Monster MC 1000HD-2M Ultra-High Speed HDTV HDMI Cable (2 meters)
by Monster
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Monster MC 1000HD-2M Ultra-High Speed HDTV HDMI Cable (2 meters)
Customer Review: Enough of the technical Jargon already, It boils down to Picture and Sound
Summary: 2 Stars
Ok, so as technology improves and we see consumers moving to HD TV, HD media, HD appliances, naturally this is going to be the standard as retailers significantly phase out the obsolete CRTV that almost seem from a different planet which is truly amazing. As plasma and LCD tv's have gone down substantially in price over the past two years they can be still expensive depending upon the brand and features you want. At any rate, since everyone is jumping on the band wagon and the sudden craze and inundation of HDTV flood the market there are going to be other ball players hungry for your money, Monster co. is definitely one of them. I am not going to give a impartial review considering I own two different Monster cables (HDMI to HDMI, HDMI to DVI) and two other no-name brands, (HDMI to HDMI, HDMI to DVI). Unfortunately, I still have the two monster cables because there purchase date is beyond the retail return date.
Upon entering the HD World, I had no idea what i was getting into, I purchased both of my HDTV's at local retailers, and of course each of the sale associates advised me that the Monster cables was crucial, and no other cable was comparable. OK, I take your word for it considering your not working on commission. I buy an HDMI Cable form Monster at a local bestbuy. I reconfirm it's quality with it's exorbitant price($90) with other employees and I got the same answer naturally, (Probably not the smartest maneuver) at any rate, the price turned my stomach a tad, considering they had no other alternatives or other name brands, (Just monster and rocketfish) both similar in price range. I have to admit the cable looks fine and worked fine with my LCD Samsung 32". It looked like a durable cable and functioned like a durable cable with it's soothing color scheme, 24K gold plates, and a very sexy "M" logo on the end. (you get the point). However, your not buying the cable for it's looks more like for quality which I am all about. Although the cables worked fine, I was still curious about the hefty price and I came across respected electrical engineering sites along with some
friends about HDMI Cables (to my chagrin I should of done the research before I bought the cables) and they told me I basically got duped big time, and I mean BIG TIME. Sure Monster cable will entice you with it's fancy physical looks and special braided wires, along with a 24K gold piece, faster signal than 2.2 gps and no external interference..blah blah The truth is people it literally boils to down a simple digital signal, there is no middle ground here. Either your tv is getting the signal or not, end of story which I have found myself hard to believe considering there are HDMI cables as cheap as $2-10! But business is business right, someone has to make money right? But you know what, every retailer you go to whether it be bestbuy, circuit city, or radioshack you can be sure there will a flood of monster cables along with incompetent sales associates enticing ignorant consumers like myself trusting there opinion. Trust me you will not find $2 HDMI Cables in retailer stores, well at least not at the big chain retailers. Now being how rare it is find to cheap HDMI cables in retailer stores, I purchased two online from amazon, no-name brands (Cables to-go) in the range of $10-12. I think the HDMI to DVI was alittle more expensive at 13.99 in comparison with Monster's ($90) I didn't want to go too cheap, because i truly thought these cheap prices reinforced the old adage, "To good to be true," well when I got the cables I immediately did a trial and error, to my surprise there was absolutely no difference in picture or sound. Someone could literally put a gun to my head, and i wouldn't be able to tell which one is which. These cables truly defied that old-adage and put me in shock. That $70 premium that your paying is really for the "M' logo, this concept hasn't changed and is manifested through a myriad of other categories, clothes, cars, electronics ect. Once you surpass a certain standard of quality, the rest is profit margins for the brand, but seriously, I have to laugh when you look at the Monster cables boxes and websites, that are really adamant on correcting "THE BIG MISCONCEPTION" that HDMI Cables are in fact different in terms of speed, connection, thats a load of garbage, As long as your Tv functions and that signal is somehow making it to your tv or console your good to go. Psychologically speaking, consumers who drop as much as 4,000 to 5,000 on Plasma or LCD tv's may think, well, i spent this much money, what's an extra $200 on some nice HDMI cables right? This is where retailers capitalize, and usually succeed, well at least with me they did, which I was throughly angry at, but hey you learn from your mistakes right? Trust me, these cheap cables deliver in pristine quality whether you have 32" or 50" 1080 bp, they do justice. Just don't make the same mistake I did which is not doing research....
Customer Review: After extended research, it is true - a *RIP OFF*
Summary: 1 Stars
If it was an analog device, cable helps the quality of picture/sound you get. Not so much on digital world, like your brand new LCD/Plasma TV! Here's a quick comparison that hopefully will help put things in perspective between analog and digital signals.
Let's use radio. You get analog signal when you listen to radio in your 1995 model car. You get digital signal when you listen to radio steam on internet. Now, when the signal is bad, what happen?
In your car, you will hear cracking noises, interference, sound gets softer, etc. It is safe to say that you get lesser audio quality, don't you agree?
On internet, the audio pauses, buffering, or skipping here and there. Notice one important difference between your car's radio and internet radio? You won't hear those cracking noises, softer sound, or any lesser quality audio!! This is the nature of digital signal - 1 and 0, "all or nothing." If you get an audio from digital signal, the audio quality will not be any lesser than the source!
*Signal* degradation does exist in digital world. For example, let's talk HD TV. If signal degrades and cause bit sequence (1&0 sequence) to be unreadable by the TV, the pixel will just flicker on or off. Most of the time you won't even notice it. But if the cable is bad enough, you won't see TV pixels flicker - most TV will not handshake (connect) with the device if inteference is that high... which means you will get nothing. Hence the term "all or nothing."
Signal degradation comes to play if you have *HIIIGGHHH* interference (i.e. living right next to Nuclear Plant) or if your cable length is long (~30 feet). Anything less than 30 feet, if the cable works, you'll see the same exact audio/video quality with 10 bucks cable as 200 bucks Monster cable. More than 30 feet, if your cable doesn't work, get another brand who makes better quality cable for good price (translate: still not Monster).
And don't buy into Monster's "bandwidth" bandwagon advertisement. A 1.3 standard HDMI cable is capable of handling 10.2 Gbps. You have 120Hz LCD TV? Guess what, 1.3 standard cables have enough bandwidth to handle that already! After going through 10 minutes of watching Monster's video on their website, I can conclude one thing: Monster tells you a lot of facts, that much I admit... but they use *selected* facts to make you buy their products. They do not tell you the whole story. They do not tell you what you REALLY NEED TO KNOW, like 1.3 standard, what type of "other cables" they were using to do the Eye Pattern test. For all I know, the other cables they used to test could as well be a 1.0 standard cable that supports up to only 4.9 Gbps.
One last thing I want to mention. Monster always claim that they're building their cables ahead for the future, so that you will not have to change your HDMI cable when new technology with higher bandwidth requirement comes out. But let's be realistic here, you have 2 choices:
a. Buy a Monster cable for 200 bucks so you can use it for 3 years.
or
b. Buy a working-perfectly cable [...]. Year and a half later, you spend another 10 bucks on new standard (1.4?) HDMI cable for the new device.
200 bucks versus 20 bucks in 3 years? Pick your choice. I picked mine.
It is just like what other true experts said; you can get longer, same-quality cable for 90% cheaper.
Hope this helps.
Customer Review: Other HDMI cables have same spec and are much cheaper
Summary: 2 Stars
I have purchased two Monster 1000HD Ultra High Speed 2 meter HDMI cables and I am very pleased with their performance. Monster HDMI 1000HD Ultra-High Speed HDMI Cable (2 meters)The picture quality of LCD TVs is great. I use the cables to connect blue ray players directly to the TVs. I purchased one at Circuit City for $129 and one on Amazon.com for $56.43 plus shipping.
However, along with most of the other reviewers, I find Monster cables to be expensive. I need two more cables and I have reviewed other manufacturers' web sites to find HDMI cables with the same specifications at a lower price.
Here's what I've found: Amazon.com offers Impact Accoustics (www.impactaccoustics.com) Cables to Go Velocity 2 meter HDMI Digital Video Cable. Cables To Go - 40315 - 2M (6.6ft) Velocity HDMI Digital Video Cable (Blue)It has substantially the same materials and specifications and is listed for $13.37. Specs which are the same on the Monster 1000HD and the Cables to Go Velocity: 10.2 Gbps bandwidth to support 1080p, HDMI 1.3 certification, support for 7.1 surround sound, shielded conductors to protect against electromagnetic interferance (EMI) and radio frequency interferance (RFI), 24 karat gold plated connectors. The Impact Accoustics web site does not list Nitrogen Gas injected Dielectric, like the Monster site does for the 1000HD. To maximize video strength and maintain precise 75-ohm impedance, nitrogen gas is injected into the dielectric insulator, creating uniform, microscopic cells. This allows the conductor to rest in the exact center of the cable, even when the cable is bent, for the sharpest picture possible.
HOWEVER, even more interesting for the video/audiophile is the price/feature/specification comparison between Monster's premium series HDMI cable called the M series. The 2 meter Monster M1000 HDMI cable ($98.61 on Amazon) Monster M Series M1000 HDTV HDMI Cable (8 ft. / 2.43 m.)and the 2 meter Cables to Go SonicWave High Speed HDMI Cable ($45.24 on Amazon) Cables To Go - 40280 - 2M Sonicwave HDMI Digital Video Cableboth offer substantially the same features and specifications - HDMI 1.3 Certification, 10.2 Gbps bandwidth to support 1080p, support for 7.1 surround sound, advanced cable design, top-quality materials and superior construction. Performance-enhancing features of both include silver-coated oxygen-free copper (OFC) conductors with nitrogen-injected dielectric, 24-karat gold-plated connectors with silver-solder construction, and durable, protective metal connector shells. Two 80%+ OFC braids and 100% overlapped MylarŪ foil combine for full shielding against EMI/RFI interference.
Conclusion: regardless of what type of HDMI cable you ultimately choose for your application, there are cables available for far less than Monster is charging for the same performance. If you are in the market for an HDMI cable, Cables to Go offers much better value for your dollars than Monster.
Customer Review: DO NOT BUY THIS CABLE UNLESS YOU JUST WON THE LOTTO AND DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR MONEY!!!
Summary: 1 Stars
I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I was one of the smart ones who fell for the Monster scam!
I had already purchased the PS3 in advance to watch all those cool Blu-ray movies and was just waiting for the right TV to join the HD party!
After purchasing my 50" Pioneer Kuro and paying a few hundred bucks for that "piece of mind" Best Buy insurance, I felt that paying an extra $100+ for a "Super Cable" was well worth it.
So now that I had everything I needed, nothing could go wrong, right? I mean, I had one of the best reviewed TV's and Blu-ray players on CNET, and the most expensive cable I had ever bought! just the perfect setup...
So I plug in one end of the Monster Cable to my TV and the other to the PS3, I dim the lights and seat on the couch ready to watch a few movies. I turn the TV on, set it to Input4, I turn the PS3 on and wait a few seconds. I see nothing on the screen except for Input4, I get up from the couch, turn on the lights and check behind the TV, I follow the cable and it's plugged into Input4. I check the PS3 and everything seems to be ok on that end as well. I unplug the Monster Cable, I switch it for the cheap looking cable that came with the Dish DVR and BAM! I get a nice, colorful blue wave PS3 Menu on the screen!
But the story doesn't end there, I didn't give up on that little Monster that fast, I tried and hoped for it to work at least 3 more times, I really wanted to see what it had to offer, at that price, it was probably going to give me a much better TV experience than what that cheap cable had to offer!
Ok, so after about an hour I did, I just gave up.
I walked back into Best Buy, explained the problem and just about 45 minutes later, they gave me an exchange!
So I get back home, this time it only took me about ten minutes to open the anti-everything packaging that Monster uses (I think that's where they spend most of their research money) I remove the cheap cable that came with the DVR, I plug in the Monster Cable, turn the TV and PS3 on and lo and behold... I get the exact same image as with the cheap cable! The only difference was in my wallet, which was about $100 lighter! What a rip off!
By this time I was already frustraded, I had just gotten my new TV and I had spent the first 3 hours dealing with a freakin cable! So I drive back to Best Buy, I ask for a refund, and they gladly take the cable back and give me my money back, minus $17 restocking fee. $17 I could have used to buy two perfectly good cables at Amazon! oh what moron! I can't believe I fell for that!
My only hope is that everyone who reads this learns from my mistake, these cables are not even worth 20 bucks, seriously! I recently bought 3 mediabridge cables from Amazon at 10 bucks a pop and I can honestly say that they look as good as the monster cable did. Do yourself a favor and buy a cheaper cable, search for -1.3b Category 2 HDMI cable- and you'll find the same quality at a cheaper price.
Save your money and take your spouse for a nice dinner, complements of Monster!
Customer Review: Paying extra for... nothing?
Summary: 1 Stars
Some salesperson insisted that I bought one of these "for the quality". "It's worth every penny" he said. "Try it and you will see" he said. So, I did, after making sure that the store was going to allow me to return it for a cash refund, no questions asked.
I took this super-expensive wire home, I replaced the existing free HDMI wire that came with the satellite receiver and was connecting it to the TV with the Monster and... I saw no difference. Then, I unplugged the five-dollar HDMI wire that connected my Blu-ray player to the TV and plugged the Monster in its place and... I saw no difference. I returned this item to the store and decided to keep using my super-cheap or free HDMI cables because there is absolutely no difference between a five-dollar wire or a cheap-looking free wire that comes with some device that you buy and this expensive cable.
HDMI is all-digital for both sound and picture. As such, it either works or it doesn't. There's really nothing in-between. If a claim is made that thd Monster is 'more reliable' or that it 'lasts longer', I can't see how such claim can be backed - does the fifty-dollar cable last 10 times longer than than the five-dollar cable? I've been using inexpensive HDMI cables for 1-2 years already and none of them has failed me yet. As for 'the looks', they are not important? I plug my cables in the back of things and, hopefully, I don't need to see them very often.
By the way, I don't challenge the claim of high quality for this cable. It looks well built. However, it is quality not needed and, in my view, not worth paying for. The way most of us use cables is: we plug them at the back of our electronic boxes and, if they work on day one they are likely to work in the exact same fashion on day 1000 because they are not going to be subjected to any physical or thermal stress and the materials used to build them are not degradable. While 'quality' was important for analog cables cable where a good quality cable make all the difference in the world, the digital wires either transmit the digits or they don't. If they do, they all work the same, the $1 HDMI cable gives you the exact same 'performance' the $100, gold-plated cable does.
The claims made that these expensive wires allow more Gigabytes of data to pass through may be true but they are irrelevant. The HDMI is a published standard and there is a minimum data throughput that must be supported. If it is, then the device is HDMI compliant. If some cable exceeds the specified throughput, it's nice but it's irrelevant because no electronic component that's HDMI compliant would attempt to push more bytes through the wire than the standard specifies because if they did, they'd violate the specs and would not sell very well. If your electronic component had an HDMI port that called for an HDMI cable that exceeded the HDMI published standards, then it would no longer be called an HDMI port but a proprietary, non-standard solution.