[LiveBrianD]

What difference do you think you'll see between these two cables, this $3 one http://www.amazon.co...31501699&sr=1-2 and this $1200 one http://www.amazon.co...31501664&sr=1-4 ? I'll admit, that's a little too extreme for a 2 meter HDMI cable.

What other things with absurd markup have you seen?

[waldojim]

I am going to mention reading the description.

Quote

# Solid Silver Signal Conductors and Silver content solder connections
# 5X Shielded for Maximum Noise Rejection; Silver Plated Copper Braided Shield, Two AL foil Shields, Two Copper foil shields

Silver is expensive. Much more so than copper.

[waldojim]

Silver: 34.28/ounce
http://silverprice.o...-per-ounce.html

Copper $3.80/US lb
http://www.metalprices.com/#

SOoooo - we have copper at under $4 per lb, VS Silver at $548.48 per lb. Think there may be a reason for the price difference yet?

[LiveBrianD]

Yes, but is there actually any difference in realistic usage? Particularly when we're only talking about 2 meter cables?

[coastie65]

Hey Brian, The $1200 cable is Platinum and that is some pricey stuff. Does it make that much difference besides lightening up the bank account, who knows. That having said, I would probably shy away from something tha was priced at $1.32 too.

[waldojim]

Realistic or not, you seemed to imply that $1200 was an inappropriate markup. It is NOT. It is an expensive product made from expensive materials.

[waldojim]

coastie65, on 11 March 2012 - 03:13 PM, said:

Hey Brian, The $1200 cable is Platinum and that is some pricey stuff. Does it make that much difference besides lightening up the bank account, who knows. That having said, I would probably shy away from something tha was priced at $1.32 too.

Nope, no platinum involved. That is just the name of the product, not the material used to make it. It is silver.

[nonseq]

The shielding is incredible and incredibly expensive- not to mention the conductor material. Check out the specs again

• Solid Silver Signal Conductors and Silver content solder connections
  
• 5X Shielded for Maximum Noise Rejection; Silver Plated Copper Braided Shield, Two AL foil Shields, Two Copper foil shields
  
• True 100 Ohm Impedance
  
• Die Cast connector shells for maximum durability
  
• Nitrogen-Injected Skin-Foam-Skin Dielectric Material

What is the impedance of the cheaper cable?

I could not justify the more expensive cable for my applications however there are some who indeed can.

[LiveBrianD]

Even so, what about, say, a $200 monster 5 meter HDMI cable compared to a $12 one on amazon?

[waldojim]

Monster is a brand name that they can capitalize on. I won't question any retailer on those prices, because Monster sets those prices much like Apple sets theirs. Will I buy a Monster cable? No. I know better. Will I blame a retailer for selling it for what they are told to sell it for? Again, no. But there are differences in cables. Remember that.

[LiveBrianD]

Honestly, I hate salesmen sometimes. Yesterday I was at Radioshack, looking at solar panels, and one of the reps started trying to sell me a phone. I was thinking wtf does that have to do with solar panels?

[myloginname]

LiveBrianD, on 11 March 2012 - 03:48 PM, said:

Honestly, I hate salesmen sometimes. Yesterday I was at Radioshack, looking at solar panels, and one of the reps started trying to sell me a phone. I was thinking wtf does that have to do with solar panels?

Man salesmen are the funniest.

Me: "Can I get a discount? I'm buying some $1000 worth of stuff!"
Salesman: "Well, we are offering an HP printer for ONLY $150 if you buy this HP desktop, plus, we will bundle in a FREE HP mouse! You're saving $50 off the PC, $50 off the printer, and the mouse is worth $20!"

Me: "How about on the parts that I've already picked?
Salesman: "Sorry, those are already all on sale, or on clearance. You know, how would you like to switch that monitor of yours for this, better, (twice as expensive), Samsung monitor? It's on sale, $50 off!

[mjd420nova]

My interest has been peaked with that 100 ohm spec. Now I have to dig up the standard in the book. To me, 100 ohms seems a bit low, but we are talking about a totally new standard for video but in the digital realm not analog. The handshaking over the cable resembles a bit to plug N play. Like a dedicated USB port.

[coastie65]

waldojim, on 11 March 2012 - 03:16 PM, said:

coastie65, on 11 March 2012 - 03:13 PM, said:

Hey Brian, The $1200 cable is Platinum and that is some pricey stuff. Does it make that much difference besides lightening up the bank account, who knows. That having said, I would probably shy away from something tha was priced at $1.32 too.

Nope, no platinum involved. That is just the name of the product, not the material used to make it. It is silver.

OK. I didn't check that close, but Platinum IS pricey. I have been in Retail sales. At one point I was selling furniture. In setting the price, we would double our cost, then add in an additional 10%. When we sold something and they wanted it delivered, we then added an addional 10% delivery charge. Mark ups are extremely large. I left and went over to the Auto Parts & Service dept. as an Asst. Manager, which was pretty much the same thing.