I can't afford the Monster Cable
from AntBlog701

I can't afford the Monster Cable

When I bought the PlayStation 3 on Wednesday, the salesman managed to sell me Monster Cable branded HDMI cable. His point: that is the only HDMI cable I should have as it is the only one ‘certified’ to deliver 1080p. The problem... the price label say $299, and it's only for 1 metre.

The computer shows the price is $249, and at the end, he dropped the price down to $199, and I bought it.

After getting it home, I started to feel that Monster Cable is simply too expensive. Although it really looks and feels great, but still too expensive. Also, the one I got was only 1 metre, which is just enough. ‘Just’ means I can't reposition the PlayStation 3 easily in the future.

After chatting to a few friend, it seems like Monster Cable is really far too expensive. And what about the ‘certified’ HDMI cable that salesman kept using? According to this page, there's no such thing as ‘certification’ for running 1080p in HDMI cables. The word ‘certified’ was merely a vendor/manufacturer's way of saying ‘it performs/works’ (on certain specifications). I hence returned it to Dick Smith Electronics Powerhouse on Saturday, and bought a cheaper brand HDMI cable, 3 metres for far less the cost.

That's three times (x3) the length of the Monster Cable in about one third (1/3) the cost. The cheaper brand HDMI cable delivers 1080p well.

Since there's some money left I bought myself two PS3 games.

(To Don: Please note that Grand Theft Auto IV is secondhand. And the Mater-Nation is, relatively speaking, cheap for a new game. Antony is poor.)

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Related blog entry:
I got a Blu-ray player (a.k.a. PS3) (27 June, 2008)
Sony Bravia LCD TV (13 June, 2008)