Digital Home Thoughts: And You Thought The TVs Were Expensive!

"In fact, a TV's refresh rate has nothing whatsoever to do with the signal flowing to that set. The refresh rate is determined by the set's circuitry once the signal gets there, so how can different HDMI cables be manufactured for different refresh-rate sets?"

I think that most of the people who read Digital Home Thoughts are well aware of what can make a difference when it comes to your cable connections for your home theater. For those of you who have not yet been educated, there has been a long standing debate over where extremely high priced audio/video cable, especially digital ones, are any different, from a practical perspective, from low cost alternatives. Manufacturers and studies sponsored by manufacturers will tell you that it does make a difference. A lot of others, such as Gary Merson from MSNBC, many other techies and myself, will tell you that that is complete bunk. Even if there were a difference, it is not worth paying the often 500% difference. So next time you're shopping for a new home theater, remind yourself that those fancy cables that cost as much as your TV may not give you the kind of satisfaction you are looking for. You may not want to cheap out so much as using a coat hanger, but good video does not need your friend to co-sign a loan for you in order to afford it.