Debate with my cousin over $40 HDMI cables made me second-guess everything

My cousin swears premium cables improve picture quality on his 4K TV, but I keep telling him digital is digital, right? He pointed out his $40 cable from Best Buy actually fixed some random flickering he had with a cheap one. Does brand really matter or is he just seeing what he paid for?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_claire7d ago

Man @felixhenderson nailed it, people just love convincing themselves expensive stuff is better.

green.iris7d ago

Read somewhere that HDMI cables are basically just 1s and 0s, so a cheap one should work the same as an expensive one unless it's literally broken or too long. The flickering thing could be real, but it's probably because his old cable was damaged or not seated right, not because it was cheap. I heard this tech reviewer say that paying more than $10 for a standard length HDMI cable is a total waste. Your cousin might be feeling that "expensive = better" effect, kind of like how people rate wine higher when told it costs more. Also, Best Buy knows people will pay extra for peace of mind, but the actual signal is identical if the cable meets the specs.

felixhenderson7d ago

My uncle dropped $150 on Monster cables back in 2008 and swore his DVDs looked sharper, but the whole thing reminds me of people buying expensive bottled water when the tap is fine and your brain just wants to believe the upgrade matters.