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Yes, it is probably too good to be true.
And that’s before you turn on the microwave oven. (Read: The Microwave Ate my Caller ID.)
Interested in HDMI? You’ll have to fork out about $1,000 for a wireless connection (for each TV).
And let’s just say that everything is going wireless. That’s all the more reason to hardwire your home because all those wireless signals are going to clobber each other. (Read: Wiring for a Wireless World)
El Cheapo HDMI Cables
You think a $2.99 HDMI cable is a real bargain? In the case of very short runs – one or two meters, maybe – you might not encounter too many issues. But the longer the cable, the less the tolerance, and the more likely you are to suffer from bad video or no video at all.
Steven Hill of Straight Wire says that otherwise reputable cable manufacturers sometimes produce serious surpluses at their factories. “They just have to dump them, so they don’t go through licensing or testing,” he says.
Some of the second-rate products might not even be able to pass HDCP (security) and CEC (control) signals between connected gear, rendering them highly ineffective or completely useless.
HDMI’s Consumer Electronics Control – which enables users to control their A/V gear via the TV, among other things – is starting to gain traction, so you might not want to miss out on it.
In any case, if you must purchase cheap HDMI cables, make sure to have at least one quality cable on hand for troubleshooting. Chances are, when your video doesn’t work, the fault belongs to a crummy cable.
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What did you skimp on, and why are you sorry you did it?
Nobody is trying to push the DIY out of the game but anybody that says there is no difference in HDMI cables is either on crack or doesn’t know what they are talking about. Wait until bitrate increases across the board and then get back to me on this. A good resource for those in doubt is dplrating.com
The “field” is in my house, my family’s houses, and my friend’s houses… these aren’t Crestron & Fireball systems feeding whole-house video, but they are far more than an HTIB and an LCD. With these systems I’m as liable for the performance as any CI and I’m on-call nearly 24/7/365.. especially weekends and holidays. And in every instance long runs of Monoprice HDMIs, DIY pre-wiring, smart online shopping (including refurbs and closeouts), plenty of devices without discrete codes, and especially Harmony remotes ALL operate without fail day-in and day-out.
Just because a site/magazine is CI oriented doesn’t mean it, and more vocally its readers, need to spread overcooked propaganda to try and push capable people away from DIY.
You guys are idiots! You seriously don’t have a clue! I was born in this industry, (Literally)
If you spend any time in the field you would know exactly what she is talking about! Do you have the first clue about how HDMI works beyond a single cable? How about bit-rate or HDCP? Do you know the tolerance over an entire system before things go wrong. Being that this magazine is intended for professionals, your ability to spew diarrhea from the mouth without any knowledge of what you’re talking about embarrasses me.
Good work Julie, keep it up.
I disagree with literally every single point made in this article. This article should be entitled, do you enjoy being ripped off? Read how!
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And saying that you can’t reliable results out of inexpensive solutions is JUST as short sighted.