Wasn't this issue brought up on the Gadget Show? They tried a £2 versus £100 cable and could show no difference in colour or audio quality. Problem is there's a lot of analogue people in a digital age.
I didn't actually, just typed HDMI! That switch does look impressive though lol I was looking for the £10,000 HDMI on amazon but I couldnt find it.
Indeed - 50 years of needing high-quality cables to get a decent sound/picture is a hard habit to break in a few years.
This is a very weak excuse. Times may be hard but any business that cannot turn a decent profit without resorting to blatant dishonesty deserves to go bust. It is my belief that it is possible to trade honestly and continue as a viable business, pressure to do otherwise from managers or share holders should be resisted or revealed at any opportunity.
I don't think there's anything wrong with this at all to be honest. If one's uneducated enough in a certain field to be duped, then what's the problem? It's by one's own volition that they would remain 'in the dark' on any subject matter of the world today. In exemplia, something everybody here ought to be familiar with; motherboards. At 22, I've already been through maybe six or seven motherboards. Each time I've purchased, I've been careful to do research on each and every one, buying to a specification to meet my criteria. In the beginning when I was young(er), and let it be said - only earning pocket money, the requirement for something cheap and functional far outweighed any desire for advanced, and perhaps superfluous features or designs. I was resigned to buying only what I could afford, namely the low-end boards. What I would expect any member of this website who has been acquainted with computer building for any length of time to be familiar with, is the trend of marketing a differentiation in types of capacitors and VRMs used, number of power phases, onboard LED debugging, and on my most recent motherboard - the ability to overclock my pc from my phone using an app via bluetooth. Do I notice the increased longevity and stability of my system due to the 'all Japanese, full aluminium' capacitors over my existing standard ones? - No. Having made sure I got the motherboard with the most possible power phases for whatever marketing hype I bought into at the time, do I still have to ultimately control the vdrop, vdroop, llc, etc when overclocking my CPU? Yes. Have I noticed any tangible benefits from this, including a higher/more stable maximum overlclock? Not really. Have I ever used the LED debugging? No, if it's broken I'll RMA it. Have I ever/will I ever want to overclock my CPU/RAM through my phone? No. Ultimately, did I get duped regarding some of the features? - Probably yes, but I did so willingly, buying into the hype and as a direct result of not taking the time to compose my own dossier of relevant information on the aforementioned. Would I buy another completely OTT motherboard, comprising of features that I frankly can't hope to understand? Absolutely. The fact of the matter is, broadly speaking, social conditioning dictates you buy the best you can possibly afford, the HDMI manufacturers are merely enabling this. TSB
Here in Germany I haven't seen the scam this obvious... The trick is simpler, there's no sub 20€ cable in the store.
Well, it's an excuse to sell the cables. It's definately NOT an excuse to blatantly lie about them, obviously. Please dont get me wrong, these people at Comet are absolute scumbags for actually scamming people with the scart trick.
I think what people are failing to grasp is I was told the second tv below was a HDMI cable, it wasn't - It was a scart lead. @TheStockBroker - the difference with what you're saying is some people will notice the difference, you maybe didn't get the right combination of hardware etc etc. What you're basically saying is "I bought a car for £20,000 yet there's a less expensive model that has less BHP which my friend also bought, I wasn't complaining when I tried my friend's car and I didn't notice mine was much faster." The fact is the car did have more BHP so it's not a lie or a marketing scam. What Comet (and other retailers) are doing is a scam because they're showing a demonstration to mislead customers into thinking that there is a difference (when there isn't) yet they're making it even worse by lying about what is being used in the demonstration to mislead the customer into spending more money on something that isn't necessary.
Yes, but if you perceive something to be valuable, when its actually not, then thats not fair at all now is it? How about if I sold you an antique tea pot that I told you was worth £1000 but it turned out it was a copy and was worth £10? It still pours tea, but you wouldn't feel like you'd got good value for money. If a company can't make a profit, they shouldn't turn to trying to pull the wool over customers eyes. Off you go to buy your £50 HDMI cable then.
AHA! But now the teapot IS antique! The expensive cable is often shielded better, has gold connectors, better packaging, and better resale value, and will most likely have been made with bettter, more durable materials (apart from the gold, lol). So, in many respects it actually IS a better cable. That means the 'teapot' in this example does NOT turn out to be fake. The deception is in the fact that the customer is lead to believe that it'll poor better tea. That's deception, false, and not right, however, it's hardly something to get worked up about. Companies constantly sell us sstuff at inflated prices jusst because we are willing to pay for it. All you have to do is look at Microsoft's or Intel's profit margins.
Well it's not like Microsoft sells the exact same OS at a low price point and a high price point..................oh wait they do, you're right. There's definatley no difference between Home Basic and Ultimate. You're still failing to see that the issue I'm raising is not that companies are selling stuff for profit, they need to to survive. It's the fact that I was lied to by the manager and the sales rep that they were both HDMIs. One a £20, one a £60. They lied, false advertising, fraud, whatever you want to call it - it's wrong.
OP is right - using a SCART cable (designed in the 1970s) and pretending it's a cheap HDMI cable to dupe customers is fraudulent and false advertising. If intent could be proved then the OFT would have something to say. The secret is to report stuff like this every time you see it, so eventually the'll start to notice if a company such as Comet becomes a repeat offender. The argument in this thread is not whether a cheap HDMI cable is inferior to an expensive one. They both serve a purpose, the expensive one just serves a dual purpose of ripping off the uneducated. Salespeople have been doing that since the dawn of time. To hijack the car analogy, all new cars will get you from A to B in relative comfort and safety. A Kia will do the job as well as a VW, but costs a third less and is a bit uglier in the process. A Bentley will make you feel all fancy-like, but you will still end up at your destination, get out, and continue your life as normal.
The only difference I've seen with more expensive HDMIs is they're external build quality is a lot better and more fancy.
And, if it is a gaming HDMI cable, it has 20 customizable macro buttons, 5000 dpi, low latency drivers and transfers data at the speed of electrons!!!
Don't even go there unless you know what you're saying But yes, I agree that while it might frowned upon about one cable vs. another, blatantly lying and using a SCART is a step too far.
Windows Starter only being 32 Bit...only allowing 2GB, no Aero, the desktop wallpaper and Visual Styles are not user-changeable. I'm assuming you mean something else though?
You said there's no difference between Home Basic and Ultimate. Unless you meant something else, then there's a lot to learn And apologies for the tangent, everyone!
