General Gaming Are HDMI cables really this shitty?

[XxEvil AshxX]

Between my Xbox One, PS4, Swtich, and a few other devices here or there, I'd say I've gone through about six or seven HDMI cables over the past two years or so. It starts with the green fuzz, then the image blinking in and out constantly, before I start having to move the cable around just to get anything at all. 

 

I can't say it's the same brand of HDMI, because they've all just been whatever cables come with stuff, but honestly I'm getting tired of going through these damn things. Is there a good HDMI I can get that's gonna last? I don't recall ever having this problem with older HDMI's, but ever since 2.0 came along, they've just sucked.

[Xbob42]

I've definitely had more HDMI cables fail than everything else except I guess USB cables or cheap headphone wires. DisplayPort wires have proven exceptionally reliable, at least for me, so I'm glad my monitors use 'em.

 

I'm sure you can find some higher quality HDMI cables, but honestly I just buy a bunch off of like meh.com when they have a big pack on sale and sometimes those are decent, longer-lasting ones.

[Keyser_Soze]

That's why you gotta make sure you only use monster cables!

[Dre801]

I've had the same ones for a few years now.  They've been fine.

[DarkStar189]

I've been using some ultra slim monoprice hdmi cables for the past couple years. They only work one direction (one end is labeled Source and the other end is TV). They are so slim and lightweight. Doesn't put any stress on the connectors and they all fit close together when multiple hdmi inputs are close together on the tv. 

[Remarkableriots]

I haven't had to replace a HDMI cable yet. Now USB cables die all the freaking time!

[SimpleG]

Replaced this year

Roku 4k - twice 

Monitor displayport - 3 different brands all gave me intermittent flickering, finally bought a VESA certified 

 

I have blu ray player thats from 2009 that has the same HDMI cable since the date of purchase with no issues.

I have 2 other Rokus purchased the same day as the one above that havent had issues with the cables.

 

At this point its just luck or bad luck

 

[Mr.Vic20]

I've never had an issue with HDMI so far. Good luck I guess?

[Best]

10 minutes ago, Mr.Vic20 said:

I've never had an issue with HDMI so far. Good luck I guess?

 

[Ominous]

No, not a savage with my stuff.

 

[Brian]

I treat my cables like adults and they respect me in return. #noproblems. 

[Pikachu]

I haven't had an issue with any hdmi cables so far. My launch PS4 cable is still going strong.

[DarkStar189]

6 hours ago, SimpleG said:

Replaced this year

Roku 4k - twice 

Monitor displayport - 3 different brands all gave me intermittent flickering, finally bought a VESA certified 

 

I have blu ray player thats from 2009 that has the same HDMI cable since the date of purchase with no issues.

I have 2 other Rokus purchased the same day as the one above that havent had issues with the cables.

 

At this point its just luck or bad luck

 

Slightly off topic, but I have 2 Roku Streaming Stick +  in my house and the batteries for the remotes die just about monthly. Have you experienced that? We use the Roku's daily but we don't use them that heavily. Its getting to be ridiculous. 

[legend]

4 hours ago, Mr.Vic20 said:

I've never had an issue with HDMI so far. Good luck I guess?

 

[Keyser_Soze]

1 hour ago, Pikachu said:

I haven't had an issue with any hdmi cables so far. My launch PS4 cable is still going strong.

 

Weren't a lot of those launch PS4 cables faulty?

[AbsolutSurgen]

The only HDMI cables I've had fail are older ones that had notable corrosion on them.  Likely from over 100% humidity, and salt in the air from the ocean.

 

I've never had one fail from normal use.

[ort]

Can't say I've had this problem... HDMI switchers though? Pure junk.

 

And don't get me started with USB hubs either.

[XxEvil AshxX]

I might just go to the local tech hardware store and buy a few generic ones, just to see if I have any better luck with them. At least if they crap out on my I won't have spent the retail markup or the Monster tax. I might even wrap some masking tape around them and date them, just to see how long they actually last. If I was a richer man I'd just throw all of them in the garbage and start from scratch.

 

UPDATE: You know what? I just grabbed the latest offender HDMI and went to toss it and I think I've noticed a commonality between the ones that have crapped out on me, and its that I think most of them have had those adapter boxes on them. You know, the cylindrical thing that's right next to the plug. I wonder if those are what's causing the cords to go bad.

 

I just checked the cord I threw in the closet cuz it was giving me problems and it also has one of those boxes.

[HardAct]

14 hours ago, Remarkableriots said:

I haven't had to replace a HDMI cable yet. Now USB cables die all the freaking time!

Same:

  Strange the op is having that many problems. I could never recommend the far to expensive monster cables, but I do recommend good ones. You can buy some really cheap ass cables in this world. This is something I do not skimp on and I have never replaced a cable because of failure. USB, yes many, but Hdmi. . .nope! Sorry man, I did have to replace a cable that got pinched and frayed once, totally my fault though! 

 

The same goes for power strips, and I will admit to paying a premium for really good quality strips, but again, never a failure or loss of anything to a power surge, etc. . . 

[silentbob]

I have never had an issue with my HDMI cables yet, and I have tons of them through my receiver, tv and projector. I have some that are from like 12 years ago that are still working today. I like the ones I get from Prime Cables (our Canadian Mono Price) and so I would recommend them for Canadians and I guess Monoprice for stateside users. Pretty great price for my 4K HDMI needs for my tv and projector

[Bitgod]

The only thing I've had fail more than HDMI cables is SATA cables.

[cusideabelincoln]

I've had a few HDMI and USB cables from Amazon fail on me.  Seems as if the fancy-looking braided cables is all show, as those are the ones that fail the most on me.

[AbsolutSurgen]

9 hours ago, cusideabelincoln said:

I've had a few HDMI and USB cables from Amazon fail on me.  Seems as if the fancy-looking braided cables is all show, as those are the ones that fail the most on me.

I've bought Amazon cables a few times (not just HDMI, but charging cables) and never had one fail.  I haven't seen them sell braided cables though.  (Unless you mean the braided cables sold by random sellers on Amazon Marketplace -- if you're buying those, you never know what you're getting.)

[cusideabelincoln]

5 minutes ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

I've bought Amazon cables a few times (not just HDMI, but charging cables) and never had one fail.  I haven't seen them sell braided cables though.  (Unless you mean the braided cables sold by random sellers on Amazon Marketplace -- if you're buying those, you never know what you're getting.)

 

I did mean the random manufacturers, not not the Amazon-branded ones.

[TwinIon]

I don't think I've ever had an HDMI cable fail. Maybe I just buy new gizmos so often that they get switched out every so often, but even for things that stay plugged in for years never have issues.