Get an HDMI cable for 10 bucks shipped

Don't spend more than $10-20 on an HDMI cable.

(Credit: KOneCable)

Need to connect a cable box, Blu-ray player, Xbox 360 Elite, PlayStation 3, or other device to your HDTV? Don't let your local big-box sales weenie talk you into spending $60, $80, or even $100 on an HDMI cable. Instead, head to eBay, Meritline, Newegg, or the like and scoop up a no-brand equivalent for as little as 10 bucks.

HDMI cables, which carry digital audio and video signals, are insanely overpriced. That's the consensus of Ars Technica, CNET, The Consumerist, and yours truly. There's ample scientific and anecdotal evidence that dirt-cheap generics perform just as well as their pricey big-name counterparts (cough *Monster* cough), so don't get suckered into buying the latter.

I did a quick search of eBay and found a six-footer for $9.95 with free shipping. Newegg, meanwhile, has one for just $6.99 (plus $5.99 for shipping, dangit). Nearly 300 users rated it five stars, so you can rest assured it's a perfectly good cable.

What's your thought on the HDMI cable controversy? Think it's a mistake to trust your expensive home-theater gear to a 10-dollar cord? Or do you agree that we're getting gouged by cable makers? Hit the Comments and, um, comment!

[cvk55]

You left out monoprice.com, I got HDMI cables there for $4.99 each.

[moescs]

I got one at Amazon for $5 with shipping. It's highly rated by tons of people and works great. I'm an electrical engineer, and will affirm that if it meets the HDMI spec, it's just as good at those overpriced ones.

[jeitzen]

Cable prices are insane. I bought mine at Circuit City when I was buying my system. The sales guys kept trying to push monster cables one me. For the price of one monster 6 footer I got 2 store brand 3 footers and a TOSLINK optical cable too. All the cables I get in the future will be from online, pretty much the only reason I bought them at the store was I wanted to hook it all up when I got home :).

[pcgreene]

I've been very happy with monoprice.com. The HDMI cables arrived in a few days with standard shipping. You can even pick the color. The big box stores know people comparison shop on price for the TV's, so they make their money on the extras.

[andrewrm]

My cheap HDMI cables from eBay etc work just fine and there is no difference. However for the few non digitial cables I use you can tell the price difference between the cheap and better quality ones.

[TonyPolo27]

I am a personal fan of Cyberguys.com, all kinds of cables, connectors, and whatnot, great prices.
I buy all my cables, HDMI, USB, etc. from them, great service too.

[pjcamp]

Let me put on my physicist hat (yes, really!).

Copper is copper. It is an element. Nobody makes a better copper atom than anyone else. Gold plating the connectors only gives you corrosion resistance. It doesn't enhance the contact. In fact, it degrades the contact (but by a miniscule amount) because the difference in conductivity creates an impedance mismatch at the gold/copper surface. In principle, that can cause signal reflections and interference but the effect is probably too small to notice.

So what's important in a cable? A good size wire gauge so it doesn't break on you. Stranded wires so the cable is flexible. And a good strain relief at both ends. That's it. This is a commodity item. When you buy Monster, you're primarily paying for image and advertising.

So buy the $5 cables from monoprice or cables to go, and enjoy a beer (or really a couple cases of beer) at the expense of Monster.

[triplejumper18]

I buy my cables from Blue Jeans Cables. They are a company in Seattle who makes excellent quality cables for far less than what you get in the big box stores. They have a wide range of each type of cable, from the cheap basic cable to very high quality cables that are still an excellent price. Their customer service is excellent as well. I have called, told them my stereo specs and told me what speaker cables would be a good fit without upselling me to their very best. Plus, it's an American company.

http://www.bluejeanscable.com

[wb2k2]

Oh I completely agree. With analog cables price gets you better performance to a point depending on your ears and what your system can do. Wth Digital price doesn't matter as long as the signal passes through.

Though you may want to add to the article that there are different bandwidth limits certain HDMI cables can handle. So a cable that works for an upscaling DVD player may not work on a 1080p True HD audio Blu-Ray.

I get mine at monoprice and they're pretty good at listing bandwidth capabilities now that HDMI 1.3 is out.

[sjschaef]

I too get my HDMI cables from Amazon.com.. I usually pay no more than $6.00 with shipping and they work perfectly fine. I just ensure they have a good rating by other users. There is no reason to spend $65 on the cable that they try to sell you at Best Buy or where ever you shop when you buy a TV, PS3, HD TiVo, Surround Sound System etc...

[skimike4]

Last week I purchased a $10 HDMI cable shipped on bluejeanscable.com. Unfortunately, it never showed up, but I called a service rep and I got another sent overnight. So my vote is for them.

You gotta laugh when you see cables selling for $600+, even if it's 75' long. http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2555465&cp=&sr=1&origkw=hdmi+cable&kw=hdmi+cable&parentPage=search

[EALChilazr]

I'll be the first to admit that I got gouged by buying my HDMI at a retail store. I had no idea how inexpensive you can find them on the internet.
I need to get another HDMI cable now and I'm definitely getting from online and pocketing the 50 bucks in savings.

[rfibanez]

Don't forget these guys...you can get a 6ft cable at $4.99

http://www.inspiretech.com/c-31-hdmi-cables.aspx