HDMI Cable Con
In the past when interconnects for audio and visual equipment were analogue the quality of the cable would make a real difference to image and sound quality. However, the same cannot be said of digital interconnects such as HDMI cables. These either work or they don’t work; and there is no difference between a cheap £10 and a £40 cable. The retailers make a small fortune out of these expensive cables as the mark-up can be as high as 80%. In fact, many retailers rely heavily on this as a major source of income due to the high margins and the fact the margins are low on the main products. They know that they can take advantage of consumer ignorance for cables and other accessories as most buyers will not have researched the true value of these.
Comment by HDMI on 13 May 2008:
This was on the Gadget Show last night - they could not see the difference between a £20 cable and a £120 pound cable. It is absolutely disgusting that retailers try to pedal these expesive cables when a cheap one would do.
Comment by dudeonline on 27 May 2008:
Stuff magazine claimed the better cable made a difference and would not listen otherwise (The cable manufacturers advertise in their magazine!) With the new laws in place, public not in the know should be protected from crooks whose persuasive techniques take unnecessary money off people. It should be made absolutely clear in the shops that in terms of image quality a cheap cable will perform just as well..