Super test: HDMI cables pt3 | |  |
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True Colours Industries Copperhead Lite
British cable company TCI has produced this third-generation HDMI cable to complement its more expensive Copperhead product. The Lite has similarly robust cast metal plugs to IXOS. Currently only available in 1m or 2m lengths (unlike its sibling that runs to 20m), it offers a bright and breezy performance, with warm colour, rich levels of detail, good noise control and punchy contrast. It's not quite as vivid as the best in this supertest, but it's close.
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Plus points
Decent value for a good quality HDMI cable; impressive picture
Minus points
A fraction less contrasty than the best high end cables |  |
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WireWorld Ultraviolet 52
The Ultraviolet sits in the middle of WireWorld's range of five flat HDMI cables, each available in various lengths. At the very top, a 25m Silver Starlight version can be yours for a whopping £1,700! Flat designs are becoming more popular, not just for the convenience of installing long runs in walls or under carpets, but as they can also help eliminate timing errors and improve conductivity. WireWorld's work has certainly paid off, because the picture quality via these cables is truly excellent and noticeably more detailed and realistic, especially with skin tones.
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Plus points
Thin and flexible design; superbly engineered; first rate picture quality
Minus points
None except for the high price | |
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XtremeHD HDMI
This slim and compact cable is available from Computers Unlimited, which specialises in iPod accessories and the like. White, with grey rubber plugs, the low-cost XtremeHD interconnect would make a suitable accessory for the AppleTV gadget. At £14.99, it's also the cheapest cable in this test. Over the 2m length, the picture has no noticeable noise, while contrast is reasonably good. Colour is less natural though, and overall the performance looks rather flat, even compared to the similarly priced Molex.
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Plus points
Compact and very affordable
Minus points
Rather flat picture, with less vivid colour and contrast | |
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| | Discuss this article, 1 of 38 messages, read more: |  Dave Shepherd | |
| Posted: 03/07/07 11:45:12 12 | HDMI cables carry only digital signals.
Suggesting a difference in picture quality with different cables is bogus and depreciates the review. Either the signal is decoded at the other end (picture) or it isn't (no picture). If the signal quality was right on the cusp, a TV may attempt to display an incorrectly decoded picture but this would be very obvious (broken images etc.) rather than a subtle change of hue or loss of sharpness.
HDMI 1.3 specifies two categories of cable, category 1 (standard TV and HDTV) and category 2 (above HDTV). No mention is made of this.
To my mind, testing would have included these criteria:
Able to carry 1080P
Compatibility with various equipment
Quality of build, e.g. flexibility, ... |
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You can spend what seems like preposterous amounts on cabling of any kind. But investing in high-end cabling won't help much if your other kit isn't up to scratch, and likewise, a poor cable can impair the performance of a decent HD system, even one that isn't necessarily state of the art. 
