AmazonBasics High-Speed HDMI Cable

  • Ships in Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging
  • One 6.5-foot-long (2.0 meters) version 1.3b high-speed HDMI cable
  • Connects your HDTV to your cable box, satellite dish, Blu-Ray player, and other source devices
  • Constructed with durable, black PVC outer layer; shielding; and corrosion-resistant, gold-plated connectors for optimal signal transfer
  • Distributed by Amazon.com; backed by one-year AmazonBasics warranty
Product Description
AmazonBasics products are quality electronics accessories offered at a great value…. More >>

Price: $6.99



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5 Responses to “AmazonBasics High-Speed HDMI Cable”

  1. A. Cohen says:

    It is a relief to find HDMI cables that are inexpensive and deliver high quality video. I paid $40 for a 4ft cable at Circuit City a year ago, and less than half that price for the 10ft cable from Amazon.

    As an electrical engineer I can tell you copper is copper. Unless Monster cable has coaxial wire for each signal line, which they don’t because then the cable would be 10x larger than it is, then it’s just copper wire inside a shield. There’s still going to be crosstalk and capacitive coupling and all that stuff. All that “gas filled” stuff doesn’t matter either. If you look at the mathematical equasions for the frequency response of an unshielded wire, you’d know none of this stuff makes any major difference.

    The biggest thing to avoid, if you can, are ferrite cores on a cable. Ferrite cores are those black blob things that overmold the cable near one or both of the connectors. Ferrite cores act as high frequency filters and may cause signal degradation. They are typically used to comply with FCC laws and other regulatory bodies’ radiated emissions laws. They add cost to the cable and typically degrade performance.

    Regarding expensive cables, HDMI or otherwise, what no one asks is the most fundamental question – Why? Let’s assume Monster cable isn’t lying and they can provide 300 GHz bandwidth or whatever they claim. Why do you need a cable that outperforms so much? It’s like owning a car that can go 1000 MPH but the speed limit is 55MPH. In my field, that’s called “over-engineering” which equates to unnecessary additional cost, which is exactly the problem Amazon has solved by sourcing this simple low cost HDMI cable.

    While I’m soapboxing, gold plating isn’t necessary either. Silver is the best conductor, followed by Copper, and then Gold (third best). Stainless Steel isn’t far behind. The only reason gold plating is “better” is Gold does not corrode (but neither does stainless steel… they actually gold plate the stainless steel, how dumb is that?). If you are using your cables in a house where the humidity & temp is relatively constant, you should never need gold. As far as I can tell, Gold is just a gimmick to charge more for cables.
    Rating: 5 / 5

  2. A. Dent says:

    Just to clear any doubt, this cable works as well as any other 6 ft. HDMI wire, including the premium ones and it’s no better than those that sell at Amazon for one penny (I actually have one in use right now).

    I am in the process of upgrading my AV receiver and I needed an extra wire. So, I purchased one Amazon branded HDMI cables and not a very expensive ‘premium’ brand or a less expensive ‘discount’ brand because…

    AmazonBasics vs. Other Discount Brands

    ————————————–

    It’s not an easy call between an AmazonBasics-branded wire and someone else’s that sells for less (plus shipping :) ) but, here’s why I went with Amazon this time.

    If you look carefully, you will find the probably hundreds of HDMI ‘brands’ offered at Amazon (exclude the ‘premium’) fall in about 3 ‘types’:

    a – usually under $10 plus shipping

    b – usually under $10 but over $5 that qualify for Super Savers free shipping

    c – listed for as low as 1 penny plus shipping

    AmazonBasics beats category ‘a’ on price and it’s more or less on-par with category ‘b’ as far as price is concerned. Category ‘c’ saves you a few dollars – and I did order a couple of these myself – but, Amazon has a few extra advantages worth considering if you don’t mind paying a little extra.

    - EASY RETURN – I know because I had to return quite a few items for various reasons. Amazon makes it very easy and, if you are returning the item because it came defective or damaged Amazon pays for shipping.

    - WARRANTY – these wires come with a 1-year warranty (talking about future-proofing). If an HDMI cable performs for one year, the ods that it would stop working after that are pretty close to zero. It’s possible that the other vendors back their inexpensive cables too (I never checked) but I am highly confident that Amazon will be around to honor its warranty and I’m not so sure about vendors I know less.

    - QUALITY ASSURANCE – I’ve never had any problems with ‘cheap’ HDMI cables but it may be reassuring to have Amazon’s name on a wire. My assumption is that Amazon did insist on some quality checks before they stamped their logo on the product.

    HDMI Background and the FUD of Premium Cables

    ———————————————

    Let’s face it, HDMI 1.3x cables have become a commodity these days. There are ‘premium’ brands, for sure and some look prettier than others (for something that goes to the back of your equipment and no one else will probably see) but the fact is that nearly all of today’s makes and models qualify for ‘high-speed’ or ‘Category 2′ (see HDMI 1.3 specs below). Just to eliminate the confusion, it’s worth stating that:

    The FUD (see definition below) campaign attempting to attract buyers toward the more expensive brands makes a series of claims. I will address them, as they may apply to this specific cable.

    - Practically all HDMI 1.3x certified cables are HIGH-SPEED or CATEGORY 2. Only the Category 2 (high-speed) cables support 1080p resolutions.

    - The HDMI official site advises that even HDMI cables under 15 ft. (5m) that were made BEFORE the HDMI 1.3 specification can work as Category 2 cables. The FUD claim that signal attenuation is less over a more expensive cable may be true, nut that’s irrelevant on a 6 ft. length.

    - The ‘ultra high-speed’ claim that some premium brands make means very little or ‘nothing’. As far as I know, there is NO official HDMI specification for ‘ultra high-speed’ and, every time I checked the specs of cables labelled as ‘ultra’, all I saw was the familiar HDMI 1.3 specifications and nothing more.

    - The ‘premium’, very expensive HDMI cables are NOT ‘future proof’. The HDMI 1.4 specs that add an Ethernet channel, an audio return channel, support for 3-D and 4K by 2K resolution use a physically different connector – in other words, the highly-expensive and the ultra-expensive ‘premium’ cables do NOT work with HDMI 1.4.

    - At this length – 6 ft., you will get as good a service from a no-brand or Amazon-labeled cable as you would from a super-expensive rip-off. Any HDMI 1.3 cable should be able to carry, error free, all the signal your electronic equipment may put out.

    ________________________________________

    Here are the HDMI 1.3 specs supported by this cable the premium brands and the less expensive alternatives:

    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 1920×1200p75

    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)

    ________________________________________

    Note: FUD Definiton

    FUD – Fear, uncertainty, doubt.

    According to Wikipedia, “the term originated to describe disinformation tactics in the computer hardware industry and has since been used more broadly. FUD is a manifestation of the appeal to fear.”

    Still Wikipedia, quoting Eric S. Raymond: “The idea, of course, was to persuade buyers to go with safe [...] gear rather than with competitors’ equipment. This implicit coercion was traditionally accomplished by promising that Good Things would happen to people who stuck with [...], but Dark Shadows loomed over the future of competitors’ equipment [...]“.
    Rating: 5 / 5

  3. J. Sundquist says:

    I got an email from Amazon announcing their new line of AmazonBasics cables. They said that their goal was to make a high quality cable and sell it at a very reasonable price.

    They have achieved that goal.

    I ordered two of the six foot HDMI cables and on nine foot cable for about eight bucks each.

    The cable came in a simple cardboard box with nothing but a twist tie aside from the cable (which is a good thing, I hate the plastic blister packs that cut your hands and unnecessary stuff in the box to go in the landfill).

    The cable has a solid, quality feel to it. Nothing feels cheap or chintzy.

    Connecting the cable between my TV and several compontents including my brand new Samsung Blu Ray player, the connection just worked every time.

    For comparison purposes, I bought a $50 super delux, high end, will solve all the problems in your life (according to the sales guy) HDMI cable at Radio Shack. Connecting the AmazonBasics cable to the same Blu Ray player as the fancy cable I saw **NO DIFFERENCE**!

    Looking into it I found out that HDMI is a standard that is run by an organization. In order for anyone to make an HDMI cable and put the HDMI logo on it (which the AmazonBasics cable does), the cable must be made to the HDMI organizations standards. So the group basically tells the companies how the cable must be made in order to be given the HDMI logo. The long and short of it is that cheap cable or expensive cable, it must work to the same standards in order to have the HDMI logo.

    So, super fancy $50 cable gets thrown back across the counter to Radio Shack guy for return and AmazonBasics cable gets a new home in back of my entertainment center.

    I’m now going to purchase several more of these for family and friends to have as spares since they don’t know any better and will get suckered by the sales guy at best buy into buying a $50 Monster Cable HDMI cable that does nothing better than this one.
    Rating: 5 / 5

  4. A. Dent says:

    This item gets 2 stars for Amazon’s full backing – easy returns, warranty – but can’t earn the rest because it offers very little additional value, even when compared to other AmazonBasics products – in other words, I am not aware of any advantages of braided cables or extra-shielded cables in a home settings at lengths of 6 feet. I also have an issue with the ‘Ultra High Speed’ designation. While the HDMI consortium does define ‘High Speed’ and ‘Category 2′, the ‘Ultra’ addition seems to be the product of over-zealous marketing from some vendors too eager to differentiate their product and to justify higher prices.

    Just to clear any doubt, this cable works as well as any other 6 ft. HDMI wire, including the premium ones and it’s no better than those that sell at Amazon for one penny (I actually have one in use right now). The one advantage of this semi-premium-priced wire over the ‘regular’ ones is some extra shielding which, in the event of an airburst (EMP) above one’s residence would ensure that the TV continues to get a clear picture.

    AmazonBasics vs. Other Discount Brands

    ————————————–

    It’s not an easy call between an AmazonBasics-branded wire and someone else’s that sells for less (plus shipping :) ) but, here’s why I went with Amazon this time.

    If you look carefully, you will find the probably hundreds of HDMI ‘brands’ offered at Amazon (exclude the ‘premium’) fall in about 3 ‘types’ as far as pricing:

    a – in the single-digits plus shipping

    b – in the mid to high single digits that qualify for Super Savers free shipping

    c – listed for as low as pennies plus shipping

    This product may compete with ‘a’ on price but not with categories ‘b’ and ‘c’. Category ‘c’ saves you a few dollars – and I did order a couple of these myself as well as one of the less expensive Amazon cables: AmazonBasics High Speed HDMI Cable (6.5 Feet / 2.0 Meters) [Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging].

    Amazon has a few extra advantages worth considering if you don’t mind paying a little extra.

    - EASY RETURN – I know because I had to return quite a few items for various reasons. Amazon makes it very easy and, if you are returning the item because it came defective or damaged Amazon pays for shipping.

    - WARRANTY – these wires come with a 1-year warranty (talking about future-proofing). If an HDMI cable performs for one year, the ods that it would stop working after that are pretty close to zero. It’s possible that the other vendors back their inexpensive cables too (I never checked) but I am highly confident that Amazon will be around to honor its warranty and I’m not so sure about vendors I know less.

    - QUALITY ASSURANCE – I’ve never had any problems with ‘cheap’ HDMI cables but it may be reassuring to have Amazon’s name on a wire. My assumption is that Amazon did insist on some quality checks before they stamped their logo on the product.

    HDMI Background and the FUD of Premium Cables

    ———————————————

    Let’s face it, HDMI 1.3x cables have become a commodity these days. There are ‘premium’ brands, for sure and some look prettier than others (for something that goes to the back of your equipment and no one else will probably see) but the fact is that nearly all of today’s makes and models qualify for ‘high-speed’ or ‘Category 2′ (see HDMI 1.3 specs below). Just to eliminate the confusion, it’s worth stating that:

    - Practically all HDMI 1.3x certified cables are HIGH-SPEED or CATEGORY 2. Only the Category 2 (high-speed) cables support 1080p resolutions.

    - The HDMI official site advises that even HDMI cables under 15 ft. (5m) that were made BEFORE the HDMI 1.3 specification can work as Category 2 cables. The FUD claim that signal attenuation is less over a more expensive cable may be true, nut that’s irrelevant on a 6 ft. length.

    - The ‘ultra high-speed’ claim that some premium brands make means very little or ‘nothing’. As far as I know, there is NO official HDMI specification for ‘ultra high-speed’ and, every time I checked the specs of cables labelled as ‘ultra’, all I saw was the familiar HDMI 1.3 specifications and nothing more.

    - The ‘premium’, very expensive HDMI cables are NOT ‘future proof’. The HDMI 1.4 specs that add an Ethernet channel, an audio return channel, support for 3-D and 4K by 2K resolution use a physically different connector – in other words, the highly-expensive and the ultra-expensive ‘premium’ cables do NOT work with HDMI 1.4.

    - At this length – 6 ft., you will get as good a service from a no-brand or Amazon-labeled cable as you would from a super-expensive rip-off. Any HDMI 1.3 cable should be able to carry, error free, all the signal your electronic equipment may put out.

    ________________________________________

    Here are the HDMI 1.3 specs supported by this cable the premium brands and the less expensive alternatives:

    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 1920×1200p75

    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)

    ________________________________________
    Rating: 2 / 5

  5. Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R19Q01TGH8I5RR When it comes to HDMI cables, your cable either works or it doesn’t. Since HDMI is digital, you don’t have cables of varying signal qualities like older analog cables, which means that when considering which cable to buy, you’d be throwing your money away to choose the $80 gold plated super duper HDMI cables over a cheaper cable like this. Google “HDMI ripoff” and you’ll see what I mean in more detail.

    As for this cable, it works! That’s mostly what you’d want to know. It also has a nice-looking nylon braid around the cable itself, the only drawback being that it smells weird. It probably won’t be a big problem when it’s hooked up to your TV, but plug your nose when you open the box for the first time.

    Other than that, the best feature about this cable is Amazon’s “frustration free” packaging, which is simply a recyclable cardboard box with a white label holding the side flap closed, then not much else. Open the box and there’s no twist ties to unwind, no plastic to cut through. No wasteful eye-catching packaging, just the cable and a small paper note about the warranty! I like the idea of it! It’s better for the environment and my sanity!
    Rating: 5 / 5



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