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I was going to post about this this as well. I have bought and used several of these over the years:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10231&cs_id=1023104&p_id=2405&seq=1&format=2

The only thing I can think of is that DVI is signal equivalent for overlapping resolutions in the HDMI spec and thus perhaps allowed while the other cables do some conversion of the signal which is the illegal part?

Paying lower prices requires just a little effort. You can pay almost $40 for a converter, or about $6.50.

The key is buying the cable someplace other than you bought your big-ticket computer or HDTV.

Buy TV at best buy, buy cable at monoprice

FTFY

For long HDMI runs or runs that go through walls, these are great as its a lot easier to fish a pair of Cat-6 cables through the wall than a fat HDMI cable... http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10425&cs_id=1042501&p_id=8008&seq=1&format=2 or http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&cp_id=10105&cs_id=1010504&p_id=4065&seq=1&format=3#specification

For long HDMI runs or runs that go through walls, these are great as its a lot easier to fish a pair of Cat-6 cables through the wall than a fat HDMI cable... http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10425&cs_id=1042501&p_id=8008&seq=1&format=2 or http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&cp_id=10105&cs_id=1010504&p_id=4065&seq=1&format=3#specification

So buy from Monoprice and get a durable cable for a decent price.

Your cable costs $20. I still say you are over paying by a factor of 4!. This cable is 1/4 the price of your cable at $5.00, and I'm sure will deliver the same quality picture.

$5.12 @ Monoprice. http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10240&cs_id=1024009&p_id=4959&seq=1&format=2 . But the Amazon one has better color quality.

The lazy person's CAT5 to HDMI. This saved me a lot of trouble, and maybe will help you with your rats nest. monoprice HDMI to CAT5

Not to shill or anything, but any discussion of HDMI (or cables in general) wouldn't be complete without someone mentioning monoprice.com:

Here's their page of HDMI cable pricing where a 50ft hdmi cable is less than $35.

I'm sure most of us looking for an HDMI cable have been in a situation where a store clerk sidles up, offers to help and points to some of the most expensive HDMI cables

Nope, I haven't been in that situation a single time. I saw how ridiculously expensive those cables are in the store, so I went online and found them at Monoprice. You can pick your color and exact length and it's shipped fast at a great price.

Honestly I can't see any difference between HDMI and the old 3-piece analog component cable, even for HD. HDMI is worth it only because it's easier to plug in. That, and my motherboard integrated graphics has HDMI out.

Monoprice has numerous ones.

Even ones with buttons

Monoprice has numerous ones.

Even ones with buttons

Monster 1 meter hdmi cable = $99

Monoprice 6Ft hdmi cable = $2.78

So, yes, monster cables are EXTREMELY expensive.

Yeah but if they charge you $50 for $10 worth of stuff, is it a good deal? I don't think so.

I don't know how the RS is in your area, but in mine the little parts that cost a buck or two WITH shipping at BGMicro will cost you $12+, and a simple printer cable which I bought for just $3 WITH shipping from Monoprice (which is an EXCELLENT source for cable and adapters BTW. I just picked up a couple of 5 pin DIN to 6 pin PS2 for a couple of classic clicky clacky KBs I got give to me for $3 with shipping!) they wanted $18! For just a bloody printer cable!

So while I don't mind shopping local when the prices are reasonable with RS at least in my area you are looking at 400%-600% markups. I'm sorry but at those prices I can afford to wait a day or two.

Incidentally, what's the point of a digital audio out if the only thing that ever comes out of it is 2 channel stereo?

The point: My (rather nice) home theater system is still stereo, you insensitive clod. DVD recorders may only accept stereo PCM. The TOSLINK input on my Minidisc recorder only supports stereo PCM. Etc, so on, so forth...

That said, here's why it works that way:

Your TV is stereo, right? Two speakers, a stereo amplifier built into it somewhere, etc. So, it requests a stereo mix over HDMI from whatever source you're using, since that's the simplest approach. It's cheaper/easier/better this way for any typical installation (which, mind you, still does not include a separate audio system).

When you plug something into the digital output and turn off the TV's speakers, the same thing still happens: The TV still requests a stereo mix.

Why? Because it's cheaper/easier (and sometimes better) this way: To do it in any other fashion would require a new menu on the TV to select which audio formats you might be happy with, which takes work to put together along with more testing and troubleshooting and... And the inclusion of such a menu would give additional opportunities for the layperson to come up with configurations which only work sometimes, or when doing some things (which is far harder for layfolk to troubleshoot than a problem which breaks everything).

And for most clued folks with modern (or not so modern) home theater gear, it doesn't matter how this all works anyway, because they (like me) don't let their TVs handle any audio, ever. The video system does video, the audio system does audio.

*shrug*

That said, the reviews for this fairly inexpensive device seem to indicate that it will solve your problem.

Reason it's a pain in the ass? My HTPC uses VGA, because my TV has one VGA and one HDMI port and the PS3 got the HDMI port.

Eh? If it's that much of a pain in the ass, why aren't you doing something about it?

Just get get an HDMI switch, optionally with something like this, and call it done.

I've been following the progress on the newest PS3 fun fairly closely for a few days, now, since I've got an old PS3 with a bad blu-ray laser that came available for hacking on when the wife bought me a new Slim for Christmas. And all I can say is this: Getting MythTV ported, in particular, isn't a going to be a simple matter of recompiling it, signing it, and using it: There's hardly any dev tools, the GPU is undocumented, the multi-core Cell processor is a wicked beast of a thing that most folks don't have any experience optimizing for, and the single PPC core that sits next to it isn't particularly fast.

It will be awhile before you get what you want. It's certainly a realistic expectation to think that a proper, simple, and clean port of MythTV (or XBMC or whatever) will happen, but not today. And not next week. And probably not next month.

I mean, FFS: Right now, writing "Hello World!" to a text file on a thumb drive is still a neat trick on an unmodded PS3. There's much progress to be made.

So, give up for now, buy the HDMI switch (you'll probably use it eventually anyway even when MythTV happens on the PS3) and a couple of $4 cable to tie it all into the TV, and call it done for the time being. You can always dump the switch on Ebay if/when you decide you don't want it anymore, and an extra cable or two are always handy to have. :)

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10428&cs_id=1042801&p_id=5135&seq=1&format=2

DP->HD15 converter under $20, less when ordered in bulk.

Also keep in mind that a lot of laptops only have VGA. As far as I know there are no VGA-DVI adapters (DVI-VGA does exist).

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10419&cs_id=1041903&p_id=2397&seq=1&format=2

Such VGA-DVI adapters do exist. Though, notably, the cheaper ones only do DVI-A and not DVI-D, but they're out there.

It's still even cheaper to just order from Monoprice.

Monoprice. There is little reason to buy cables anywhere else.

Don't forget Monoprice.

I grabbed a 6 foot 28AWG cord for $3 for my PS3, but you can also grab a 6 foot 24AWG cord for only $6.75. (AWG is the guage of the wire, smaller numbers equals better signals for long distance. )

//On a side note, I bought 3 usb-to-micro-usb cords with two wall-to-usb chargers and a car-to-usb charger for $14 after shipping. ^_^ Always have a charger on hand, nice long cord, etc.

Don't forget Monoprice.

I grabbed a 6 foot 28AWG cord for $3 for my PS3, but you can also grab a 6 foot 24AWG cord for only $6.75. (AWG is the guage of the wire, smaller numbers equals better signals for long distance. )

//On a side note, I bought 3 usb-to-micro-usb cords with two wall-to-usb chargers and a car-to-usb charger for $14 after shipping. ^_^ Always have a charger on hand, nice long cord, etc.

Don't forget Monoprice.

I grabbed a 6 foot 28AWG cord for $3 for my PS3, but you can also grab a 6 foot 24AWG cord for only $6.75. (AWG is the guage of the wire, smaller numbers equals better signals for long distance. )

//On a side note, I bought 3 usb-to-micro-usb cords with two wall-to-usb chargers and a car-to-usb charger for $14 after shipping. ^_^ Always have a charger on hand, nice long cord, etc.

Don't forget Monoprice.

I grabbed a 6 foot 28AWG cord for $3 for my PS3, but you can also grab a 6 foot 24AWG cord for only $6.75. (AWG is the guage of the wire, smaller numbers equals better signals for long distance. )

//On a side note, I bought 3 usb-to-micro-usb cords with two wall-to-usb chargers and a car-to-usb charger for $14 after shipping. ^_^ Always have a charger on hand, nice long cord, etc.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=105&cp_id=10208

A whole RAINBOW of colors there. Even pink!

...I can get a 50' HDMI cable for $30 US. How is that expensive? You pay any more and it most certainly is markup and gouging

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10240&cs_id=1024005&p_id=2110&seq=1&format=2

Did you check lately what those DVI to HDMI cables cost?

What about $4? The Xbox is still a great option for a HTPC; however, if you want HD content you are extremely limited in what it can do. If HD isn't important to you then stick with what you have. But many PCs are now coming with HDMI connectors built-in and it's only a few bucks to but a cable or adapter to go from DVI-HDMI if you needed to.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10231&cs_id=1023104&p_id=2404&seq=1&format=2

A USB-to-RS232 adapter cable runs about $6 at monoprice.com, check eBay for alternatives.

I have some Microsoft LifeCam Cinema cameras. Running them for a security camera and also for a bird / nest cam. I have it at 640x360 right now on ustream : http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bird-nesting-cam I was able to buy some 30' USB cables that you can string 3 together from Monoprice http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=103&cp_id=10303&cs_id=1030304&p_id=6149&seq=1&format=2 and then also used a dome from ebay : http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170449248831&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_3432wt_1040 To house the camera. it is not PTZ, and you have to hack the dome a bit to get the camera to fit, but it is what is doing the feed for the nest cam.

Most stores mark down big ticket items and mark up the incidentals, but cables have gotten completely out of control. This is why there is so much marketing bullshit slapped on them.

For example, here is a link to an optical audio cable from Monoprice. 1.5 feet instead of 8 inches, less the gold plating, and it goes for 3.86 + shipping.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10229&cs_id=1022901&p_id=3396&seq=1&format=2

You need to buy this:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&cp_id=10114&cs_id=1011402&p_id=5035&seq=1&format=2

I think you mean the "HDFury2"

http://www.curtpalme.com/HDFury2.shtm

I got one from Monoprice

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=101&cp_id=10114&cs_id=1011402&p_id=5035&seq=1&format=2

See the product review titled "Almost perfect" for my opinion.

Purely FYI: AC means this cable. Thanks for the tip on monoprice, had not heard of them before. Geek fail.

8.55$USD is expensive?

Why yes, you can.

You can either get a cable, or just the dongle, whichever you prefer.

Why yes, you can.

You can either get a cable, or just the dongle, whichever you prefer.

Standards help lower or set price?

HDMI cable or HDMI cable?

Of all the ridiculously priced items out there, why did he pick these batteries? Batteries for laptops need to be smaller, lighter, and more careful about heat dissipation than those in a lawnmower. The 66% premium sounds about right, just like the premium one has to pay for the rest of a laptop compared to a big old desktop PC.

If he wants to rant about prices, how about laptop accessories? I wanted to buy a second wall charger for my laptop, but they were charging $75 for it. What about the price of any cable or charger sold at chain stores? Radio Shack, who used to sell packs of resistors to me for 50 cents, wanted me to pay $25 for a USB cable. It's as if they want me to buy everything online.

And I won't even start on text messages and other cell phone baloney. Ranting about that could be a full time job.

I'm not a big fan of them dropping the DVI-I port, but it's not a $60 change:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10428

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10841&cs_id=1084101&p_id=5553&seq=1&format=1#largeimage This is a Ultra cheap table I recently bought, and I have no trouble with it. its a graphics tablet, large work area and programmable "areas" to open apps or menus. Works great in Photoshop and Zbrush.

Monoprice has tablets starting at around $17. I have the $36 8" x 6" one and it works as well as the $200+ Wacom tablets in my experience. http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10841

Instead of swapping the battery out of an iPhone, you can always get an external add-on battery.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10831&cs_id=1083110&p_id=5867&seq=1&format=2

maybe you might want to shop monoprice ? (direct link to HDMI). $6 for a 3 foot HDMI cable sounds decent to me. They want like $20-30 for a 25 foot cable, which is also decent.

Their CAT6 prices are super cheap too. $9 for like 50 foot of cable.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10246&cs_id=1024603

http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10246&cs_id=1024604

http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10246&cs_id=1024603

http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10246&cs_id=1024604

No, the last one isn't a typo:

monoprice has a 10' cable like it for $12

...is the way to go, in general. Monoprice has dirt cheap, excellent cables in any color you could want. They're the anti-Monster cable. That Amazon link to a four-cent cable is a company making money on the shipping cost, though still cheap compared to an HDMI cable you'd buy at a store.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/search.asp?keyword=displayport&x=0&y=0

What's ridiculous is HDMI.

Er, I bought 3 10 foot HDMI cables, terminated, with ferrite beads, for $10. While I can order 3 10 foot ethernet cables terminated for a bit cheaper (probably $6 or so), that's about it. Denon sells a $500 ethernet cable, but that doesn't mean that ethernet cabling on the whole is that expensive; don't use Monster Cable as your pricing comparison.

Here is an HDMI swithc with 8 ports for $78 (provided you buy in bulk, else it's $87). A 4 port switch from the same site is $30. HDMI cable runs are possible out to 50 feet before they start needing signal repeaters, but the people who require more than that are honestly so far at the edge that it's not worth building a standard to them.

Gaming consoles already have hardware in there to do all sorts of graphics operations in hardware. MPEG encoding is right up their alley.

I'm not sure if you're familiar with the concept of encoding vs. decoding 1080p MPEG-2 video. There's an order of magnitude difference in computational power required to encode. Gaming consoles do not have that hardware, period. Just because you claim it's right up their alley does not make it so. To put it in perspective, this is an encoder capable of real-time compression of HD signals, and a lousy one at that. Encoders capable of doing proper, broadcast quality encoding in real-time cost thousands of dollars. Anything less than that is going to look like a crappy web video, grainy, pixealted, and washed-out for no other purpose than to solve your imaginary problem. Instead of dumping the framebuffer out to a monitor, you want to dump it to an expensive piece of hardware, encode it, transmit it a few a feet, and decode it. Why? Seriously?

On top of all of that, we'll have video quality issues to contend with, as brand X will use cheaper chips that result in more macroblocking or washed colors on playback. It'll be like the era when we used to have to care about what RAMDAC various video card manufacturers are using because certain ones resulted in visibly worse picture quality. We already have to deal with this to a lesser degree with decoding chips, but now you want to up the ante.

And what happens when we want to use a better compression format to improve picture quality at the same bitrate (such as MPEG-4). Too bad! We're going to transcode to MPEG-2 anyway, so don't waste your time.

Let's face it: A television is a monitor. HDMI is DVI video plus audio. You're conjuring up a ridiculous solution to a problem no one has, your solution costs more, and produces lower quality video as a bonus.