[Totally Dubbed]

Quote:

Yeah, just the way the edges/corners are curved a little... makes it seem a bit more 3 dimensional.
 
I may end up slightly annoyed with the windows 8 release date. I was planning on buying a laptop around June which might be cutting it close for the W8 release. Due to some potential travel, I might be looking at a desktop replacement which I would prefer to order from a more custom builder. If that's the case, I might be forced to order a laptop on windows 7 which would be slightly frustrating if the release of 8 is just around the corner. Plus, I hate waiting.

well why not try and look if it will be "upgradable" for free to Win8 ?
 
I'll be getting a new desktop when i get back to the UK - say mid-sept.
By then I should be able to get a nice cheap quad core, with a lot of ram, god GFX, a nice 1080p LED screen for under £700 i think.
 
Btw, I've been posting picture comparisons of the Lumia vs SGS - although they have different cameras the Lumia puts my SGS to shame.
 
 
EDIT:
I have requested this thread to be moved to the members lounge.
I rather this thread be open to any discussions rather than be "locked" to cables

 

[Shotor102]

 
Quote:

well why not try and look if it will be "upgradable" for free to Win8 ?
 
I'll be getting a new desktop when i get back to the UK - say mid-sept.
By then I should be able to get a nice cheap quad core, with a lot of ram, god GFX, a nice 1080p LED screen for under £700 i think.
 
Btw, I've been posting picture comparisons of the Lumia vs SGS - although they have different cameras the Lumia puts my SGS to shame.
 
 
EDIT:
I have requested this thread to be moved to the members lounge.
I rather this thread be open to any discussions rather than be "locked" to cables

Sorry TD.  but I Simply can't take anything you say in regards to apple and iphone seriously anymore.
 
I don't mind discussing cables and other crap if this thread become an open discussion..
 
However, you should be aware that anytime you use phrases like 'iFail' or comparos like Beat=Apple, you're bordering troll-like discussion decorum.  Like it or not, that's the truth.
 
 

 

[Currawong]

Totally Dubbed: You should start a new thread. Post the link to the new one here then I'll lock this one. That'd be best.

 

[Totally Dubbed]

Quote:

Sorry TD.  but I Simply can't take anything you say in regards to apple and iphone seriously anymore.
 
I don't mind discussing cables and other crap if this thread become an open discussion..
 
However, you should be aware that anytime you use phrases like 'iFail' or comparos like Beat=Apple, you're bordering troll-like discussion decorum.  Like it or not, that's the truth.
 

ok
 
 


Quote:

Totally Dubbed: You should start a new thread. Post the link to the new one here then I'll lock this one. That'd be best.

Ok cheers currawong - we will keep it to HDMI only then
EDIT:
Done.
 

 

[LizardKing1]

I mentioned how Monster used to have rigged HDMI displays where one TV used a monster HDMI cable and the other one used VGA, which of course gives you a better display on the Monster, because you're comparing 2 different technologies and not 2 cables of the same protocol. I found the link through another thread and I think this should be posted.
http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/17/hdmi-cable-scam-used-to-fool-in-store-customers/

 

[Totally Dubbed]

Quote:

I mentioned how Monster used to have rigged HDMI displays where one TV used a monster HDMI cable and the other one used VGA, which of course gives you a better display on the Monster, because you're comparing 2 different technologies and not 2 cables of the same protocol. I found the link through another thread and I think this should be posted.
http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/17/hdmi-cable-scam-used-to-fool-in-store-customers/

it's a shame that it isn't well documented.
That said - do you think its monster or the store that planned it - or both?
And what was the reaction after it?
As that's false advertising if they were stated at both being HDMI's
 
 

 

[LizardKing1]

 
Quote:

it's a shame that it isn't well documented.
That said - do you think its monster or the store that planned it - or both?
And what was the reaction after it?
As that's false advertising if they were stated at both being HDMI's

Yes, I noticed their "Read" link is broken. Shame. I had heard of this on other places before though.
I'm almost 100% this was made by Monster. It's exactly the kind of thing they would do. Best Buy isn't exactly a saint, and they probably knew, but I don't think this came out of their heads.
The reaction... well for the people who knew what this was it didn't matter much, since if you're into audio/video, you probably already knew to stay away from Monster. I think it was a stupid idea, since the people who usually spend 100$ on a HDMI cable usually do their research, and if they stumble upon this they most likely won't buy from Monster.

 

[Shotor102]

Quote:

 

Yes, I noticed their "Read" link is broken. Shame. I had heard of this on other places before though.
I'm almost 100% this was made by Monster. It's exactly the kind of thing they would do. Best Buy isn't exactly a saint, and they probably knew, but I don't think this came out of their heads.
The reaction... well for the people who knew what this was it didn't matter much, since if you're into audio/video, you probably already knew to stay away from Monster. I think it was a stupid idea, since the people who usually spend 100$ on a HDMI cable usually do their research, and if they stumble upon this they most likely won't buy from Monster.

But wouldn't those people who are about to spend $100 on Digital cables and do research, eventually would be spending $20 - $30 at most via Monoprice or something like that?
 
 

 

[Totally Dubbed]

Quote:

But wouldn't those people who are about to spend $100 on Digital cables and do research, eventually would be spending $20 - $30 at most via Monoprice or something like that?
 

One would hope - but if they are "sold" on the idea of a $100 cable, then I doubt they would go ahead and buy a cheaper one.
 
 

 

[CC Lemon]

Quote:

But wouldn't those people who are about to spend $100 on Digital cables and do research, eventually would be spending $20 - $30 at most via Monoprice or something like that?
 
 

You forget about people that have more money than sense. Also, trust the expert heuristics. A lot of people think that best buy employees have some form of expertise and will trust what they are told. Plus, there's impatience. A lot of people wont be buying an HDMI cable by itself. It will frequently be to connect other products being purchased and people wont want to wait to do the proper research. The types to do research would probably do at least a quick search before running to best buy anyway.

 

[DaBomb77766]

I think Monster's rationale behind using two different cable techs is that they're comparing the HDMI cable to whatever else people might be using, so not the Monster cable itself, just HDMI.  Which is totally dumb because the differences disappear as soon as you start comparing to a different HDMI cable.

 

[Totally Dubbed]

Quote:

I think Monster's rationale behind using two different cable techs is that they're comparing the HDMI cable to whatever else people might be using, so not the Monster cable itself, just HDMI.  Which is totally dumb because the differences disappear as soon as you start comparing to a different HDMI cable.

never thought of that - which is true LOL
Although they are trying to sell their cable, and to try to do so they have to use component lol
 
 
 

 

[LizardKing1]

 
Quote:

I think Monster's rationale behind using two different cable techs is that they're comparing the HDMI cable to whatever else people might be using, so not the Monster cable itself, just HDMI.  Which is totally dumb because the differences disappear as soon as you start comparing to a different HDMI cable.

I was never in a Best Buy, and so I never saw this kind of display, but from what I've read, the context was trying to show that their particular über-expensive HDMI cable was somehow superior. Of course they probably wouldn't say it explicitly, because that would be blatantly lying to the consumer and I'm guessing very suable.

 

[Happy Camper]

I purchased a new Plasma recently and the guy told me to order off the internet. They know those cables are just a mark up item for Best Buy. I ordered three for $30 and haven't felt any need to upgrade them.

 

[ac500]

This is a really entertaining talk with a scientists that reminds me a lot of the snakeoil audiophile products:
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSJElZwEI8o
 
He's talking about UFOs, but you can apply a lot of what he says to HDMI cables etc. (Ignore the first part though where he talks about the "unknown", the relevant part is the later half when he talks about how flawed human perception is). Now of course this isn't the best or most definitive "debunking" of the reliability of human perception, but it's still a fun discussion IMO .
 
To those here who argue semantics on what "placebo" means in the context of medecine or what other forms of bias may or may not apply, I don't care, and neither does science. What we do know is that human perception has been known to be one of the most bafflingly unreliable things we know of, and this applies in a great many areas.
 
Interestingly enough human perception is exactly the thing some of the latest video compression techniques (HEVC, not out yet) exploit to reduce the file size of your HD movies by 50% without you being able to notice anything . So I'm not saying human perception should be disregarded -- quite the opposite -- just that human perception being unreliable is undeniable.
 
Double blind is probably the best way to show how faulty human perception is, as we've seen with the audiophile double blind tests with super expensive equipment vs. "good" equipment, where the "experts" actually leaned towards preferring the cheaper stuff when they didn't know what they were listening to. Just one example of many, but let's try to keep it focused on HDMI I suppose.
 
Edit: Keep in mind one important thing though. This video and the argument regarding human perception is just "icing on the cake". HDMI is not a science -- it's an engineered system that is fully understood. I've explained this earlier so I won't explain it again except to say in this video, don't come out thinking "well still we might be able to find evidence that HDMI can make a difference if we try to measure ABX rigorously enough!" It's not a science, and HDMI is not a force of nature we're trying to comprehend. We understand fully how HDMI works and exactly what may or may not contribute to any loss of quality. There is really no uncertainty about HDMIs operation in any practical sense.