Group test: HDMI cables pt2

Overview Price: £44 (0.5m); £46 (1m); £49 (2m, tested); £54 (3m); £63 (5m); £73 (7.5m); £83 (10m); £115 (15m) More info: Lindy Lindy Premium Gold The 10mm-diameter cable of the robustly-made Premium Gold is enclosed in a blue nylon weave, and terminated in 'full-metal' gold-plated plugs that incorporate an effective 'grip' for ease of removal and insertion. These plugs also feature Lindy's proprietary 'RF-Blok' design, which is claimed to greatly reduce interference and provide shielding without the need for Techlink-style ferrite cores. The cable itself, says Lindy, is triple-shielded to minimise the risk of RFI and features 'low attenuation design' to ensure that the risk of drop-outs is minimised. Lindy told us that the Premium Gold HDMI range, which is guaranteed for an impressive 25 years, has passed Silicon Image's compliance-testing, and will 'work fully' with the HDMI 1.3 specification. The 2m version tested was found to transmit signals from 576i to 1080p (complete with audio) with no problems whatsoever. Verdict Plus points Robust build quality, 25-year warranty, innovative cable 'locks' available Minus points Difficult to find fault

Overview Price: £50 (1m); £58 (2m, tested); £65 (3m); £75 (5m); £150 (10m); £200 (15m); £240 (20m) More info: QED Accessories: Silicon ear tips (varying sizes), carry pouch, extension lead, stereo splitter, airplane adaptor QED Qunex HDMI-P This nicely-made interconnect is available in lengths of up to 20m, and according to QED's packaging is ready for 1080p. The HDMI 1.3-certified 2m model tested has a diameter of 8mm, is purple in finish and employs 28AWG conductors for 'superior signal integrity over long runs'. As with most HDMI cables, the signal-carrying twisted-pairs within are individually-screened - there's also an overall RFI shield. Interestingly, the longer versions (10m-plus) employ cable of larger diameter - this contains higher-grade wiring to cope with the longer distances, thereby explaining the pricing 'jump'. Yet these are only certified to version 1.2a, not 1.3, so it can't offer bitstream support for Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD, or other 1.3 benefits like automatic lip sync adjustment. The moulded and fully-shielded plugs of all versions have ribbed sides for gripping, plus gold-plated pins and shroud. We experienced no compatibility problems, our 2m sample going all the way to 1080p. Signal transfer was completely reliable, no drop-outs occurring with either audio or video.

Verdict Plus points Great performer; available in lengths of up to 20m (1-3m, 5-15m, 20m) Minus points Longer lengths (11m-plus) only 1.2a spec, but will carry 1080p

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