Mediabridge Ultra Series - High Speed HDMI Cable with Ethernet - (6 Feet) - Category 2 Certified - Supports 3D & Audio Return Channel [Latest HDMI Version Available]
by Mediabridge Products, LLC.
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Mediabridge Ultra Series - High Speed HDMI Cable with Ethernet - (6 Feet) - Category 2 Certified - Supports 3D & Audio Return Channel [Latest HDMI Version Available]
Customer Review: Comparative Results: Technically Average, Overall Value Slightly Below Fair
Summary: 2 Stars
Comparative Results: Technically Average, Overall Value Slightly below fair
**Explanation**
Explanation of technique used for Review (actual results are below with accompanying title).
My first inclination when I received this cable, was to attempt to do a side-by-side comparison of various HDMI cables to determine what benefit, if any the various cables provide. To make such a test fair however, I had to find identical televisions, input devices, (cable box, blu-ray, standard dvd, etc), and a place to put them; as you may imagine this proved to be way more effort than it would be worth.
After contemplating the issue I came to the conclusion that such a test would be pretty worthless anyways. Since I (like most people) never watch identical televisions side by side the real question lies in whether one HDMI cable improves the picture enough that it is discernable without viewing the pictures simultaneously. After all, if a viewer cannot discern a difference between the two without looking at both together, then there is no justifiable reason to buy one over the other.
With this in mind I used the following equipment to test the cables:
Television: Sony Grand WEGA KDS-55A2000 55-Inch SXRD 1080p Rear Projection HDTV
Cables:
1. HDMI Cable 6ft 6 ft 1.3 1080P FOR PS3 TO DVD LCD HDTV
2. Cables To Go 98035 Premium HDMI v1.3 Digital Audio/Video Cable (8 Feet, Black/Grey)
3. Mediabridge - 6ft Ultra-High Speed HDMI Cable - 120 Hz - Version 1.3 Category 2 - 1080p - PS3 - Blu-Ray
4. Monster M Series M1000 HDTV HDMI Cable (8 ft. / 2.43 m.)
5. Sony 5mm High speed HDMI cable ver. 1.3 (White)
Inputs:
1. PlayStation 3 80GB
2. Optimum HD Cable Box/DVR (not sure of the model number)
**The Test**
To conduct the test I had my wife label each of the cables with a number, the cables were mixed then piled together behind the television. With my wife assigned as the operator. I and two friends sat on the other side of the television. We watched pieces of Planet Earth on Blu-Ray, as well as Transformers on Blu-Ray and Standard Def. In addition, we watched the same song from American Idol in both HD and SD, and portions of an NBA playoff game.
Each of us had a card numbered 1-5 with space for comments on image quality, sound, etc., for each cable. The test was, as aforementioned, blind. This was to ensure that one of my friends (one of whom provided the $200 monster cable) and I, owner of the .01 + shipping no name cable (and most of the other ones) would not be biased by knowing it was our cable. If you shell out $200 for something you really want it to outperform, which creates bias.
And now:
**The Results**
All three of us agreed that there were no conclusive differences in the test. After a lot of switching between various inputs the conclusion was that while we occasionally perceived slight differences it was never clear and would be impossible to tell if the two pictures were not side by side.
Thus I must conclude that these 5 HDMI cables are, for all practical purposes, identical. Which means that they all had average performance and the main purchase determiners are price, aesthetic quality and build quality.
So to sum up, taking into account my opinion of the different cables, the HDMI Cable 6ft 6 ft 1.3 1080P FOR PS3 TO DVD LCD HDTV is the cheapest and feels it, it will probably need to be replaced soonest as well but at .01 cent plus shipping you can afford to. The Cables To Go 98035 Premium HDMI v1.3 Digital Audio/Video Cable (8 Feet, Black/Grey) and Mediabridge - 6ft Ultra-High Speed HDMI Cable - 120 Hz - Version 1.3 Category 2 - 1080p - PS3 - Blu-Ray were pretty similar but I like the design and build quality of the Cable-to-Go a little more, it feels more solid, I feel like this one would last a while longer than the first cable but I didn't do any endurance tests. My least favorite of the bunch in terms of feel/price was the Sony 5mm High speed HDMI cable ver. 1.3 (White) which I felt, was very thin and cheap feeling considering its price tag, I wouldn't bet that it would outlast either the Cable-to-Go cable or the Mediabridge. The Monster M Series M1000 HDTV HDMI Cable (8 ft. / 2.43 m.) is well made and aesthetically pleasing and looks as if it will last you until something replaces HDMI, I cannot however recommend it because the price tag is simply preposterous, as it provides no visual or auditory improvement.
Customer Review: Does what's expected, honest pricing
Summary: 5 Stars
Just in case someone may feel guilty for not paying a lot more for, basically the same thing, let's look at our top of the line offer, Monster HDMI 1000HD Ultra-High Speed HDMI Cable (2 meters) and do a quick comparison.
This item supports the HDMI 1.3b standard which is almost as good as it gets (1.3c doesn't add anything special). Any HDMI 1.3 cable can carry up to 10.2 Gbit/s. Hmmm... I suppose the Monster is much better, right? Well... it "guarantees a certified cable bandwidth of 10.2" Okay, but the Monster also supports "x.v.Color, and Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD". It turns out that, all of the above, and more, are part of the HDMI 1.3 specs and they are fully supported by every cable that complies to the standard and can be had for about 90% less in the Mediabridge. The expensive brand presentation simply enumerates the HDMI 1.3 specs as if it being HDMI 1.3 compliant was a really big deal. It is not a big deal. Even a cable that costs 95% less is HDMI 1.3 compliant.
My suggestion: if you think that the proponents of the expensive brand have a point when they claim that their product is a lot more durable, buy TWO Media Bridge wires and still pay almost 80% less than you would pay for one of the expensive ones.
My personal experience: I've never paid 'a lot' for an HDMI cable because it makes no sense to pay more. I took home one of the 'expensive' ones once because the salesman promised to take it back if I wasn't amazed by the difference. It made zero difference and I returned it.
The following are the HDMI 1.3 specs and all certified HDMI 1.3 cables (including Monster) are going to support them.
Maximum signal bandwidth (MHz) 340
Maximum TMDS bandwidth (Gbit/s) 10.2
Maximum video bandwidth (Gbit/s) 8.16
Maximum audio bandwidth (Mbit/s) 36.86
Maximum Color Depth (bit/px) 48
Maximum resolution over single link at 24-bit/px 2560×1600p75
Maximum resolution over single link at 30-bit/px 2560×1600p60
Maximum resolution over single link at 36-bit/px 1920x1200p75
Maximum resolution over single link at 48-bit/px 1920×1200p60
sRGB
YCbCr
8 channel LPCM/192 kHz/24-bit audio capability
Blu-ray Disc video and audio at full resolution
Consumer Electronic Control (CEC)
DVD-Audio support
Super Audio CD (DSD) support
Deep Color
xvYCC
Auto lip-sync
Dolby TrueHD bitstream capable
DTS-HD Master Audio bitstream capable
Updated list of CEC commands (only on HDMI 1.3a,b,c)
Customer Review: Excellent
Summary: 5 Stars
I recently upgraded to Sony Bravia LED, Denon AV receiver and Sony BluRay. Before now, I never had the need for any HDMI cables. I was very skeptical about buying a less known and lower priced cable. Most of the time...the old "you get what you pay for" holds true. This is the exception! I did a lot of reading on the subject first. Plenty of opinions. Some say spend the big bucks on the Monster HDMI. Others say don't. Consumer reports suggested that spending the extra money on higher priced HDMI cables was not necessary. As long as the cable was well constructed and supported the type of signal you were after, it would either carry it or it wouldn't. Simplistic way of looking at it, but seemed to make sense.
I then made a trip to Best Buy. A nice fellow that claimed to be an expert on these types of things tried his best to get me to spend $129 on a ten foot Monster HDMI cable. Because he would not stop talking about his expertise on the subject, he let it slip that the brand of cable he personally uses was not available at Best Buy.
I then made a visit to a high end audio video store. Most seemed to agree, though only with a whisper and a nudge, that the high dollar HDMI cables were not worth it.
So...I found the Mediabridge brand on Amazon. Still highly skeptical, I read the many very positive reviews. I needed four. I ordered one six foot cable. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality construction and shielding when I first opened the box. Connected the ATT Uverse HD/DVR to the TV for a trial run. It worked perfectly. After a week, I ordered three more. For the price I paid for four of the six foot Mediabridge HDMI cables, I could not have bought one of the Monster HDMI cables that the chubby fella at Best Buy was trying to sell me. Yes, the packaging on the Monster was much more flashy, and the shielding was a bit thicker.
Now....HD/DVR, BluRay and DVD player (I still wanted the DVD because it is a 5 disc and I occasionally like to load it up with music) are all connected to my receiver with these HDMI cables. One cable then from receiver to the television. They all perform without a single flaw. The DTS HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD Audio along with 1080p runs perfectly through these HDMI cables.
If you are on the fence, get this HDMI cable. I am not easily impressed. I am impressed by the quality and price of the Mediabridge six foot HDMI cable!!!
Customer Review: Excellent Choice and Value for Money
Summary: 5 Stars
Ok so I am a girl and I am not much of a techie but I didn't want to spend $100 on an HDMI cable. I came to Amazon and read a lot of the product reviews.
I first purchased the the HDMI cable from ClearAV, it was inexpesive and not the best product. It cost me a little over $4 for the item and S&H. I tested it on my upconverting Panasonic DVD player on 1080i resolution on my 40" 1080p Samsung LCD TV but it had poor signal quality and the cable was not an HDMI version 1.3. So when I played my DVDs the picture would go on and off and so would the sound and there was a flashing line on my screen. Then I thought maybe I need to get another cable but still was not willing to pay $100.
I continued to do my research and realized that not all HDMI cables were created equal :( So I decided to try my luck again with the MEDIABRIDGE : "Premium 6ft 1.3b Category 2 Super High Speed HDMI Cable - 1080p - PS3 - Blu-Ray." THIS CABLE IS THE REAL THING : the true HDMI version 1.3b Category 2 certified (whatever that means but sounds like a really good thing) which can be used with blu-ray or PS3 and will give you great 48-bit color. I paid a little under $7 for everything i.e for the item and S&H. The first thing I noticed was that it has the "HDMI" embossed on the cable; might not mean much but I thought it was note worthy. Second, the cable was thick and sturdy unlike the regular one I previously purchased. Third, apparently it's gold plated, I don't know how to prove this but it sure looks shiny :)
OK so I got the product 2 business days later from MEDIABRIDGE( I was so happy it arrived promptly), I tried it last night and everything was perfect. I didn't have to wiggle the cable to see if I could get a better signal, audio and picture quality. Just plugged everything in and one, two, we were in business. I even did my Core Secrets workout with all the movements and I still got perfect picture and sound. I should have just paid $2 extra to begin with for a better quality product...take it from me...I'm girl with not much knowledge on such stuff but I know a great product when I see one.
Hopefully it will last me a long time :) I'm off to do my research on the Play Station console, I am curious to see how much better Blu-Ray picture quality is...no sense in buying an expensive Blu- Ray dvd player when I can just get the game right?
Customer Review: Not good for ME!
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought into the hype that all hdmi cables are the same. They get you a digital signal or they don't. [...]. It's been on my 65 dlp mitsu 1080p and the picture has been great. I later purchased some radio shack brand hdmi's for the rest of my components and have been satisfied with A/V. I recently purchased a samsung plasma 50 for my bedroom. I thought let me buy new cables for this tv. Lately there is much talk in regards to hdmi 1.3 cat2 cert. I looked into the reviews and discussions and came across these mediabridge cable that are rated very high. I also checked monster's m1000 hdmi and we all know about their prices. I had the plasma hooked up to the RS brand hdmi that was on my 32 lcd previously. The picture was not up to my standard. Dish hd receiver output by the way set at 720p out. So I bought the mediabridge cables for all my components(bluray-yamaha receiver,dish hd receivers) 5 total since they are up to date with latest hdmi specs. Great looking cable I give them that but when I replaced the hdmi"s, wow I was stunned. It was as if looking at tv displays at walmart! Before these cables I was happy but still noticed some pixelation on both tv's. I thought these cables might correct that but I got what I paid for. I then replaced the MB hdmi with the bettercables hdmi on my plasma which had never been on and it was like night and day. The picture came alive as it had on my dlp set for last 2 years. This is when I realized there is a diff in cables. So I turned to the dark side and looked into monster cables. Since I noticed a a big diff on my plasma I though what if I get an M1000. I did see very little pixelation continued with the BC hdmi but minor compared to the mediabridge. I bought some open box Monster M1000 hdmi from Amazon for $30 each. When I hooked them up on both tv's I was excited about my picture. The M1000 not only did it bring my pic back alive but the pixelation is gone! I dont work for any of these co. Try for yourself if you cant tell the diff then keep the cheap ones and return the pricier cables. Im no expert but as a audio/video holic I want to share my experience. Cant wait for football season! Also very important make sure your setting on hd box is always at its highest resolution because when your power goes out or you unplug for some reason they tend to go back to original settings of 480i!