Give Your Home Audio Video To Make It More Perfect

Over the past couple of years HDMI really has become the standard type of connection used by the vast majority of home cinema equipment – in fact you’d have to go out of your way to try and find a new flat screen TV or DVD player that doesn’t make use of HDMI. Obviously, this growing use of HDMI means that consumers need to upgrade to HDMI cables, but the cost can really start to mount up especially if you need several cables, that is unless you know how to get great quality HDMI cables for a fraction of the cost!

Every salesperson you speak to will try and convince you that your home cinema system needs the best quality HDMI cable, which in itself is a fair argument, however, it just so happens that the best quality HDMI cable also happens to be the most expensive cable in the store. This is the point where you should start ignoring the salesperson, because at the end of the day they are only interested in squeezing as much money as possible out of you.

The simple fact is that a large price tag doesn’t always mean that you are getting the best deal; with a little bit of careful research you can actually pick up a cable that performs just as well, but instead of costing you $50, $60 or even $100, it costs you only a fraction of the price. So how come some HDMI cables are so much more expensive than others?

There are two main factors that are reflected in the price tag of a HDMI cable. One is the quality of the materials used in the manufacturing process, and the other is the brand name and any other associated packaging or marketing devices. Let’s quickly take a look at why these factors affect price, and more importantly, how to get the best quality cable without breaking the bank.

A HDMI cable costing $100 does exactly the same job as a cable costing under $10; both cables use the same technology to transfer digital audio and video signals, so how come there is such a big difference in price? Well just because the technology is the same, it doesn’t mean that the materials or manufacturing process used to create the cables is the same. A lot of the cheaper cables are made using poor quality materials and are manufactured to a lower standard. Obviously such a cable is likely to deliver poorer results, hence the cheaper price tag. Even so, there is no need to spend hundreds of dollars on your HDMI cables. Just make sure that you opt for a cable that was manufactured to a good standard using decent quality materials.

The other factor to bear in mind is that big brand-name cables generally cost more than generic cables. Even though the two cables may have been made at the same time in the same factory, the simple fact that one cable has a specific brand-name printed on it instantly increases the price tag. Big brands have to pay for marketing and advertising costs, not to mention the wages of their employees and the cost of actually buying the cables from the manufacturing plant in the first place. These costs are all passed on to the consumers. While generic brands still have overheads to pay, they do not have to pay for expensive advertising, and therefore are able to offer their HDMI cables at a lower price.

By carefully shopping around it is possible to find a HDMI cable that offers exactly the same performance as an expensive cable, but for a much lower price. Just make sure that you buy a HDMI cable that is manufactured to a good standard using quality raw materials and you can’t go far wrong.

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The introduction of high definition TV has truly enhanced the home cinema experience enjoyed by consumers, but it has also caused a lot of confusion and uncertainty. It doesn’t help that manufacturers have been focusing their efforts on several different connection types over the past decade, which means that there are now thousands of different devices on the market, all of which use different types of plugs. FireWire, DVI, and HDMI are all connection types that have enjoyed the limelight and have been found on the backs of TVs at one time or another, and now most consumers are totally confused about the differences between these connections and which type is best.

What’s The Big Deal About Connections?

Many people don’t understand why there is such a big deal about something as simple as a connection, surely it’s just a way of plugging the cable into the TV; surely all connections basically do the same thing? The war between different connection types really boils down to money. It costs companies a fortune to develop a new connection platform, therefore they are eager to get as many manufacturers using their connection as possible so that they can charge a royalty. If one connection emerges as the global standard, then it can be incredibly lucrative for the company that owns the royalty rights; hence the fierce competition to try and establish each of the connections mentioned above as the global standard connection for all HD devices.

The Emergence of HDMI

As the technology behind HD TV developed it quickly became apparent that a new connection was needed that not only delivered digital quality signals, but was also easy for consumers to use. The first attempt at a digital connection was FireWire – this used just one cable to deliver audio and video signals, and also allowed devices to communicate with each other. However FireWire never really gained much support from manufacturers and hence soon fell out of fashion without ever reaching its potential.

DVI was next and was originally developed for the PC industry. DVI cables only carried video signals, but they could support both digital and analogue connections. When home entertainment manufacturers saw that DVI had gained favour with PC users they started to incorporate DVI connections into their products. However, the large form factor and lack of audio support meant that it wasn’t ideally suited for use in home cinema systems.

HDMI is almost identical to DVI; however it does offer improvements in some important areas. For instance, HDMI cables use a plug with a much smaller form factor, which is important when space behind your home entertainment system is limited. HDMI is also able to carry both audio and video signals in a single cable, meaning that only one cable is needed to make a connection. HDMI cables can also carry a remote control command, which helps to simplify the process of connecting and using several devices together. Perhaps most importantly, HDMI cables are also relatively cheap to produce, and have therefore become a favourite with HD TV and home entertainment manufacturers.

HDMI Is The Sensible Choice

As you can see HDMI cables offer several advantages over the other types of connection, which explains why the vast majority of home entertainment equipment manufactured in the past couple of years almost certainly uses HDMI as the standard type of interface.

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If you just bought a flat screen TV chances are you can’t wait to install it and watch some movies or sports on it. Not to mention showcase it to all your friends! To save time and money you might decide to install it yourself. Mounting a flat screen TV isn’t that complicated, but there are a few things you need to know. Beside the question of what type of mount you want to use, there are 3 other deadly mistakes you want to avoid when installing your flat screen TV.

1) How much weight can a mount support? Watching your brand new (and rather expansive) 50 inch plasma TV fall down because you bought a mount that only supports 33 pounds (for the 15 inch flat screens) is about as un fun as it gets. Avoid this mistake by making sure that your mount of choice can support the weight of your TV.

2) The wall you are mounting it onto… what is it made of? Choosing a wrong mount is not the only way to watch your TV get smashed when it falls. You can also achieve this nerve wrecking result by mounting it on a wall that does not support that weight! If a wall is made of sheetrock it will need to be reinforced or you can build a bracket that will support the weight of your TV. If the wall is made of bricks or concrete you need to make sure you use the right nails for such types of walls.

3) Don’t forget about cable management. A lot less dramatic than the first two, but still very annoying mistake. There are quite a few cables and wires that connect to a flat screen TV, from cable to sound system to power supply. Make sure you know exactly how all this cables will be managed (some TV mounts have a built in space for cable management for example) before you start mounting your TV only to realize that there will be lots of ugly cables all over the place.

Switching from DVD to Blu Ray, or augmenting your home cinema set-up with a new Blu Ray player isn’t just a pipe dream. While a great many people have already made the switch, there are still a great many that don’t see the point in spending more money for a device that essentially does the same thing. Actually, that was my opinion too for a while until my housemate introduced me to the wonders of the Blu Ray format by showing me a bunch of my old favourite films in a way I’d never seen them before.

The difference is staggering. The picture is astounding, the sound is superb, colours and details coming into much greater definition, soundtracks that had seemed flat coming to life again, and special features that go far beyond the DVD format and add a much more interactive element to the entertainment experience. It really is the case that the better format won the HD wars over HDDVD.

Naturally, you can still play your DVDs on these players, and you’ll find that many of them look much better than you remember thanks to the up-scaling capabilities of many models. This is something that quite surprised me the first few times I witnessed it. Even older DVDs seemed to have been given a new lease of life with these players. Mind you, I can still understand many people replacing favourite DVDs with a new format copy as the fantastic high definition quality really does offer a much more heightened experience for the viewer.

Plus, right now there are a number of seasonal discounts on many models of these great players, meaning that right now they are well within the price range of a lot more people. Check out the reviews of the various discounted Blu Ray Players that are currently available and see what suits your own home setup the best. A new Blu ray player can easily be found for a great sale price online and in stores right now, and a discount Blu Ray Player doesn’t mean you have to skimp on quality. Join in with the HD revolution and rediscover the films you love.

Andrew is a widely read pop culture and collectibles blogger, music journalist and science fiction author. Achieving the digital lifestyle you want can be helped greatly by checking out more of the Blu Ray players available online at discount prices!