More Wired outtakes -- this one from the Test special issue of October. Imagine how thick the magazine would be if they publisehd all the articles they comissioned...
Take for example the HDMI
cable that carries digital video and audio signals to a television. A one-meter
length from Monster Cable retails for $200 -- as much as a high-quality
DVD player.
Is a wire really worth that
much? The experts we talked to emphatically said "No!"
That's especially true for
digital cables. "As soon as it's digital, you buy the cheaper one,"
said Pavel Zivny, a product engineer at Tektronix who designs oscilloscopes for
testing high-frequency signaling equipment.
The beauty of digital
signals is their resiliency. Analog cables carry precise signal values, and the
slightest degradation changes the information -- possibly resulting in
blurriness on TV screens or messed-up notes in speakers. Digital carries only
two pieces of information -- ones and zeros. The signal can take a pretty good
beating, but the device at the other end can still easily tell the difference. And
there are no gray areas between a good and bad digital connection. "You
either are getting information and it works fine, or it is broken," said
Zivny.
So for a high-quality,
low-cost connection, go digital. Depending on your specific equipment, that
means HDMI or DVI cables for video gear and optical or digital coaxial cables
for audio components. To find bargains, Rich Sulin recommends skipping over
big-name cable displays in the front of an electronics store and looking in the
back where the cheap brands are hidden. You can also find deals online from
companies at sites like Amazon.com.
If you can't afford to
upgrade your components to digital, you shouldn't be blowing cash on fancy
analog cables, either. Fortunately, though analog cables vary in quality, the
differences are not huge. Pavel Zivny recommends basic guidelines for buying a
decent analog cable. Look for one with a thick plastic or rubber coating that
prevents it from easily crimping, since that can distort the signal. And if you
can find information about the metal shielding inside the cable, look for one
with a tightly woven, braided layer. A double layer is especially good.
One component that must have
an analog connection is the speaker. And you can really save money on these
cables. "As long as they're low enough resistance, you'll be fine,"
said Rich Sulin. That simply means getting thick copper wires that let the
signals travel unimpeded.