I Spent a THOUSAND Dollars on HDMI Cables.. for Science

[ColinLTT]

We told you we’d do it, and here it is! Testing a whackload of HDMI 2.1 and 2.0 cables to find out if you’ve been wasting your money on cables for no good reason. 

Data from tests is attached to this post. If you are an educator or otherwise have a legitimate reason for wanting to look at the .json files from each test I will provide them, but shoot me a DM. For most people the PDF results will be more than enough. 


 

461598053_HDMICabletestingdata.7z 47.2 MB · 5,755 downloads HDMI Cable Testing Results.xlsx 74.33 kB · 23,970 downloads

[AvMaverick]

Thanks for the files and the detailed data!

[Alder Lake]

  On 11/8/2021 at 6:00 PM, ColinLTT said:

We told you we’d do it, and here it is! Testing a whackload of HDMI 2.1 and 2.0 cables to find out if you’ve been wasting your money on cables for no good reason. 

Data from tests is attached to this post. If you are an educator or otherwise have a legitimate reason for wanting to look at the .json files from each test I will provide them, but shoot me a DM. For most people the PDF results will be more than enough. 


 

461598053_HDMICabletestingdata.7z 47.2 MB · 115 downloads HDMI Cable Testing Results.xlsx 74.33 kB · 384 downloads

Expand  

tldr:

expensive ≠ better

don't spend >$1/m of cable

[Radium_Angel]

...and the TL;DR version is....?

[ILoveCheapStuff]

Man. I'm so disappointed in Monoprice Most of the cables I have bought are from them since they're cheap. Guess I got what I paid for.

[ILoveCheapStuff]

  On 11/8/2021 at 6:26 PM, Radium_Angel said:

...and the TL;DR version is....?

Monoprice bad. 6ft is sweet spot for 2.1; 10ft and above is not as reliable. $1/foot of cable length is good; diminishing returns after this.

[geokilla]

  On 11/8/2021 at 6:27 PM, ILoveCheapStuff said:

Man. I'm so disappointed in Monoprice Most of the cables I have bought are from them since they're cheap. Guess I got what I paid for.

As a Canadian and Linus being Canadian, I'm surprised they didn't test PrimeCables.

[victorkruger]

Looking at the spreadsheet all monoprice under 10 feet passed, it was just 10 and over where it got worse.

 

Was there any correlation,besides certified ment higher price, between certified hdmi cables and the results you got?

[John Goodwin]

Would it be too much trouble to put the model numbers on the spreadsheet, or links to the exact cable? I noticed only a few have links.

[Ninja_Commander]

I just need to see the excel sheet, but don't wanna install a viewer. Anyway we can see this excel sheet easier?

[PawnYourHead]

"if you're going anywhere over 10 feet with HDMI 2.1, you're asking for trouble." - Linus

 

This statement was based off of only testing 6 cables from a single manufacturer...…..? This is not how you science. That sample size is way too small to make such a conclusion. Very disappointing.

[JurgenD1980]

So..Where are the Monster cables?

[tkitch]

  On 11/8/2021 at 6:44 PM, JurgenD1980 said:

So..Where are the Monster cables?

That would be the snake oil he mentions in the video. 

[tkitch]

  On 11/8/2021 at 6:42 PM, PawnYourHead said:

"if you're going anywhere over 10 feet with HDMI 2.1, you're asking for trouble." - Linus

 

This statement was based off of only testing 6 cables from a single manufacturer...…..? This is not how you science. That sample size is way too small to make such a conclusion. Very disappointing.

If you look at the excel, there are a lot more than 1 cable, and 1 manuf.  

[TVwazhere]

I usually stick to monoprice for my cables because they're more about $1/foot when you get it from their site directly, unlike the $3.50+ price listed in the spreadsheet

 

https://www.monoprice.com/category/cables/hdmi-cables

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=42682

 

Given the results though, I might look at other options moving forward. However it should be noted that a lot of this matters primarily fir higher resolutions. Most of my TV's are still 1080p for now. 

[MultiGamerClub]

"I Spent a THOUSAND Dollars on HDMI Cables.. for Science"

 

OUCH.

[S-r-ex]

If you really want to waste money, check out Nordost: https://audiovisionsf.com/collections/hdmi-cables/products/nordost-valhalla-2-4k-uhd-cable

 

Yup, that's three thousand US dollars. For one meter.

[BondiBlue]

  On 11/8/2021 at 6:40 PM, Ninja_Commander said:

I just need to see the excel sheet, but don't wanna install a viewer. Anyway we can see this excel sheet easier?

 

This is a screenshot of the spreadsheet. I made a few adjustments to column width to clean things up, but all the data is untouched. 

[rynusTechTips]

  On 11/8/2021 at 6:40 PM, Ninja_Commander said:

I just need to see the excel sheet, but don't wanna install a viewer. Anyway we can see this excel sheet easier?

Just drag the file into google drive, it should open it automatically. If you want a free viewer get libre office or open office.

[withoutEnd]

I just thought about that overpriced HDMI cable that Linus reviewed 5 years ago and I'd like to see, if it even performs as Wireworld advertises it...

 

[PawnYourHead]

  On 11/8/2021 at 6:49 PM, tkitch said:

If you look at the excel, there are a lot more than 1 cable, and 1 manuf.  

Look again. They only tested six 15 foot cables.

[Digidream]

Would be nice if you could check out Hama. Don't know if you have them in de US/Canada but they're very prevalent in Western Europe.

Maybe check some other European brands for your overseas cousins?

[devil_tmPT]

I dont come to the forum very often but for this... i had to.

DAM VIVIFY cables... all your ads thrown at me and still failed... i wonder if they will reduce the ads

[Tan3l6]

I'm wondering if DP 2.0 cables are as bad.

[Steven9595]

Am i crazy, or is there no where that says what cable is which? No links, etc?