Choosing the right cables for your computer or home theater setup can be a challenge. Not only do you need to make sure the connection types on the cables are compatible with your devices, but what if you buy a low-quality cable? If you spent hundreds of dollars on your TV, gaming console, and other devices, you don’t want to risk getting a low-quality image by purchasing a cheap HDMI cable, right?
Wrong.
This may have been accurate decades ago, but not today. In the past, it was true that analog cables for devices like VCRs could have an improved signal by adding gold plating or other premium features. Due to the variable nature of analog signals, slight variances in material quality between cables or devices could indeed have an impact on the clarity of the output signal. However, modern media devices use digital signals, not analog. Signal degradation does not affect digital connections in the same way as analog connections. If the quality of a digital signal is degraded enough by a damaged or worn out cable, once the degradation reaches a certain threshold it will simply not be transmitted. For these reasons, a so-called “premium” digital cable will not produce a better signal than a cheap one.
Unfortunately, not everyone is aware of the difference between analog and digital connections. People are frequently taken advantage of, and buy an expensive cable that they were led to believe would be significantly higher in quality than the alternative. Currently on Amazon, a company called WireWorld is selling a “Platinum Starlight 7 HDMI Cable” for $10,500. No, that’s not a typo! This cable costs over ten thousand dollars and will produce exactly the same signal as any other HDMI cable.