicker wire is also less likely to break, and can handle more current since it tends to have lower resistance. Usually.

Check this out to get an idea of the difference in resistance: http://www.cirris.com/testing/resistance/wire.html

The difference between a 28 and 24 AWG is probably pretty minor for this application, since you're probably going to plug and unplug it at most once a year?
 
This was on Kotaku the other day. If you want to read the long detail version click on DigitalFoundry link.

I got hdmi cables from monster $70, and $2 monoprice. With picture quality I can't tell the difference between the two.
 
Funny thing is, I, too, am looking for an HDMI cable for my 360. I mean, I already got two, but the problem with them is I can't connect to X-Box Live with the HDMI cables connected. It's no problem with my RGB component cables, so I think my 360 is being prejudiced against HDMI cables.
 
Here's an info graphic

Behind spoiler for link lazy
TheRipHDMI3.jpg
 
[quote name='Moon Spirit']Funny thing is, I, too, am looking for an HDMI cable for my 360. I mean, I already got two, but the problem with them is I can't connect to X-Box Live with the HDMI cables connected. It's no problem with my RGB component cables, so I think my 360 is being prejudiced against HDMI cables.[/QUOTE]

You sure you're plugging things in the right holes?
 
Ok I got my HDMI cable in the mail today. Problem is, the 360 component cables don't leave enough space to fit the HDMI cable. I'm using the older component cables that came with the original 360 on my new 360 Slim. I checked my Slim box and it only came with composite cables.

Any suggestions?
 
[quote name='mobster011']Ok I got my HDMI cable in the mail today. Problem is, the 360 component cables don't leave enough space to fit the HDMI cable. I'm using the older component cables that came with the original 360 on my new 360 Slim. I checked my Slim box and it only came with composite cables.

Any suggestions?[/QUOTE]

Yeah, um, toss the component cable away all together, it's useless. HDMI will handle everything for you. You shouldn't have both connected together anyway unless you're using the optical pass-through that's on the component cable for a surround sound setup, but you can get a cheap dongle for that(used to come in elites when they came out).
 
[quote name='mrosnwo']Yeah, um, toss the component cable away all together, it's useless. HDMI will handle everything for you. You shouldn't have both connected together anyway unless you're using the optical pass-through that's on the component cable for a surround sound setup, but you can get a cheap dongle for that(used to come in elites when they came out).[/QUOTE]

Yeah what this guy said except I'll add that I bought one of these dongles used from Gamestop and it was all of two bucks. Additionally, MadCatz makes a universal (OGxbox/360/PS2/3) set of component cables that also have the optical out but these dont block the HDMI port like the official MS ones do.
 
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