On 3/8/2010 1:35 AM, scott wrote:
>> In the digital realm, anything capable of handling the signal should
>> be as good as any other,
>
> Unless it is *only just* capable of handling the signal, in which case
> any additional interference (eg you put a new device or another cable
> next to the HDMI cable or receiver, a car drives past, someone turns on
> a motor, etc) and then it will stop working. I have never seen anything
> like this though, even my $10 5 meter DVI->HDMI cable has worked
> flawlessy at 1080p while being tangled up behind 100 other cables behind
> my computer and TV.
>

Yeah. Bigger concern if house wiring and splitters. Lot of idiots are 
still using older 800hz splitters, when digital requires *at minimum* 
1000hz, or 2500hz, if you want to have the best range (though that is 
overkill, in "most" cases), and 90% of the houses are wired with coax 
wiring that is about half the width of the stuff now recommended. By the 
estimate of my cable company people, the wiring we have in the house, 
just by itself, is cutting the signal by probably 10%. Add in a 30% drop 
for two splitters, to get to my computer, while also running the TV off 
of it, and I am still OK. Add in another, or some moron slapping in a 
3-4 way, which drops it more like 25%, or worse, or a cable that's too 
short, causing signal deflections, and you lose over half of your 
signal, and even your digital cable box will fail to work, never mind 
your modem.

It can make a difference, depending on local noise, length, if you do 
something dumb, like making short loops in your wire, etc., or somewhat 
thinner wires. It all can add up, but, its still not worth the insane 
cost of the high end cables, when talking about things like HDMI (not 
unless you have some serious need for that quality).

Mind.. This is also probably like the difference between buying 
something that has a clear, "This much variance exists in the part", 
vs., "You will probably be OK, but we are not even bothering to print 
variances, signal loss per length, or other data on this cable, because 
we just buy cheap wire to make it, don't bother checking too careful, 
and for all we know it came from anything from a telephone box to a toy 
car. Oh, and we don't guarantee that any of it is well soldiered, and 
properly grounded either." The ones "with" that information stamped on 
them tend to cost 3 times as much. **But**, they also fail 90% less 
often, and cause less problems (you don't want to know how many cheap 
splitters I have gone through, before they tore all of them out and 
replaced them with ones that "do" have those specs clearly printed on 
them). Cables.. are likely much the same. You get what they are willing 
to charge you to guarantee.

-- 
void main () {

     if version = "Vista" {
       call slow_by_half();
       call DRM_everything();
     }
     call functional_code();
   }
   else
     call crash_windows();
}

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