These cables worked great for me...I'm getting 1080p@24hz no problem. My setup is a Samsung 52" LCD TV (LN52A650) and a Playstation 3. Save yourself a whole lot of money and don't get ripped off buying "Monster" or any other overpriced HDMI cable. Order processing, USPS shipping, and receipt in Texas was lightling fast(7 days). Order 2 while you're at it...someday you'll need another one! Mediabridge Ultra Series - High Speed HDMI Cable with Ethernet - Category 2 Certified - Supports 3D & Audio Return Channel [Latest HDMI Version Available] - (6 Feet)
Ok so I am a girl and I am not much of a techie but I didn't want to spend $100 on an HDMI cable. I came to Amazon and read a lot of the product reviews.
I first purchased the the HDMI cable from ClearAV, it was inexpesive and not the best product. It cost me a little over $4 for the item and S&H. I tested it on my upconverting Panasonic DVD player on 1080i resolution on my 40" 1080p Samsung LCD TV but it had poor signal quality and the cable was not an HDMI version 1.3. So when I played my DVDs the picture would go on and off and so would the sound and there was a flashing line on my screen. Then I thought maybe I need to get another cable but still was not willing to pay $100.
I continued to do my research and realized that not all HDMI cables were created equal :( So I decided to try my luck again with the MEDIABRIDGE : "Premium 6ft 1.3b Category 2 Super High Speed HDMI Cable - 1080p - PS3 - Blu-Ray." THIS CABLE IS THE REAL THING : the true HDMI version 1.3b Category 2 certified (whatever that means but sounds like a really good thing) which can be used with blu-ray or PS3 and will give you great 48-bit color. I paid a little under $7 for everything i.e for the item and S&H. The first thing I noticed was that it has the "HDMI" embossed on the cable; might not mean much but I thought it was note worthy. Second, the cable was thick and sturdy unlike the regular one I previously purchased. Third, apparently it's gold plated, I don't know how to prove this but it sure looks shiny :)
OK so I got the product 2 business days later from MEDIABRIDGE( I was so happy it arrived promptly), I tried it last night and everything was perfect. I didn't have to wiggle the cable to see if I could get a better signal, audio and picture quality. Just plugged everything in and one, two, we were in business. I even did my Core Secrets workout with all the movements and I still got perfect picture and sound. I should have just paid $2 extra to begin with for a better quality product...take it from me...I'm girl with not much knowledge on such stuff but I know a great product when I see one.
Hopefully it will last me a long time :) I'm off to do my research on the Play Station console, I am curious to see how much better Blu-Ray picture quality is...no sense in buying an expensive Blu- Ray dvd player when I can just get the game right?
Just in case someone may feel guilty for not paying a lot more for, basically the same thing, let's look at our top of the line offer, Monster HDMI 1000HD Ultra-High Speed HDMI Cable (2 meters) and do a quick comparison.
This item supports the HDMI 1.3b standard which is almost as good as it gets (1.3c doesn't add anything special). Any HDMI 1.3 cable can carry up to 10.2 Gbit/s. Hmmm... I suppose the Monster is much better, right? Well... it "guarantees a certified cable bandwidth of 10.2" Okay, but the Monster also supports "x.v.Color, and Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD". It turns out that, all of the above, and more, are part of the HDMI 1.3 specs and they are fully supported by every cable that complies to the standard and can be had for about 90% less in the Mediabridge. The expensive brand presentation simply enumerates the HDMI 1.3 specs as if it being HDMI 1.3 compliant was a really big deal. It is not a big deal. Even a cable that costs 95% less is HDMI 1.3 compliant.
My suggestion: if you think that the proponents of the expensive brand have a point when they claim that their product is a lot more durable, buy TWO Media Bridge wires and still pay almost 80% less than you would pay for one of the expensive ones.
My personal experience: I've never paid 'a lot' for an HDMI cable because it makes no sense to pay more. I took home one of the 'expensive' ones once because the salesman promised to take it back if I wasn't amazed by the difference. It made zero difference and I returned it.
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The following are the HDMI 1.3 specs and all certified HDMI 1.3 cables (including Monster) are going to support them.
Maximum signal bandwidth (MHz) 340
Maximum TMDS bandwidth (Gbit/s) 10.2
Maximum video bandwidth (Gbit/s) 8.16
Maximum audio bandwidth (Mbit/s) 36.86
Maximum Color Depth (bit/px) 48
Maximum resolution over single link at 24-bit/px 2560×1600p75
Maximum resolution over single link at 30-bit/px 2560×1600p60
Maximum resolution over single link at 36-bit/px 1920x1200p75
Maximum resolution over single link at 48-bit/px 1920×1200p60
sRGB
YCbCr
8 channel LPCM/192 kHz/24-bit audio capability
Blu-ray Disc video and audio at full resolution
Consumer Electronic Control (CEC)
DVD-Audio support
Super Audio CD (DSD) support
Deep Color
xvYCC
Auto lip-sync
Dolby TrueHD bitstream capable
DTS-HD Master Audio bitstream capable
Updated list of CEC commands (only on HDMI 1.3a,b,c) - Blu-ray - Hdmi - Hdmi Cables - 1080p'
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