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[Xdrive05]

Fantomex, if I had a dollar for every computer problem caused by... a wrong connector, no connector, wrongly connected, forgotten jumper, backwards CMOS jumper, PSU not plugged in (!), CMOS battery not in place (!)... then right now I'd be in the midst of building another new system, while strippers chased my cat around my mansion just so they could see how much coke can be snorted off his tail.

In other words you're doing it right.

 

[Fantomex]

Thanks guys. The simple answer is that I realized that my power unit had all these other cables to connect to its base should I need other pcie, fans etc. plugged another one into the power unit and then to the video card. I'm almost all done except figuring out how to connect the led and restart button cables from case to motherboard.

The fans are working, video card, power button and USB ports. Installing windows 7 now. However I might have discovered something, the adapter power 2-1 cables shipped out on the 660 ti do not fit the actual card it's sold with. I even had a buddy look at it and he can't believe it either. Thanks again guys this has taken all day especially that cooler master Heatsink, I felt like jumping out the window

 

[Cannon Goose]

When I finally got my first PC together it wouldn't boot at all and it took me about an hour to figure out that the PSU wasn't actually connected to the motherboard.

 

[Jzero]

When I finally got my first PC together it wouldn't boot at all and it took me about an hour to figure out that the PSU wasn't actually connected to the motherboard.

A lot of people i know have forgotten to put the 4 pin aux on their motherboard.

 

[mkenyon]

Thanks guys. The simple answer is that I realized that my power unit had all these other cables to connect to its base should I need other pcie, fans etc. plugged another one into the power unit and then to the video card. I'm almost all done except figuring out how to connect the led and restart button cables from case to motherboard.

The fans are working, video card, power button and USB ports. Installing windows 7 now. However I might have discovered something, the adapter power 2-1 cables shipped out on the 660 ti do not fit the actual card it's sold with. I even had a buddy look at it and he can't believe it either. Thanks again guys this has taken all day especially that cooler master Heatsink, I felt like jumping out the window

Look in your motherboard manual for the case I/O stuff. There are a group of pins in most likely the bottom right hand area of your motherboard. A lot of the time they are actually listed as such down there, but the writing is super small. The manual helps you sort things out.

 

[cametall]

I got my Sennheiser PC 350's sound adjusted. Took a lot of dicking around in the Xonar EQ but the metallic sounding voices are gone and the sound is overall much better.

 

[Fantomex]

All good and done fellas. Averaging 7.7 overall on Windows Experience. All drivers and cables installed properly and just loving it. Thanks!

 

[Infinite Justice]

All good and done fellas. Averaging 7.7 overall on Windows Experience. All drivers and cables installed properly and just loving it. Thanks!

Congrats man


And what is the offending part that's giving you the 7.7 lol

 

[Shambles]

Congrats man


And what is the offending part that's giving you the 7.7 lol

Just looked at mine for kicks. Somehow windows thinks a 3570K (At 4.2Ghz) is 7.6. :S Gotta love WEI.

 

[Kipp]

Just looked at mine for kicks. Somehow windows thinks a 3570K (At 4.2Ghz) is 7.6. :S Gotta love WEI.

Well, I suppose it's time for you to upgrade then.

Can't be sitting at a 7.6 like a fool.

 

[Fantomex]

Congrats man


And what is the offending part that's giving you the 7.7 lol

Phenom II Black Edition

 

[MrBig]

Speaking of WEI, i get a "could not measure processor performance" error when I try to run it.

I was able to run it back when I first built my rig, before I installed my 670, so graphics score is down at 6.4 from the HD4000

 

[TyrantGuardian]

Hmm. My Gigabyte 670 seems to be stuck in the highest performance mode (minus boost clock when not under load) for some reason... GPU usage is at 0% but my clock is at 1045Mhz. I've overclocked it via nVidia inspector, but setting it to default settings does nothing. This issue persists through reboots as well. Anyone have any idea what could be causing this?

 

[Ryan_]

You can run a memtest 86+ to find out. 15 minutes usually finds something wrong. Some people run it overnight.
Have you tried a different cable/monitor?

Just did memtest, found no errors.
Yea, i tried different cables and a new screen, another PSU, bought a new motherboard, still same problem. I'm getting really desperate.

I'm seriously thinking of giving money to the person that can help me. The new motherbord cost me 120 dollar and i dont want to spend another 100 when i have to go to a computer store to turn it in.

 

[AwesomeSauce]

Hmm. My Gigabyte 670 seems to be stuck in the highest performance mode (minus boost clock when not under load) for some reason... GPU usage is at 0% but my clock is at 1045Mhz. I've overclocked it via nVidia inspector, but setting it to default settings does nothing. This issue persists through reboots as well. Anyone have any idea what could be causing this?

Are you running dual monitors? Idk if the 600 series fixed nvidia cards not downclocking when using more than one monitor.

Well you can try using nvidia inspector to force low power mode. Start up inspector and right click where it says show overclocking. Click multi display power mode, and in there check your Gpu and it should go into low power mode.

 

[TyrantGuardian]

Are you running dual monitors? Idk if the 600 series fixed nvidia cards not downclocking when using more than one monitor.

Well you can try using nvidia inspector to force low power mode. Start up inspector and right click where it says show overclocking. Click multi display power mode, and in there check your Gpu and it should go into low power mode.

Only using one display, for sure.

 

[beje]

A little bit late, but oh well DERP. Here's a pic of my PC:

Excuse the molex mess but the graphics card came with an 8 pin power plug, divided in two 6 pin plugs which in turn need two 4-pin molex each (because my PS didn't come with PCI-E cables). And most of it is hidden below the DVD unit so go figure...

Also, I have a quick question. On the right, my current card and on the left, the one I'm interested in because mine is noisy and hot as FUCKING HELL (even though I've deep cleaned it and applied new thermal paste) reaching 60ºC idle and 95ºC + plane-taking-off fan noise on full load. I guess I'm not getting a big performance upgrade looking at raw numbers but I will get a huge improvement in both temperature and noise levels.

Taking into account I'm not really that interested in playing at max levels and will settle with something playable at mid with no AA (which I already do now with an almost 4 years old card), is it a good upgrade change at 100€?

 

[Router]

Need some advice guys, I have had to downsize my life a bit for a while so I have sold my 40" Bravia.... Any advice on a monitor to replace that with until I have the space for a big screen again??? Its for xbox/ps3 use.

 

[Hellish]

Need some advice guys, I have had to downsize my life a bit for a while so I have sold my 40" Bravia.... Any advice on a monitor to replace that with until I have the space for a big screen again??? Its for xbox/ps3 use.

I would get the Dell S2740L, it has been at the lowest $320 + Free shipping (US) & $380 + Free Shipping (CAN).

It is a 27" 1080p Glossy IPS with Edge to Edge Glass.

 

[mkenyon]

I would get the Dell S2740L, it has been at the lowest $320 + Free shipping (US) & $380 + Free Shipping (CAN).

It is a 27" 1080p Glossy IPS with Edge to Edge Glass.

Nice rec! First time checking it out and I'm pretty interested.

 

[legacyzero]

What's the story on HDMI cables? I want to get one to run from my PC to my TV (for big picture mode)

I need around 15-20 feet. Is there a quality/price ratio that I need to be concerned about? Because I obviously dont want to spend alot, but I want a decent cable too.

 

[Kipp]

What's the story on HDMI cables? I want to get one to run from my PC to my TV (for big picture mode)

I need around 15-20 feet. Is there a quality/price ratio that I need to be concerned about? Because I obviously dont want to spend alot, but I want a decent cable too.

I know nothing about HDMI cables, but I'm pretty sure Monoprice is the place to go for well-priced, functional HDMI cables.

 

[Salsa]

Nice rec! First time checking it out and I'm pretty interested.

hey you convinced me over getting a 23' instead of 27' and now you're interested in getting a 1080p 27' ?

traitor! :b

 

[legacyzero]

I know nothing about HDMI cables, but I'm pretty sure Monoprice is the place to go for well-priced, functional HDMI cables.

Oh nice, I was wondering about that site.

I'm still worried about the type I should get. Especially if I'm going to be gaming with it. It seems like there's so many variations.

 

[Kipp]

Oh nice, I was wondering about that site.

I'm still worried about the type I should get. Especially if I'm going to be gaming with it. It seems like there's so many variations.

Edit: Nevermind what I had typed here before. I should probably stop talking about HDMI cables when I know basically nothing about them.

 

[mkenyon]

hey you convinced me over getting a 23' instead of 27' and now you're interested in getting a 1080p 27' ?

traitor! :b

For a secondary monitor! I like having a second one in portrait mode for fitting mumble, HWMonitor, chrome, and other random stuff. I had a Crossover 27Q, but the resolution was a bit too high for my liking, but I did like the size.

The current one I have in there is some extra 24" Samsung TN with the worst viewing angles ever. Needs to go.

 

[beje]

Oh nice, I was wondering about that site.

I'm still worried about the type I should get. Especially if I'm going to be gaming with it. It seems like there's so many variations.

There's only one rule regarding HDMI cables: don't fall for overpriced scams or buzz words. There's no such thing as "gaming", "premium" or "enthusiast" HDMI cables because the signal is completely digital (0s and 1s) so it either arrives at the destination or it doesn't. It cannot degrade in any way just like it might happen with analog signals, so it doesn't matter if you paid $5 or $50, the signal that arrives at the TV will be exactly the same. Just find one that fits your length needs and doesn't look scrummy and you're done.

 

[Kipp]

There's only one rule regarding HDMI cables: don't fall for overpriced scams or buzz words. There's no such thing as "gaming", "premium" or "enthusiast" HDMI cables because the signal is completely digital (0s and 1s) so it either arrives at the destination or it doesn't. It cannot degrade in any way just like it might happen with analog signals, so it doesn't matter if you paid $5 or $50, the signal that arrives at the TV will be exactly the same. Just find one that fits your length needs and doesn't look scrummy and you're done.

Oh cool. So I was right before I edited my post! Haha

What about this one though? It says it supports 720p/1080i but doesn't say anything about 1080p. Can HDMI cables support different resolutions?

 

[mkenyon]

I've had HDMI cables from monoprice that couldn't output 1080p (1.3). Spent an entire weekend troubleshooting my HTPC. Finally went out and just bought some Sony HDMI cable and it fixed the problem. I probably hit the bad luck lottery, but the friend who suggested I do that had the same problem.

 

[Kipp]

After browsing Monoprice for a few minutes, these seem like the cheapest, best-rated 15' 1080p HDMI cables: http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10240&cs_id=1024004&p_id=3663&seq=1&format=2

Edit: It seems you want "High Speed HDMI" rather than "Standard HDMI." "High Speed" is the one that supports 1080p and up while "Standard" is only 720p/1080i.

 

[Hellish]

There's only one rule regarding HDMI cables: don't fall for overpriced scams or buzz words. There's no such thing as "gaming", "premium" or "enthusiast" HDMI cables because the signal is completely digital (0s and 1s) so it either arrives at the destination or it doesn't. It cannot degrade in any way just like it might happen with analog signals, so it doesn't matter if you paid $5 or $50, the signal that arrives at the TV will be exactly the same. Just find one that fits your length needs and doesn't look scrummy and you're done.

All HDMI Cables all not equal, I hate how generalized this has become.


Different HDMI cables will produce different colors, so if in a multi screen environment and using HDMI (which is pretty rare, but happened to me with GT5 on 3 screens) you will want the same ones, also some color production out of certain cables you may prefer over others.

HDMI Cables have different revisions and different speeds, some will support more then they are rated to and some will support less.

HDMI Cables at lengths greater then ~50' you are entering a whole different ball game and here is where you will want to go with a quality cable in fear in signal issues.

All this being said though you do not have to spend a lot of money on one as even name brands go on sale 24/7, I picked up a 75ft monster hd 1000 for 69.99

 

[Dennis]

Thank you, Hazaro, and others, for taking the time to make this thread a great resource.

 

[Kipp]

*HDMI info*

Thanks for clearing that up! Very good to know.

 

[legacyzero]

All HDMI Cables all not equal, I hate how generalized this has become.

But I dont need a cable more than 20 ft. So I'm pretty much ok to get really any cable as long as it's high speed and can support 1080?

I'm looking at this one.

 

[YianGaruga]

Different HDMI cables will produce different colors

Can you explain how this is even possible technically, since HDMI is digital?

 

[Shambles]

I can't see what hellish posted since I have him ignored but whatever he's saying about HDMI sounds like he doesn't know what he's talking about.

I've had HDMI cables from monoprice that couldn't output 1080p (1.3). Spent an entire weekend troubleshooting my HTPC. Finally went out and just bought some Sony HDMI cable and it fixed the problem. I probably hit the bad luck lottery, but the friend who suggested I do that had the same problem.

For what it's worth the more than a dozen HDMI cables I've used from monoprice haven't had any issues. I'd still tell people to buy whatever is cheap.

 

[beje]

All HDMI Cables all not equal, I hate how generalized this has become.


Different HDMI cables will produce different colors, so if in a multi screen environment and using HDMI (which is pretty rare, but happened to me with GT5 on 3 screens) you will want the same ones, also some color production out of certain cables you may prefer over others.

HDMI Cables have different revisions and different speeds, some will support more then they are rated to and some will support less.

HDMI Cables at lengths greater then ~50' you are entering a whole different ball game and here is where you will want to go with a quality cable in fear in signal issues.

All this being said though you do not have to spend a lot of money on one as even name brands go on sale 24/7, I picked up a 75ft monster hd 1000 for 69.99

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7022/6663541041_f53de3bef5_z.jpg[IMG][/QUOTE]

And even then, they scammed you at that price. The sole especification of HDMI cables and its nature makes it impossible to get a sharper image or better colours because a digital signal doesn't represent the colour with a wave like analog, it just tells "this pixel is RGB E7DDA1" which the cable cannot enhace, improve or fuck up: it either arrives at the TV and its shown exactly as requested or it does not and picture is completely broken and therefore the cable is faulty. The only differences might come from contruction (you might need a cable a little bit more sturdy for some situations) and the error rate, which is barely one per day in short cables and increases with the length, that might cause at most a "failed" pixel, which the TV will correct with the nearest neighbours and you'll most likely never noticed. Yes, extremely cheap-ass and scrummy cables could have a bigger error rate (still inside unnoticeable ranges) and that's why I said those are the ones to avoid but that's all. Then you also have the two especifications (standard and high speed) but that refers exclusively to the bandwidth the cable can hold.

There's a good comprehensive article I found on the matter: [url]http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/home-entertainment/1282699/hdmi-investigated-are-expensive-cables-a-scam[/url]

 

[Dark Octave]

I just had the power supply tested and it's ok. Had the motherboard replaced and still nothing. I'm about ready to throw it out of the window and get a Dell.

 

[Hellish]

Can you explain how this is even possible technically, since HDMI is digital?

I cant explain it and do not feel like looking it up, but from my 3 PS3 consoles hooked up to 3 Asus VH236H monitors I used the Microsoft HDMI Cables, a no name one, and a monster one and each screen was different, it also happen on Xbox with 3X Forza, I have Video of the Forza setup if you do not believe me.

And even then, they scammed you at that price. The sole especification of HDMI cables and its nature makes it impossible to get a sharper image or better colours because a digital signal doesn't represent the colour with a wave like analog, it just tells "this pixel is RGB E7DDA1" which the cable cannot enhace, improve or fuck up: it either arrives at the TV and its shown exactly as requested or it does not and picture is completely broken and therefore the cable is faulty. The only differences might come from contruction (you might need a cable a little bit more sturdy for some situations) and the error rate, which is barely one per day in short cables and increases with the length, that might cause at most a "failed" pixel, which the TV will correct with the nearest neighbours and you'll most likely never noticed. Yes, extremely cheap-ass and scrummy cables could have a bigger error rate (still inside unnoticeable ranges) and that's why I said those are the ones to avoid but that's all. Then you also have the two especifications (standard and high speed) but that refers exclusively to the bandwidth the cable can hold.

There's a good comprehensive article I found on the matter: http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/home...hdmi-investigated-are-expensive-cables-a-scam

Please show me where you can find a cheaper 75FT Cable that I could get locally or shipped to my door in Toronto for $69.99, that is not a POS. Cables electrically degrade over length and on a device by device scenario certain cables may or may not work.

 

[Hazaro]

A little bit late, but oh well DERP. Here's a pic of my PC:

Excuse the molex mess but the graphics card came with an 8 pin power plug, divided in two 6 pin plugs which in turn need two 4-pin molex each (because my PS didn't come with PCI-E cables). And most of it is hidden below the DVD unit so go figure...

Also, I have a quick question. On the right, my current card and on the left, the one I'm interested in because mine is noisy and hot as FUCKING HELL (even though I've deep cleaned it and applied new thermal paste) reaching 60ºC idle and 95ºC + plane-taking-off fan noise on full load. I guess I'm not getting a big performance upgrade looking at raw numbers but I will get a huge improvement in both temperature and noise levels.

Taking into account I'm not really that interested in playing at max levels and will settle with something playable at mid with no AA (which I already do now with an almost 4 years old card), is it a good upgrade change at 100€?

Get a VP450 for a new power supply and a 6850. Squeeze it into the budget if possible.
If you really can't spare anything a 7770 would fit the bill. Pretty low power too which is the only reason I'd suggest it over a 6850.

After browsing Monoprice for a few minutes, these seem like the cheapest, best-rated 15' 1080p HDMI cables: http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10240&cs_id=1024004&p_id=3663&seq=1&format=2

Edit: It seems you want "High Speed HDMI" rather than "Standard HDMI." "High Speed" is the one that supports 1080p and up while "Standard" is only 720p/1080i.

For <10ft pretty much anything is fine, but you want to avoid the $1-2 ones because the plugs usually aren't as good.

For a 15-25ft cable just get something off Monoprice or Amazon that's 1.4, or 1.4a/b if you know you'll do 3D.

All HDMI Cables all not equal, I hate how generalized this has become.

Different HDMI cables will produce different colors, so if in a multi screen environment and using HDMI (which is pretty rare, but happened to me with GT5 on 3 screens) you will want the same ones, also some color production out of certain cables you may prefer over others.

HDMI Cables have different revisions and different speeds, some will support more then they are rated to and some will support less.

HDMI Cables at lengths greater then ~50' you are entering a whole different ball game and here is where you will want to go with a quality cable in fear in signal issues.

All this being said though you do not have to spend a lot of money on one as even name brands go on sale 24/7, I picked up a 75ft monster hd 1000 for 69.99

I've never heard of HDMIs doing color/quality differences unless it was a bottom of the barrel cable on a long run.

Do you have links for this?

I cant explain it and do not feel like looking it up, but from my 3 PS3 consoles hooked up to 3 Asus VH236H monitors I used the Microsoft HDMI Cables, a no name one, and a monster one and each screen was different, it also happen on Xbox with 3X Forza, I have Video of the Forza setup if you do not believe me.

Did you test the screens each with the same brand of cable first? Because monitors almost always have large color differences.

Thank you, Hazaro, and others, for taking the time to make this thread a great resource.

Of course. Gonna do some more updating today.

I just had the power supply tested and it's ok. Had the motherboard replaced and still nothing. I'm about ready to throw it out of the window and get a Dell.

Can you state your problem again?

 

[androvsky]

All HDMI Cables all not equal, I hate how generalized this has become.

Different HDMI cables will produce different colors, so if in a multi screen environment and using HDMI (which is pretty rare, but happened to me with GT5 on 3 screens) you will want the same ones, also some color production out of certain cables you may prefer over others.

HDMI Cables have different revisions and different speeds, some will support more then they are rated to and some will support less.

HDMI Cables at lengths greater then ~50' you are entering a whole different ball game and here is where you will want to go with a quality cable in fear in signal issues.

All this being said though you do not have to spend a lot of money on one as even name brands go on sale 24/7, I picked up a 75ft monster hd 1000 for 69.99

You have some good points about cable length and quality (yes, it's possible to get a bad cable), but I'm really curious how the cables are supposed to affect color in a digital environment. Especially an encrypted digital environment. I presume you're not talking about dropping bits since I don't think anyone would prefer random bad pixels, so...

 

[sk3tch]

I cant explain it and do not feel like looking it up, but from my 3 PS3 consoles hooked up to 3 Asus VH236H monitors I used the Microsoft HDMI Cables, a no name one, and a monster one and each screen was different, it also happen on Xbox with 3X Forza, I have Video of the Forza setup if you do not believe me.

While I respect your opinion and the "feel" you have when using those different HDMI cables - this is WRONG for everyone else. Do not heed this advice. It's digital. beje laid it out clear for everyone a couple of posts up.

Buy a quality cable, i.e. monoprice or Amazon brand cable - or any other kind that is from a trusted source. Buy it cheap and at the length you need. It will work or not. Same quality as anything else. If it doesn't work - return it for a different one. But once you have one that works, you have 100% quality. The best of the best.

 

[beje]

I cant explain it and do not feel like looking it up, but from my 3 PS3 consoles hooked up to 3 Asus VH236H monitors I used the Microsoft HDMI Cables, a no name one, and a monster one and each screen was different, it also happen on Xbox with 3X Forza, I have Video of the Forza setup if you do not believe me.



Please show me where you can find a cheaper 75FT Cable that I could get locally or shipped to my door in Toronto for $69.99, that is not a POS. Cables electrically degrade over length and on a device by device scenario certain cables may or may not work.

Ok, I just realized I miss-read the 75ft. part (22m?) and I agree that for that particular situations a high quality construction (again: CONSTRUCTION, sturdiness, good shielding, won't give "better colours") is needed but not at the whooping $450 they were asking for. Still waiting for an explanation about the difference in colours, as in the article I posted they did some testing and realized the difference in temperature came from the monitors themselves (which were the same model) before the test started and even after putting to factory settings so I think you shouldn't rule that out in your particular case.

 

[zoku88]

You have some good points about cable length and quality (yes, it's possible to get a bad cable), but I'm really curious how the cables are supposed to affect color in a digital environment. Especially an encrypted digital environment. I presume you're not talking about dropping bits since I don't think anyone would prefer random bad pixels, so...

Not sure about HDMI, but being encrypted and digital has nothing to do with errors.

Afterall, once you look into it, it's all analog (the wires, I mean.) So even if you're only transmitting digital data, they will still be affected by analog properties.

Even processors, with their really short wire lenghts, get errors (like 1 in billion-ish chance, but a processor does billions of operations per second...)

HDMI has error correction (I assume, probably some type of CRC.) But, I imagine as the length increases, the number of errors also increases (more chances for an error to occur.) Thus, the CRC is unable to detect all errors. Also, since it's HDMI and sending data that needs to be in a certain order and displayed at a certain time, I don't think you can even retry a packet. (I'm not sure what happens when you detect an error and can't correct it in HDMI. Not familiar with the protocal.)

So, one thing you can do is increase the quality of the wires so that the likelihood of errors decreases.

I imagine that an error could affect colour, somewhat, depending on which bits of the color bytes it was affecting. I guess if there were a lot of errors on the MSB a lot, you would get completely wrong colors...

 

[Cronox]

Hey guys, quick question: if these are the temperatures I'm seeing, this indicates that I didn't put thermal grease on uniformly, right?

There have been times where there is a 13 degree difference between the first two cores and the third...

 

[Hellish]

When I did switch the cables from monitor to monitor the color "profile" stayed with the cable and not the monitor or Xbox. One cable was causing distinctly lighter/faded colors compared to the rest it stayed with that cable and not monitor only reason I tried switching it was I didn't want the one that was least uniform to the rest on the center monitor.

I do not know why it happened and If I didn't see it myself I would probably be posting the same stuff as everyone else here.

Anyways here is a link

http://www.tested.com/news/feature/3329-the-difference-between-cheap-and-expensive-hdmi-cables/

"Malota wished to prove that four cables of the same category" - Not sure if this means the same spec/revision, but I believe this is what they are referring to due to the reference at the bottom.

"There are some minor variations, but they all fall within acceptable limits." - This sort of supports what I saw (although they did say the difference was insignificant) & if the top quote is referring to revision/spec ex HDMI 1.4a etc then there could be larger variations between different specs, but even then it seems odd as does the device not dictate the color depth?

... and lastly I never said better colors, I said different that you may or may not prefer.

 

[Dark Octave]

Can you state your problem again?

The light comes on the motherboard when I plug in the power supply and flip the switch but when I press the power button the fans start up for a split second and that's it. The power supply and power switch are plugged in properly.

 

[CRS]

Anyone have any recommendations for a monitor riser? I need a little more desk space.

Looking for something around a two to three feet wide riser.

 

[MrBig]

All HDMI Cables all not equal, I hate how generalized this has become.


Different HDMI cables will produce different colors, so if in a multi screen environment and using HDMI (which is pretty rare, but happened to me with GT5 on 3 screens) you will want the same ones, also some color production out of certain cables you may prefer over others.

HDMI Cables have different revisions and different speeds, some will support more then they are rated to and some will support less.

HDMI/DVI cables are standardised, and send a digital signal. This may have been true with analogue component, composite, etc...

 

[androvsky]

Not sure about HDMI, but being encrypted and digital has nothing to do with errors.

Afterall, once you look into it, it's all analog (the wires, I mean.) So even if you're only transmitting digital data, they will still be affected by analog properties.

Even processors, with their really short wire lenghts, get errors (like 1 in billion-ish chance, but a processor does billions of operations per second...)

HDMI has error correction (I assume, probably some type of CRC.) But, I imagine as the length increases, the number of errors also increases (more chances for an error to occur.) Thus, the CRC is unable to detect all errors. Also, since it's HDMI and sending data that needs to be in a certain order and displayed at a certain time, I don't think you can even retry a packet. (I'm not sure what happens when you detect an error and can't correct it in HDMI. Not familiar with the protocal.)

So, one thing you can do is increase the quality of the wires so that the likelihood of errors decreases.

I imagine that an error could affect colour, somewhat.

That's all correct. HDMI's error handling isn't terribly robust, as I recall all it can do is detect that it's happening, it can't request retries. It might simply drop the connection though.

My point was that color tinting is extra unlikely in an encrypted stream, since the values are all scrambled anyway. I mean if the cable somehow managed to consistently drop the low-order bit on every third byte, and the display didn't drop the connection, after that byte is decrypted it's going to be a completely different value. The low order bit might have been a high-order bit, and you'll get variances between tinting towards blue and tinting away from blue.

Also, after looking it up, HDCP is supposed to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks, so it needs to drop the connection after an error is detected anyway.