Would these expensive new cables help for better picture quality?

Question

I have a new Elite plasma 42 inch tv. I have a HD cable box. The person that sold me the TV says that if I get an upgraded cable from the wall to the cable box, it would help.

Also the Blue, Red, and Green cables from the cable box to the TV.

There is also the HD cable from the box to the TV that could be upgraded to give me the best picture possible.

I have purchased an upgraded cable from the DVD to the TV and he said that it should resutl in better movies, no my DVD is not HD or Blue. But it should make it the movie better.

The additional cables would run almost $200. Is it worth it? Would the picture be that much better? If so...I would buy them, if not...then no.

Answer 1

These expensive cables are just a big rip off. Has anyone ever replaced a cheap one with an expensive one, and could see a difference? No.

Answer 2

I will say a system is dependent on good interconnects. A good rule of thumb is 10% of system cost should be cabling, otherwise you get diminishing returns.

I will tell you to challenge the "Guy" to show you the difference. Most often with just a little initiation you can see/hear a difference.

I suspect you are shopping at a best buy or circuit city. If you are beware of overbuying cable. Most equipment they sell will not give you more than 1% improvement if you go over the 10% rule.

I would also say no to rocket fish cables, not made in the US, and contains North Korean parts.


In the end do a comparison with cables, you should see a difference in performance. I would say to get a power conditioner/surge suppressor, well worth it and it has a connected equipment warranty (for surges).

Answer 3

There are different degrees of quality in cables. Some for audio some for video some for both. HDMI is the best quality of cable type you can use but does the cable box support HDMI? Does the DVD player support HDMI? HDMI is an expensive cable, very expensive, but it does carry both audio and video and at a higher quality than the other types of cables. If your TV has 2 HDMI connections then you can connect the cable box and DVD player to it that way. If you only have one then you need to get a receiver that has passthru technology. Meaning you can connect 2 HDMI devices to it then connect it to the TV through the HDMI output. Those types of receivers are typically more expensive.

I know this was a long explanation to an answer of YES that you were looking for.

Answer 4

You're question has two types of answers:

1.what connection to use, the latest and best (the only all digital connection) is HDMI (where audio and video get transferred in the same cable), followed by component (the red, green, blue connection) that needs a seperate audio connection with it, then s-video (a single 4 pin connector), followed by composite (the old type, one rca jack for video, and two rca jacks for stereo audio). You have to find out what your hardware supports first. If you don't have an HDMI but do have component, go that route, the best connection provides the best performance.

2. big brand stores always push "quality" cables which is true, but to a point. As long as you use a good brand, doesn't have to be monster (which is usually what "they" want you to get) then you've done your job. don't get a black box item or severely discounted brand, then you're getting what you're paying for. Also do what i did, find out what connection you need, at what length, then buy it on ebay. What best buy charged a 4 ft HDMI cable for , $90, I got it for $35 on ebay. You;ll save a large amount