Audio Systems: (HDMI CABLES), hdmi cables, samsung television

Question
I am curious as to the effects of a extremely expensive HDMI cable compared to an extremely cheap HDMI cable.  I have a 62 inch hlr serious samsung television with up to a 1080i resolution along with a very good 7.1 surround sound system.   I also have 29 channels of High definiton, that I watch religiously.  I am a sports fanatic and a above average electronics installer.  My question is: Would their be a significant change in the quality of picture with more expensive hdmi cables.   If so, please explain why, and what I should look for as far as specifications on the package to make sure I get what I'm paying for.     Thank you very much for your time.......    Timothy King

Answer
HDMI is an organization that publishes technical standards and testing criteria for its cables.

You can find out about it at their web page, www.hdmi.org , and learn about their testing program and the various testing centers that approve the designs submitted by the various certified manufacturers.

While there are differences among the manufacturers and some are clearly superior to others, if one meets the standard requirements you will be alright - unless you have some very unusual requirements (such as very long runs).

In your application I would seriously doubt if you could see any performance differences between the least expensive and the most expensive cables available.  

What you should look for is that the cable has been certified and tested according to the latest testing requirements, which is found on their web site.

Approved manufacturers are listed at:

http://hdmi.org/manufacturer/approved_connectors.asp

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Cleggsan

PS:  I am not a fan of these high priced cables.  In an earlier life I conducted technical and listen tests on various speaker and interconnect cables (HDMI was not created at that time) and found that the cables from the dollar store were just as good as the expensive gold plated ones.  Further, golden ear listeners when in a blind listen test could not differentiate between the them. Therefore, I am very suspicious of the high priced cables of any kind.  (I have not actually tested the HDMI stuff, but based on my rather extensive involvement with various consortiums and organizations similar to HDMI - over the years - I am very much inclined to accept their work and recommendations since, afterall, they are the ones who wrote the specifications for the cables in the first place.