Mediabridge Ultra Series – 6ft High Speed HDMI Cable – Category 2 Certified – Supports 3D – Audio Return Channel – 4Kx2K – 1440p – 1080p

Review by Joseph Roberts for Mediabridge Ultra Series – 6ft High Speed HDMI Cable – Category 2 Certified – Supports 3D – Audio Return Channel – 4Kx2K – 1440p – 1080p
Rating:
These cables are an excellent deal and meet all of the relevant specifications that will allow you to get maximum throughput from 1080p equipment.

Don’t believe those that claim all HDMI cables are the same. They are not all the same and those that claim they are have unfortunately been misled. While I am the last person to suggest going out and overpaying for an expensive retail brand, I would definitely recommend being a little careful not to use a cable that has the potential to degrade the picture on your new HD equipment. It is even more critical for PS3 gamers because of the deep color capabilities of PS3.

Fortunately for us, HDMI.org has made separating the good cables from the best cables very simple.

According to the HDMI website, Category 2 cables are required not only to guarantee 1080P FullHD but also for high refresh rates and deep color.

The following was cut and pasted from the HDMI.org website:

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Q. What is the difference between a “Standard” HDMI cable and a “High-Speed” HDMI cable?

Recently, HDMI Licensing, LLC announced that cables would be tested as Standard or High-Speed cables.

Standard (or “category 1″) cables have been tested to perform at speeds of 75Mhz, which is the equivalent of a 1080i signal.

High Speed (or “category 2″) cables have been tested to perform at speeds of 340Mhz, which is the highest bandwidth currently available over an HDMI cable and can successfully handle 1080p signals including those at increased color depths and/or increased refresh rates. High-Speed cables are also able to accommodate higher resolution displays, such as WQXGA cinema monitors (resolution of 2560 x 1600).

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Q. Will my Standard cable work in High Speed applications?

Although a Standard HDMI cable may not have been tested to support the higher bandwidth requirements of cables rated to support high speeds, existing cables, especially ones of shorter lengths (i.e., less than 2 meters), will generally perform adequately in higher speed situations. The quality of the HDMI receiver chip (in the TV, for example) has a large effect on the ability to cleanly recover and display the HDMI signal. A significant majority, perhaps all, of the HDMI TVs and projectors that support 1080p on the HDMI inputs are designed with quality receiver chips that may cleanly recover the 1080p HDMI signal using a Standard-rated HDMI cable. These receiver chips use technology called “cable equalization” in order to counter the signal reduction (attenuation) caused by a cable. We have seen successful demonstrations of 1080p signal runs on a >50 ft. cable, and a 720p signal run on a >75 ft. cable. However, the only way to guarantee that your cable will perform at higher speeds is to purchase a cable that has been tested at the higher speeds and labeled as “High-Speed.”

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Q. What are the technical and branding requirements for cables?

As part of the new Trademark and Logo Usage Guidelines, cables will be labeled as either Standard or High Speed.

1.Standard cables (referred to as Category 1 cables in the HDMI specification) are those tested to perform at speeds of 75Mhz, which is the equivalent of an uncompressed 1080i signal.

2.High Speed cables (referred to as Category 2 cables in the HDMI specification), are those tested to perform at speeds of 340Mhz, which is the highest bandwidth currently available over an HDMI cable and can successfully handle 1080p signals including those at increased color depths (e.g. greater than eight bits per color) and/or increased refresh rates (e.g. 120Hz). High Speed cables are also able to accommodate higher resolution displays, such as those at the latest 1440p and WQXGA resolutions (e.g. cinema monitors with a resolution of 2560 x 1600).

While many cables that are branded as Standard cables will work at higher speeds (especially at cable lengths of less than five meters), to guarantee performance, consumers should purchase a cable that is tested and rated for the specific speed required by their system.

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There you have it. Word for word from the official HDMI website.

In summary, any certified HDMI cable will “generally” work fine, but use Category 2 rated cables if you want guaranteed 1080p throughput.

Mediabridge is a quality cable that meets the higher standards of Category 2. And this pricing is exceptionally good for this quality cable. There are certainly other cables around that meet this standard as well. But basically, Mediabridge is offering a high quality cable at a great price here.

Review by Girl Interrupted for Mediabridge Ultra Series – 6ft High Speed HDMI Cable – Category 2 Certified – Supports 3D – Audio Return Channel – 4Kx2K – 1440p – 1080p
Rating:
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?

Review by Shawn Brown for Mediabridge Ultra Series – 6ft High Speed HDMI Cable – Category 2 Certified – Supports 3D – Audio Return Channel – 4Kx2K – 1440p – 1080p
Rating:
I just ordered the Mediabridge 6ft HDMI cable for $8.95 (same as the $9.95 one, just an Amazon mistake). I was very happy with how fast I got my order: 5 days even over a weekend! Ordered Wednesday, shipped out Thursday, got it by USPS on Monday! I am so impressed by the quality of this cable that I wanted to order a second one. But to make absolutely SURE I was ordering the SAME cable, I called Mediabridge. I almost fainted when a guy answered the phone after about 3 rings! You read that right: a human being! NO prompts, no automated crap! A real person. And his name wasn’t Abdula Wantonobe! And he was one of the friendliest, most helpful people I’ve talked to in a long time regarding digital audio and video, their signals, and the differences in the cable construction and quality. It was like this guy went to home electronics school and got a degree in “Home Theater 101″. Truly a knowledgeable professional at what he does. I appreciate the service, their great price, and especially the help I got when I called. I highly recommend MEDIABRIDGE if you want the finest quality at an affordable price! This growing company will most likely become the industry standard in home audio and video accessories. Buy from Mediabridge and you WILL get the finest quality available!

Review by Eliezer Kolatch for HDMI (2 meter) 6 foot cable HQ 1080P 1.3b
Rating:
Comparative Results: Technically Average, Overall Value Excellent (4 stars for build quality, but still the best value)

**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.

Review by chill_dog for HDMI (2 meter) 6 foot cable HQ 1080P 1.3b
Rating:
I picked this HDMI cable up because it was the cheapest of the 1.3 certified cables. It didn’t disappoint one bit. The picture from my PS3 is simply stunning. The seller, Eforcity, shipped very quickly (arrived in three days).