Some HDMI cables can run well over $1,000, but does that mean that they work better than your standard ones? Here’s what you need to know before you buy.
Whatever difference more expensive cables can or cannot make in analog applications, the fact of the matter is that the digital realm is much different. Digital is much more all or nothing: Either it works or it doesn’t. If you’re old enough, think about how, before the 2009 American transition from analog over-the-air television broadcasts to digital, you could get a very iffy but still potentially watchable signal with a weak signal. With digital over-the-air TV, you can’t do that. If you come in below 50 percent signal strength or thereabouts, you’re unlikely to get an usable picture. It’ll either have a nonexistent picture or behave like a heavily buffering streaming internet video. None of this means that quality doesn’t matter in digital cable standards like HDMI, just that, past a certain point, it doesn’t really matter.
If you go to Best Buy’s website, search for „HDMI cable“, and sort by highest price, you’ll see HDMI cables from companies like AudioQuest that sell in the low to mid four figure range, even for normal cable lengths like five to 10 feet.
