Hey guys,
So I recently bought my first HD tv and am now studying how to get the best video out of all my consoles. The question I have is, is it better to buy the official cables (ie. Sony brand component cables for ps2, microsofts brand of component cables for the original xbox etc) or is it okay to go with the generic cheap ones found on ebay?
I read that if the cables are under 6ft there shouldn't be any noticeable difference, but after that you start to see degradation in the signal.
Any thoughts/help?
Which systems? if its ps3/360 then get hdmi if you can. Any other system I would research the quality of the cable no matter what brand it is. Usually the official brands off the best quality, but sometimes you can get the same quality for cheaper by a different brand.
If it is an HDMI cable, I would have to say that most of the cables only differ in the durability of the cable. It is a digital signal, so you should be safe with pretty much anything ( I still recommend a gold tipped for best connection) I would say never spend more than 30 bucks retail for a 4 foot cable, usually you can find them online absolutely dirt cheap, like pennies.
If the cable is anything analog, then usually aim for the best quality for the price range you are willing to spend since the cable can affect the information quality, unlike the digital hdmi cable.
In the end, do some shopping around.
In the US usually: BEST-------------------------------------------------------WORST
HDMI > Component > VGA > Svideo > Composite > Coaxial
Got: Atari 2600, Atari 7800Pro, Commodore 64, Odyssey 2, Sega Master System, NES, Genesis Models 1-3, Nomad, Game Gear, Sega CD Model 1, Sega 32x, SuperNES, GameBoys, GameBoy Pocket, GBC, Sega Saturn Model 2, GBA, Nintendo 64, Playstation, Sega Dreamcast, Playstation 2 Slim, Nintendo DS Lite, Xbox 360, Gamecube, PS3 Slim
Either buy official brand name cables manufactured by the console's respective parent companies, or buy used monster cables for your systems as they usually sell for a fraction of their price around $5 or so on most online reseller sites.
Digital:
The quality of a cable carrying digital signals is honestly completely unimportant unless you plan on using a very long cable in which case you want to get something higher up on the quality ladder.
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Genesis - Nomad - SegaCD - GameGear - Sega Saturn - Dreamcast - NES - SNES - N64 - Gamecube - Wii - Playstation - PSone & LCD - PS2 - PS3 - Xbox - 3DS
Niode wrote:Send him a dodgy cheque. Make it out to Scammy McScammerson.
Xonticus wrote:In the US usually: BEST-------------------------------------------------------WORST
HDMI > Component > VGA > Svideo > Composite > Coaxial
Actually VGA is a superior signal to component.
Component has only the red and blue signals on their respective cables and the luminance + sync on the green cable.
VGA is 100% true RGB without any modifications whatsoever and the highest quality Analog signal available on a consumer level.
Ah my mistake. I was a little hesitant at putting VGA behind Component because I knew it was RGB but I guess it was my American prejudice for inferior video standards, SCART versus S-Video Anyone? (Shakes a fist at my Retro consoles and my other first at my TV)
GSZX1337 wrote:I get all of my cables (unless they're proprietary) from Monoprice. Right now though, Newegghas a sale on HDMI cables (6ft. for 1.99).
Yeah the price I put down was for retail, you are completely right about online awesome prices. My dad just picked up like 6 hdmi cables for only the cost of shipping, I'll get back to you about where.
Got: Atari 2600, Atari 7800Pro, Commodore 64, Odyssey 2, Sega Master System, NES, Genesis Models 1-3, Nomad, Game Gear, Sega CD Model 1, Sega 32x, SuperNES, GameBoys, GameBoy Pocket, GBC, Sega Saturn Model 2, GBA, Nintendo 64, Playstation, Sega Dreamcast, Playstation 2 Slim, Nintendo DS Lite, Xbox 360, Gamecube, PS3 Slim
Thanks for all the info guys!
I need 1 hdmi cable for my ps3, but the rest are all analog. Component for xbox, ps2, gamecube (i know this cable is rare), then pretty much s-video and composite for all the older systems.
So the general consensus is for everything except hdmi I should go with the official cables?
Cheers!
Last edited by winds on Sat Nov 28, 2009 1:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
Pretty much, unless indicated by Mod_Man_Extreme to go with Monster brand cables if they happen to be in good condition and cheap/around same priced as official. I can confirm that those cables are high in quality, especially for the right price.
Got: Atari 2600, Atari 7800Pro, Commodore 64, Odyssey 2, Sega Master System, NES, Genesis Models 1-3, Nomad, Game Gear, Sega CD Model 1, Sega 32x, SuperNES, GameBoys, GameBoy Pocket, GBC, Sega Saturn Model 2, GBA, Nintendo 64, Playstation, Sega Dreamcast, Playstation 2 Slim, Nintendo DS Lite, Xbox 360, Gamecube, PS3 Slim
Technically speaking component *should* look no worse off to the human eye (as the compression is designed around the eye's naturally low resolution of green light).
Speaking from an image quality point of view, that makes the uncompressed VGA (pure, uncompressed RGBHV) a higher quality signal than component. The "VGA" cable can also handle much higher resolutions than just VGA - mirroring the native resolutions of component (both limited by the analogue horizontal sync rate).
Long story short: I'd switch VGA and component in your diagram above. But I will admit to doing so for very pedantic reasons.
Even more pedantic, you should be using the term "RGB" and not "VGA", as "VGA" is technically a fixed-resolution mode, whereas everything else you are talking about are colourspaces and/or transfer methods.
As for the quality of these $100+ cables - it's all bullshit. I frequently wire up my own cables (generally hacking straight off-chip from consoles that have limited outputs) with the cheapest and nastiest cable around, and it's fine. Anyone spending triple figures (or even high double figures) on cables is the proverbial fool soon parted with their money.
