The holiday shopping season is about to hit full swing over the next few weeks, and now that high-definition TVs are really coming down in price, stores no longer enjoy the huge margins they did back in the days of $50,000 plasma screens. Big TVs are not sources of big profits.
Making up some of the difference is the art of "packing the deal." In short, this means adding high-profit extras on to the core purchase. It can mean extended warranties, or home installation, or service calls. Or it can mean expensive accessories such as cables.
In our Marketplace report, "Packing the Deal," Erica Johnson takes a close look at the HDMI cable. This is the all-in-one cord that carries both sound and video into your HDTV, and you'll need one to get the best picture from your new setup. The most expensive model we found in-store was a Monster cable costing upwards of $250. We found a generic one online for just $12, including shipping. The test? To see whether the extra money was worth it.
The answer was no. Unlike the analog days where picture quality varied widely depending on the quality of the cable, in the new era, a digital signal works 100% or it doesn't at all. Which means a $12 cable works just as well as one that costs $250.
For more information, watch the full episode, "Packing the Deal":
Making up some of the difference is the art of "packing the deal." In short, this means adding high-profit extras on to the core purchase. It can mean extended warranties, or home installation, or service calls. Or it can mean expensive accessories such as cables.
In our Marketplace report, "Packing the Deal," Erica Johnson takes a close look at the HDMI cable. This is the all-in-one cord that carries both sound and video into your HDTV, and you'll need one to get the best picture from your new setup. The most expensive model we found in-store was a Monster cable costing upwards of $250. We found a generic one online for just $12, including shipping. The test? To see whether the extra money was worth it.
The answer was no. Unlike the analog days where picture quality varied widely depending on the quality of the cable, in the new era, a digital signal works 100% or it doesn't at all. Which means a $12 cable works just as well as one that costs $250.
For more information, watch the full episode, "Packing the Deal":
HDMI is a digital cable. Everything is sent in 1's and 0's. An expensive cable and a good cable does have different quality, but in the end, the picture quality is the same because, bad cable or good cable, a 1 sounds like a 1 on the other side of the line and a 0 sounds like a 0.
Absolutely correct! Only note that, confusingly, HDMI cable does come in different versions. Only "High Speed HDMI" can consistently carry the extra data for a Full 3D digital signal. Within each version there is a ridiculous range of prices when one knows that digital either just works or it just doesn't. Also, save money and don't opt for the Ethernet versions of each of these cables unless you specifically know your system supports it and you will use it.