Last question (hopefully)..HDTVcables

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  • Ed62
    The Full Monte
    • Oct 2006
    • 6022
    • NW Indiana
    • BT3K

    Last question (hopefully)..HDTVcables

    I don't have money to throw away, so I need to know what kind of cables I'll need to get good HD reception. Don't need overkill, but something that will do the job. We have DirecTV.

    Ed
    Do you know about kickback? Ray has a good writeup here... https://www.sawdustzone.org/articles...mare-explained

    For a kickback demonstration video http://www.metacafe.com/watch/910584...demonstration/
  • LCHIEN
    Internet Fact Checker
    • Dec 2002
    • 20920
    • Katy, TX, USA.
    • BT3000 vintage 1999

    #2
    if both your sat receiver and TV has HDMI, use that, or just as good will be Component video (red green blue set of phono jacks).
    If the Sat receiver has digital audio out (RCA phono jack, single, usually orange) use that if your TV accepts it. Optical instead of electrical is OK but offers no significant advantage. If no digital audio out or the TV does not accept, it, use a regular pair of audio cables (dual RCA Phono jacks, red and white).
    You should be able to get a very good price and good cables from www.monoprice.com- they are heavily into eBay as well - otherwise you will be paying a pretty penny at Best Buy or similar.
    Loring in Katy, TX USA
    If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
    BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

    Comment

    • Toolhound
      Forum Newbie
      • Mar 2006
      • 53

      #3
      You may need to upgrade your directTV box to a HD box and subscribe to their HD package. A HDMI cable from the HD box to the TV will carry audio + video in one connection. If you use component video cable instead, you also need separate audio cable (eiither digital if input available on TV or connecting to a A/V receiver) or L/R pair. Monoprice.com is probably cheapest source for cables and connectors, probably 10% or so of what you would pay in a store like BestBuy, etc.

      Comment

      • iceman61
        Senior Member
        • Oct 2007
        • 699
        • West TN
        • Bosch 4100-09

        #4
        Don't sell yourself short on audio cables either if you can swing these in your upgrade budget. During my recent upgrade I noticed that I had been reusing some older audio cables that manufactures send in the box with equipment I had purchased. I bought a new set of cables that were alot heavier gauge. The older ones were close to 22 gauge. The sound volume nearly doubled.

        Comment

        • JimD
          Veteran Member
          • Feb 2003
          • 4187
          • Lexington, SC.

          #5
          I generally buy cables from Partsexpress.com. I do not think that getting fancy expensive cables makes ANY difference. I have seen tests that came to the same conclusion. I have never seen a blind test that came to a different conclusion (I have seen tests where the feedback was someone that knew which cable was being used where they thought they could see a difference but I distrust this sort of test). If you buy them and like them, that's also fine with me, however.

          For speaker wire, do not use little stuff, however. I use 16 gauge or bigger zip cord - sold for wires to lamps and that sort of stuff at a home center. Resistance in speaker wire does affect bass response. For signal connections, I think all the wire is pretty small and the brand and expense makes little if any difference.

          Jim

          Comment

          • ragswl4
            Veteran Member
            • Jan 2007
            • 1559
            • Winchester, Ca
            • C-Man 22114

            #6
            Don't buy the Monster Cables. I talked to a guy at Best Buy who said they provided about 3% improvement over regular (say cheaper) cables. I am using a $20 HDMI cable from Circuit City for HD. No need to pay $100+ for the cables.
            RAGS
            Raggy and Me in San Felipe
            sigpic

            Comment

            • eccentrictinkerer
              Senior Member
              • Aug 2007
              • 669
              • Minneapolis, MN
              • BT-3000, 21829

              #7
              The difference between the $89 HDMI cable at BestBuy and the $11 cable I just saw at Big Lots is about $78. Remember, the digital signal at one end of the cable is the same as the one coming out. With digital, you either have a signal or you don't. Please don't believe the hype. The profit on three HDMI premium cables is about the same as the profit on the sale of the 30" flatscreen. That's why they pressure you.

              I am an electrical engineer (35 years) who spent ten years in sales management in the audio industry back in the late 70's and early 80's. The hype used in the sale of hifi gear, then and now, should be a punishible crime.

              Re speaker cables - it's all bout cross-sectional area of the conductors. Generally, the bigger the better. 14 - 16 ga. works for surround and bookshelf speakers. I use 12 or 14 ga. for my floor speakers. If the clerk starts telling you about the corona effect or that the higher frequencies travel on the outer skin of the wire, please get out your BS detector.
              You might think I haven't contributed much to the world, but a large number
              of the warning labels on tools can be traced back to things I've done...

              Comment

              • Ed62
                The Full Monte
                • Oct 2006
                • 6022
                • NW Indiana
                • BT3K

                #8
                Thanks for answering my questions again. But get this......my wife just ordered the upgrade from DirecTV, and they told her they supply the cables! Cool!! I thought I'd need to spend my money for the next table saw blade.

                Ed
                Do you know about kickback? Ray has a good writeup here... https://www.sawdustzone.org/articles...mare-explained

                For a kickback demonstration video http://www.metacafe.com/watch/910584...demonstration/

                Comment

                • LCHIEN
                  Internet Fact Checker
                  • Dec 2002
                  • 20920
                  • Katy, TX, USA.
                  • BT3000 vintage 1999

                  #9
                  contrary to some statements made, not just any cable will do for digital transmission of HDTV signals. The HDMI and the component video signals contain signals in excess of 100 MHz, the cables need to be quality cables with adequate bandwidth, correct and constant impedance and low loss. However, these are available fairly cheaply and Monoprice and other reputable dealers pick appropriately designed cables and sell them at low markup. There should not be great performance differences. Since the connectors are complicated and are usually molded on the end of the cables you won't find a mismatched cable/connector set for the purpose from a reptable dealer. The high bandwidth transmission cables, require careful and consistent quality but not particularly high tech manufacturing so they are not going to cost $5 per foot.

                  Whoever said their volume doubled when they switched to good audio cables, your old cables must have been bad. even the cheapest audio cables could not not have attenuated the signals 6 dB unless they were broken. Thickness is not necessarily an indication of better, could just have a thicker jacket.

                  There's a lot of cable misinformation out there, but I see both sides quote bad information.
                  Last edited by LCHIEN; 01-05-2008, 07:09 PM.
                  Loring in Katy, TX USA
                  If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
                  BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

                  Comment

                  • JeffG78
                    Established Member
                    • Jan 2007
                    • 385
                    • Northville, Michigan - a Detroit suburb
                    • BT3100

                    #10
                    I see that your cables will be provided for you, but I just want to plug http://www.mycablemart.com. I bought all of my HD cables there and couldn't have been happier with the prices or service. My cables totalled less than $200 for what would have been around $1000 from Best Buy. As I've described in other posts, I have my components in the basement, so I needed 35' each for the HDMI, 5 wire component, RCA sub, and IR repeater extension cables as well as a 3' HDMI for inside my cabinet and 100' of heavy gauge speaker wire. The cables are all very high quality and arrived quickly.

                    Comment

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