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Cheap, great HDMI cables
By Geoffrey Morrison This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission. Read the full HDMI cables guide here. If I needed an HDMI cable, I'd get the 3-foot AmazonBasics High-Speed HDMI Cable. This cable (also available in lengths up to 25 feet) will handle the 18 Gbps (gigabits per second) of data required of Ultra HD 4K video with HDR. It also has a lifetime warranty and free shipping if you're a Prime member. You might be able to find even cheaper HDMI cables, but none have its warranty and easy return policy. The AmazonBasics High-Speed HDMI Cable is a no-frills HDMI cable, but with HDMI, frills aren't necessary. The cable is sturdily built and works with any video signal of today (and probably ones into the near future). Both the 3- and 15-foot lengths passed all our tests, including HDR tests. It has a 4.6/5 rating on Amazon from over 15,000 reviews. They sell for about $2 per foot or less, if you have Amazon Prime (free shipping). If you don't have Prime, Amazon lowered the price of their free shipping to orders above $35. Or, if you just don't want to go with Amazon, Monoprice cables work the same and are very close in price. The Monoprice Certified Premium High Speed HDMI Cables work just as well as the AmazonBasics cables but are slightly more expensive when you include shipping. Either way, the prices are very close. Monoprice also has a far greater variety of lengths and thicknesses across a huge number of different series. So if you need a short, skinny cable or very long lengths to make your installation work, Monoprice likely has an inexpensive option that will do the job. Alternately, Monoprice's Essentials Certified Premium cables come with free shipping for the same price as the AmazonBasics cables and are the same as the "regular" Certified Premium cables, but they only come in 3-, 6, and 10-foot lengths and not all were in stock as of this writing. Since these will work just as well, it's a toss-up between them and the Amazon cables. Get whatever you prefer or what's in stock when you're shopping. For reasons we'll explain, there is no need to spend more on a basic HDMI cable.
Xbox Essentials Pack coming in October for $80
Even if you didn't make the cut for the most recent Dashboard beta, Microsoft's still got some goodies for you. It's helping budget-conscious gamers with more than one friend swell their collection of accessories with the Xbox 360 Essentials pack. The package includes a controller, media remote, three months' Gold subscription and a HDMI cable you'll probably leave in a drawer. The set will arrive Stateside in October, setting you back $80 before the holiday shopping begins in earnest.
Sewell InjectIR extends your IR signal over HDMI, gives you even less reason to leave the couch
Is your HDMI cable really pulling its weight? Sure, it's delivering high-definition video and audio, but what has it done for you lately? InjectIR puts the cord to use, sending the IR signal from your Blu-ray / DVR / et al. remotes through its CEC channel, and then transmitting it directly into your hardware's sensor, thereby extending your IR range without an extra cable. The kit also has a switch for those times when you actually need to use the CEC channel. The InjectIR is up now for pre-order on Sewell's site. It'll start shipping next month and will run you $45 -- a small price to pay for being able to move the sofa back where it belongs. [Thanks, Ian]
Wireworld's Platinum Starlight HDMI cable is only $1,000, better than your HDMI cable
You idiot. Where did you buy those cables? Walmart? You probably think you're getting the whole 1080p, don't you! Boy, you couldn't be more wrong. What the big box doesn't want you to know, with their cheap-ass $150 cables is that there are, um, waves and some, uh... electromagnetic spectrats. And they eat your pixels! Yeah, that's right! Pixel-eating EM spectrats! Not even making this stuff up. How much did you spend on that TV? $1,000? You did buy that $1,800 power cable from Furutech, right? Well, don't you think you should spend at least that much on the all-important cables that are going to funnel the dynamic 1080p transmissions from your Blu-ray player to your TV? Here, try this Platinum Starlight HDMI cable from Wireworld. It has a patent-pending DNA Helix conductor design formed by the gods themselves out of 24 solid silver conductors. Hell, $1,000 is probably a bargain for one of these one meter cables. Your eyes are worth it, after all. You're welcome.
Blue Jeans Cable shows off 100-ft unamplified HDMI cable
News releases about cable generally come in somewhere between "meh" and "pfft" on our interest-ometer, but this one we couldn't pass up. Blue Jeans Cable, the one-time victim of that cable company, has demoed real quality HDMI cables without the hype. Getting more than about 30-feet of HDMI cable to make good on its "just plug it in, and it works" promise has always been challenging, but Blue Jeans showed off a 100-foot stretch of its 23.5AWG HDMI cable carrying 1080p/60 material at InfoComm this week. No exotic lights, ferrite beads, cryogenic gimmickry or even speed rating here, just quality bulk Belden wire with Bonded-Pair technology that maintains a constant cable impedance and keeps all those bits flowing in synch. Sure, $266 for a 100-foot stretch (shorter lengths are available) of Blue Jeans' Series-1 HDMI cable isn't the cheapest, but you're paying for quality.
Engadget HD giveaway: win a 3x1 HDMI switch and HDMI cables!
The recession antidote giveaways over at Engadget Classic have been a huge hit, and nothing could make us happier -- except a special set of giveaways just for HD readers, of course! We're sure AV gear is one of the first things to get trimmed from the household budget, but we want to make sure our readers aren't totally cut off. Luckily, the good folks at Next Generation Home Products sent us a raft of HD-centric goodies. This week we've reached in the gift bag and come up with two fistfuls of good, basic HDMI connectivity. We'll give away eight bundles: four will come with a 3x1 HDMI switch and a 4-m length of Next Generation's bulk Xtreme HDMI cable; the other four will consist of a 3x1 HDMI switch and a 3-m stretch of Xtreme HDMI cable. With the all the gadgets stacking up underneath your TV, you can never have enough HDMI cables or ports, so check the rules below and start commenting! Special thanks to Next Generation Home Products for providing the gear!The rules: Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, but if you want to share your proposal for "fixing" the world economy, that'd be sweet too. You may only enter this specific giveaway once.If you enter this giveaway more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.) If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you'll be fine. Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad. Winners will be chosen randomly. Four winners will each receive one (1) 3x1 HDMI switch and one (1) 4-m HDMI bulk Xtreme cable; approximate retail value is $246. Four winners will each receive one (1) 3x1 HDMI switch and one (1) 3-m HDMI Xtreme cable; approximate retail value is $290. If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen. Entries can be submitted until Thursday, May 7th, 11:59PM ET. Good luck! Full rules can be found here.
Engadget HD giveaway: win a 5x1 HDMI switch and long HDMI cables!
The recession antidote giveaways over at Engadget Classic have been a huge hit, and nothing could make us happier -- except a special set of giveaways just for HD readers, of course! We're sure AV gear is one of the first things to get trimmed from the household budget, but we want to make sure our readers aren't totally cut off. Luckily, the good folks at Next Generation Home Products sent us a raft of HD-centric goodies. This week, we're handing out stuff for those with gear separated by less than a stone's throw but more than an arm's length. We've got two bundles, each with a 5x1 HDMI switch with remote control and a HDMI EQ extender. To cover those long run lengths between components, one winner will get a 15-m HDMI cable, the other will get a 10-m length. Just in case you want to run that cable through your walls, we'll throw in two double HDMI wall plates in each bundle as well. Whether you've got a projector up in the ceiling or a noisy Xbox 360 in a closet, this giveaway is the one for you, so check the rules below and start commenting! Special thanks to Next Generation Home Products for providing the gear!The rules: Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, but if you want to share your proposal for "fixing" the world economy, that'd be sweet too. You may only enter this specific giveaway once.If you enter this giveaway more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.) If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you'll be fine. Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad. Winner will be chosen randomly. One winner will receive one (1) 5x1 HDMI switch, one (1) HDMI EQ extender, one (1) 1-m HDMI bulk cable, two (2) HDMI double wall plates and one (1) 15-m HDMI bulk cable; approximate retail value is $456. One winner will receive one (1) 5x1 HDMI switch, one (1) HDMI EQ extender, one (1) 1-m HDMI bulk cable, two (2) HDMI double wall plates and one (1) 10-m HDMI bulk cable; approximate retail value is $431. If you are chosen, you will be notified by email. Winners must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen. Entries can be submitted until Wednesday, April 29th, 11:59PM ET. Good luck! Full rules can be found here.
Torrent's SureConnect HDMI cables stay put with magnets, blink with madness
While we love the transmission capabilities of HDMI, we loath the fact that the HDMI standard doesn't specify a locking mechanism. If you've ever wall mounted a flat screen TV or tried to stuff your receiver into too tight a rack then you're probably familiar with HDMI's weak-azz connector. Now we have what appears to be a first of its kind, magnetic HDMI connector from Torrent, Inc. -- at least its the first to pass ATC compliance testing. Called MagLoc, the magnetic connector with sliding sleeve for optimal fit is said to be 5x stronger than your typical HDMI cable connector. Of course, anyone who's familiar with the magnetic "locks" on some laptop power cords can assure you that the technology is nowhere near as strong as mechanical fasteners. Still, it's a start. Torrent's higher spec'd SureConnect Advanced and Elite cables also feature the totally over-the-top "VeriFYI" (ugh) indicator lights to confirm the end-to-end connection. VeriFYI blinks to confirm the HDMI cable you just inserted is in fact inserted -- something you should be able to confirm with the same pair of eyes looking at the jack. Insert the other side of the cable and VeriFYI will glow steady for one minute after testing the end-to-end connection. It then repeats this semi-useful (assuming your cables are easily visible) test each time you power up your system. While MagLoc sounds promising, it appears that the cables have yet to reach retail channels. We'll let you know as soon as that changes.[Via The Inquirer and HDMI.org]
Monster "HDMI Difference" scam still kickin' in Fry's Electronics
Man, this is just sad. Over a year after the internet was set ablaze with rage after seeing Monster's HDMI cable scam, we've just been notified that the tactic is still being used in at least one Fry's Electronics store. For those unaware, the rig works as such: two TVs are set beside each other along with a sign that says "See the Monster HDMI Difference." Trouble is, the "Monster set" (on the right) is connected to its source via an HDMI cable, while the "non-Monster set" (on the left) is connected via composite cable. As in, the lamest looking signal next to using an RF modulator. So, is anyone with any amount of power paying attention to this? We get the feeling "false advertising" is a real understatement of the situation.[Thanks, Jeff]
RedMere introduces industry's thinnest "smart" active HDMI cables
They'll cost just shy of four gazillion dollars per meter, but the world's thinnest "smart" active HDMI cables are still pretty enticing; unfortunately for us, RedMere chose Monster to deliver said cables to retail, but we're crossing our fingers that it partners with other brands that are less soiled by frivolous lawsuits and priced even remotely close to "reasonable." At any rate, the new ultrathin cables feature RedMere's MagnifEye Active chip technology, and while we're not told precisely how slim these new strands will be, we're sure Monster will make quite the fuss whenever they begin to ship. Now, the only question remaining is this: will there be a locking version?
Lindy lets loose another locking HDMI cable
Locking HDMI cables -- ever heard of 'em? Yeah, they're all the rage in the home theater market right now, and given that Lindy has yet to come out with one of its own, well, it definitely had to remedy that. To be fair, the outfit's new Premium Gold HDMI 1.3b Cat 2 Cables don't actually posses the innate ability to clip in, but Lindy's quite clear that you can attach an optional Connector Lock for yank-proof peace of mind. The cables are available with 24K gold connectors and can be purchased in lengths ranging from 0.5 to 20 meters; check 'em right now across the pond for £49.99 ($70) and up.
Sony looks to help consumers out with new swivel HDMI cables
Sony's launching its own version of the suddenly popular swivel head HDMI cable, with both vertical and horizontal links going on sales this month in lengths of about three or six feet. At $50 and $60, respectively, they solve the need for "costly" 90 degree adapters ($3 or so at Monoprice or other online retailers) and save space on flat panel wall mounts. Of course, if you were planning on wildly overpaying for HDMI cables already, they're really not that bad. It's all about perspective.
AudioQuest cooks up field terminated HDMI cables
Installers and DIYers, take note -- AudioQuest has just solved one of HDMI's biggest challenges. Reportedly, the company has created the world's first HDMI cables and connectors that can be terminated in the field while still retaining the integrity of HDMI. Essentially, this solution calls for installers to split the 19 HDMI wires into two groups -- one of ten and one of nine -- in order to make each bundle one that can be crimped. Additionally, AudioQuest's design relies on solid conductors instead of stranded wires, which are supposedly better suited to keep signal integrity and geometry stability. Testing proved that these field terminated cables were able to maintain an optimal 100 Ohms throughout the connector, which is arguably even better than what's offered in the outfit's traditional soldered cables. Of course, HDMI Licensing still has to decide whether or not the new method is fit for certification, but you can bet that AudioQuest will be pushing its point hard in the near future.
PPC sees an opportunity, debuts its own locking HDMI cable
At first, we figured this whole locking HDMI cable fad would blow over in a matter of weeks. Clearly, we don't have nearly the amount of earthquakes, rambunctious children or wild animals running through the house as the general public. Out of seemingly nowhere, yet another outfit has emerged to showcase its own locking HDMI cable. PPC is sliding into CES in order to launch an HDMI cable (which is likely a rebadged Ottovonmo) with patented technology to hold it onto a port "with a strength that is three times greater than found in conventional connectors." So yeah, if you're fed up with your HDMI cable coming unplugged at the worst possible times (seriously, has anyone ever had this happen on a regular basis?), you can snag the 3-footer for $48.99, the 6-footer for $59.99 or the 12-footer for $72.99.[Via Electronic House]
Blue Echo's hd EZ lock turns any HDMI cable into a locking one
At current time, there are only a couple of locking HDMI cable options out there for those who fear that their components could let loose of the signal line at any moment. In just a fortnight, however, all that will change. The little known Blue Echo Solutions has announced that its hd EZ lock -- which coins itself as a universal adapter that converts any vanilla HDMI cable into a locking one -- will be available in early January. The device has snagged a coveted CES 2009 Innovations Honoree Award, and it holds things in place by attaching to your component's chassis using either the existing fixing screw on the device itself or via the supplied VHB adhesive. They'll be a bit expensive at $19.98 per pair, but can you really put a price on peace of mind?
Accell introduces locking HDMI cable of its own
Ottovonmo did the honors of introducing us all to the idea of a locking HDMI cable earlier this year, and now cable maker Accell is joining in. Said cable is expected to be showcased at CES 2009, and aside from boasting an obvious locking mechanism to ensure your cable stays put, there aren't a whole lot of details. Nope, not even a price / release date.
Centronics intros its own pivoting head HDMI cable
We get the feeling Panasonic really started something its swivel-head HDMI cables, as we've got the relatively unknown Centronics bringing its own iteration to the table. The EHD-branded HD FLEX 90 degree pivoting head HDMI cable does precisely what it says, enabling users / installers to hook up HDMI-equipped gear in tighter spaces with less pressure on the sockets. The prices aren't too outrageous either, with the 6/12/24-foot strands ringing up at $39.95, $49.95 and $69.95, respectively.
High-end HDMI provider VizionWare closes down
It's not fun to hear about people losing jobs these days, but we're not fond of high-end cables around these parts, especially for digital signals like HDMI. The number of purveyors of high-end HDMI purveyors just decreased with the loss of VizionWare, which had a range of amplified HDMI cables suitable for long run lengths. Unlike some other companies, VizionWare actually had some original tech in its offerings, so it's not at the top of our list of companies we'd like to see go under, but the sole focus on HDMI proved to be too small of a niche to justify its $20M in VC funding. The company's internet storefront is still up for now, but those looking for closeout bargains will be disappointed -- prices start at $20 for a passive 4-ft cable, and active cables starts at $83 for that same length.
Inspiretech launches inexpensive HDMI cables and adapters
After one of our most recent Ask Engadget HD questions aired, we quickly found that you folks heavily preferred the cost and quality of cables at Monoprice. We can't say that those set in their ways are apt to switch over anytime soon, but Inspiretech is clearly aiming at the same crowd with its sleek, inexpensive new HDMI cables. The company has launched a number of HDMI 1.3 interconnects including a 3-footer for $3.99, a 6-footer for $5.99 and a 6.5-foot HDMI-to-Mini HDMI cable for $12.99. Sure beats some of those other companies quite handily.
AudioQuest's Series 10 HDMI cable takes 1080p 115-feet with no extender
Taking your HDMI signals a few hundred feet isn't a problem if you're kosher with dropped a few Benjamins on an extender, but AudioQuest has a better idea -- just make a cable that can take said signals further. The Series 10 HDMI cable is making its grand entrance at CEDIA this year, and thanks to some fancy Advanced Critical Twist Geometry and a proprietary conductor alloy, it can pipe 1080p content up to 35-meters (115-feet) from the source "virtually error-free." Pricing and availability weren't mentioned, but considering how much you'll save by not having to buy an extender, we'd expect these strands to be mighty pricey. Full release after the break.
