HDMI Cables FAQ
So, why are OUR HDMI™ cables priced so reasonable?
Read on...
Also listen to
this short clip of Bob O'Donnell & Ronald Rosberg (ABC Radio/KSFO), host
of the award-winning
O'Donnell
on Technology radio program, on what he had to say about My
Cable Mart.
The following are answers
to questions we have received by phone and email over the past few
months regarding our HDMI™ cables:
Why are YOUR HDMI™ cables priced so much cheaper than ALL the rest of the
competition? We purchase our HDMI-HDMI, and
HDMI-DVI cables directly from the manufacturer in bulk. What
exactly is "bulk"? Yes, by the pallet load of 500 cables.
Instead of marking them up 500-1000% like some retailers (both bricks
and mortar store, and some on-line stores - you know who you are), we
mark them up to make a reasonable profit instead. Our cables are
packaged in "OEM packaging" which is far less expensive than equivalent
retailed packaged cables that typically sell for ten times our price.
So, are your
$8.00
cables the same as the
$80.00
cables? Actually, in many cases, we will
argue they are BETTER than many of the more expensive "other stores".
We have even shopped the competition, and in three cases, the product
shipped to us was the identical product that we sold (packaging, IEEE
number on the cable, UL number, and yes, even the manufacturer's SKU!).
One of the 3ft cables that was shipped to us cost us $83.00 - and it was
the exact identical cable as one we were selling for less than $8.
So other stores are purchasing from the same manufacturer (either
direct, or as most are doing - via a distributor) - but have chosen to
drastically mark-up their products. Many have
created websites using as many buzz-words possible to try to convince
you "they are better". Starting asking WHY they are better...
All of our shorter length (3 to 16ft) cables are
28 AWG (American Wire Gauge), and will support ANY HDTV resolution,
as well as support ANY device using an HDMITM connection.
Cables that are 25 to 39ft are 26 AWG, and so on. Most of
our HDMI™ (and
HDMI/DVI) cables have ferrites to eliminate any outside radio
interference. All are double-shielded. All have
silver-coated conductors. All are guaranteed to support all HDTV
formats (1080p, 1080i, 720p, 720i).
All our cables are RoHS compliant. All have 24K
gold plated connectors to resist corrosion. All Supports 8-channel
digital audio on same cable. Also supports
6-channel, 96kHz audio. All of these specifications are basic
specifications that a manufacturer must meet to be certified.
If I buy an HDMI
cable from you, how do I know I am getting the best possible HDTV
signal? HDMI™ (and DVI) use technology that transmits an encoded digital
signal from a source (such as a satellite, cable, or DVD player), to a
target (such as an LCD or PLASMA TV) in a similar manner that computers
communicate using TCP/IP. If you plug an HDMI™ cable in, and you
see the resulting picture on your HDTV, the transmission was successful.
If there is ANY failure in an HDMI™ cable - there will simply be no
signal at all - resulting in a black or blue screen on the target HDTV.
So, an HDMI™ cable either works 100.00%, or 0.00%.
What if I buy an
HDMI™ cable from you guys, and it doesn't work? We sell over 4,000 HDMI™ cables each month. We had one cable
returned a short time ago with a claim that it didn't work. We later
found out that the customer had not correctly set the INPUT source on
his TV - as he had the same issue with the replacement cable.
Another customer was having an issue with a longer 83ft HDMI™ cable.
We sent out a replacement. The replacement didn't work. He
then eventually found out that his HDMI™ switch box was "not certified or
compliant". He got a new switch-box, and everything worked!
"Fatter cables do not necessarily mean better
signals. Previously, fat cables were deemed
superior because the copper was thicker and the
cables carried more shielding. Additional shielding
reduced the likelihood of interference between the
copper strands, which led to a better signal.
"In the world of digital cables,
there's no need
for shielding since there is no possibility of
interference within a cable. As for the thickness of
copper, however, thicker copper will be able to
extend the length of a digital signal, but for
shorter cable lengths (two meters and under), there
is no need for overly thick copper strands. In fact,
thicker cables can sometimes be problematic since
they are less flexible to bend around sharp corners
and the increased weight can cause them to fall out
of vertically mounted connectors."
What about versions of
HDMI™? Do I need to be concerned about this when buying a cable? Versions of HDMI are not affected
by the cable itself. Versions of HDMI™ describe hardware FEATURES
that a hardware device may have, or be compatible with. A cable originally certified to
meet v1.0 standards will most likely be certifiable for many standards
going forward. All versions of the HDMI™ specification support the
ability to watch HD-DVD / Blu-Ray content in high definition up to 1080p
resolution. However, there may be non-HDMI reasons that prevent some
devices from accessing content in high definition, including lack of
HDCP support. Manufacturers of cables frequently re-submit cables
back to HDMI for re-certification without making any engineering or
manufacturing changes to the cable itself. To quote Steve Venuti
(click
here for
the complete, informative article):
"I advise consumers to never focus on the specific
version of HDMI, but rather, on the feature set of
the device, such as 1080p capability, DVD-Audio
support, etc. In fact, looking for the version of HDMI
supported in a product does not mean that all the
latest features possible from the specification are
actually implemented in the product. So again, the
key is for consumers to seek the feature, not the
specification.
Explain your Money Back Guarantee
So
far, we are batting 100.0%. Periodically, if you use longer lengths
(ie greater than 65ft) of HDMI™ cable, and use HDMI™ wall-plates,
switches, or splitters, the HDMI™ signal weakens to the point that the
signal can be "lost". The use of an
HDMI signal enhancer/booster
then might be needed. We offer a 100% money-back guarantee
that the HDMI-HDMI or HDMI-DVI cable will perform as advertised.
If the cable does NOT work, you can either return it for a refund, or
allow us to provide a replacement cable. Your choice.
This is our money-back guarantee to you. Click
HERE for details and
conditions (yes, the sorta fine print!)
I am seeing some cables saying they now support "120Hz". Do your
cables support 120Hz?
The 120Hz is an electronics feature found in some newer LCD and plasma
TV. This TV feature interpolates frames and inserts them
between the normal frames to help remove, or "smooth out" video that
would normally appear "jerky". This technology doubles the frame
rate from 60 to 120 frames per second without repeating the same image
to make more frames. Instead, the TV intelligently calculates the
'middle' image between frame A and frame B and inserts it in between,
making a fluid transition from one frame to the next. This
technology has NOTHING to do with the cable itself. Some cable
vendors are misleading customers and promoting "120Hz technology" as a
cable feature. It is NOT. So, to answer the question - ANY
quality HDMI cable will support the 120Hz feature found in newer TVs.
** Cables of
lengths of greater than 50ft may not support 1080p without the use of a
signal booster. Check the specifications on the length of cable
you are interested in.
"HDMI, the HDMI logo and High-Definition
Multimedia Interface are trademarks or registered trademarks of
HDMI
Licensing LLC.". All products sold by MyCableMart.com are
purchased from certified HDMI Adoptors (distributors and/or
manufacturers). Customers wishing to see any certification
documentation for such products can make such request in writing.
Our HDMI™ cables are guaranteed for life, and meet
HDMI 1.3a standards, & are RoHS Green Certified!
Why
pay more?
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