AV and gamer buffs

[Leftie]

Not knowing much about the AV world, I feel that I'm entering a minefield.

Got my HD tele now and will gradually be upgrading other connecting equipment but not going Freesat for the HD content yet.

I'm led to believe that the supplied scart connection from my HDD recorder is OK ish but I would get better quality using a HDMI cable.

The usual outlets - Currys, PC World, et al, don't seem to sell any HDMI cable under £40 - £50 and push you to but one even more expensive. Yet cables that SEEM similar specs can be bought from Amazon or other on line retailers from about £5 upwards.

Is this a rip off by the big boys? Would I really notice any picture improvement by spending £50 or more on a cable?

 

[brendy]

From what I gather the PS3 hdmi cable is around a tenner and does the job, double check instore at currys etc though just to be sure.

 

[Smiffy]

My A/V equipment at home is quite expensive stuff.
I've got a £9.99 HDMI cable connecting my PS3 to the amp, and another one connecting the amp to the telly.
Just bought an HDMI cable for the boys xbox to go into their new monitor, £4.99 from Tesco. Jobs a good 'un.
A digital signal is a digital signal Rog
One of the biggest cons in the A/V world is the bollocks you'll hear about expensive cabling

 

[MVP]

http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electron...5m/Product.html

Never use comet or currys!! theyre a rip off

http://reviews.cnet.com/hdmi-cable/?tag=mncol;txt

couldnt find the right article but basically....because a hdmi signal is 'digital' and not 'analog' there is no difference between a cheap cable and a dear cable digital signal is either on or off!

 

[SS2]

Expensive cabling, up to a point, makes a big difference carrying an analog signal from your amp to your speakers.

Expensive HDMI connections or optional audio connections are a waste of £££.

Go to Amazon and search for "fisual": they make great quality cables in no-nonsense packaging and offer free delivery.

I have 2 Gold-plated HDMI Cables (£5 Each) for satellite and DVD connections to the TV and 2 optical connections (again, about £5 each) from the satellite and dvd to the AMP. HDMI gives a much better picture than Scart.

Good luck with your quest into the tangled world of cables !

 

[wackygolfer]

Sorry Leftie
I am not any use to you as I have my own problems about the big switchover. I have nice 32" Sharp tv which has been great. A friend gave me a sky box with the card in it, which I understand will give me free channels but do I need to get a sky dish or will my aerial work after the switchover? or not at all!!

Any advice?
Thanks

 

[Smiffy]

A friend gave me a sky box with the card in it, which I understand will give me free channels but do I need to get a sky dish or will my aerial work after the switchover? or not at all!!

Any advice?
Thanks

You'll need a Sky dish to receive free channels I'm afraid.
The only other way to "possibly" use your exisiting aerial is to buy a Freeview box and plug that in. If you can get channel 5 on terrestial TV you might (might) be able to pick up freeview signals.
Rob

 

[markwarne]

Leftie, I have to say mate that I got suckered into the HDMI cable gig, and ended up paying about £80 for a 3m lead.

What difference does it make - well as far as I can gain, nothing, nada, zip. They often say you get what you pay for, but in this instance, £80 was having my pants down.

Its a bit like HD. I have flicked between the football on Sky Normal and Sky HD and really cannot tell the difference (Cristiano Ronaldo still looks a noodle and Boro still get beat in both normal and glorious HD picture ).

And thats a tenner a month....

 

[MVP]

when sky advertise hd on their Sd channels it looks better dont you think??? so why cant all footage loko that good! without the hd box!

in general 'HD' or 'high definition' is a money making scheme... a bit of a con..

All it is is an improved resolution but they have given it a name! and the name sells! the fact its passed down a dvi or hdmi lead is no big deal.

Tvs these days look good. i wont change my tellys unless they blow up ..or time changes so they are un compatable

 

[Leftie]

Thanks guys and gal.

As I suspected, a total rip off then. A few years ago the expert in the shop tried to sell me super-duper cable for the Hi fi, bi wiring , etc. Fortunately didn't go for the £100 per metre but to be absolutely honest, I couldn't notice any improvement in sound quality. Maybe if I had spent more than £5 per M I might have noticed but, somehow, I doubt it.

Sorry Vicky, I can't help with your Skybox problem but I'm sure there is someone here who can help.

By the way, a very warm welcome to you and I hope you stick around. Maybe you will tell us a little about yourself in due course. Where you play, current gear, etc

 

[madandra]

Lewis, I disagree about HD being a bit of a con. I got my HD just before Christmas and I am blown away with the difference. Watching the footy on Sky Sports in HD is worth the £10 a month extra.

 

[MVP]

Lewis, I disagree about HD being a bit of a con. I got my HD just before Christmas and I am blown away with the difference. Watching the footy on Sky Sports in HD is worth the £10 a month extra.

your right and wrong i suppose i used the wrong words... higher definiton bascially means higher resoultion more pixels per square inch or whateva....


1st The fact is your paying 10/month for a box with an hdmi port on the back... The HD signal is being sent to your sky dish the same way as standard definition(SD)! 'a digital coaxal' is used from sky dish to sky box. its from there that signal is passed down hdmi because scart doesnt handle digital.
point there is you payed for your box with an HDMI output so why do you have to pay 10/month for a signal which is sent the same

2nd the term high def is all marketing!!(NOT A CON AS SUCH BUT..) for the last 50 years tvs have had a higher definition year bye year... people have bought tvs when they wanted to..now because they have named it high definition or HD instead of just bringing out a tv with a better resolution its made people think or feel that they need a newer tv.

What is a con is that you can buy Rocky and terminator etc etc old films in high definiton!!!! HD=1920 x 1080 resolution..This is a con because if it wasnt filmed in high definiton then it isnt high definition!!


When they first introduced hd tvs they had limited resolutions of 1080i or 720p... then a few months/yeaar later they came out with 'Full HD' ie 1920 x 1080p resolution


anyway im tired now and probably have wrote this back to front etc etc i will right more tomo if i can be assed

 

[Andy]

Any decent AV shop will always tell you to spend at least 10% of your budget on cabling.

No point in buying top of the range equipment and connecting it with cheap cables.

Andy