If you do buy a TV, DO NOT! DO NOT! Buy the cables from FS/BB/Retailers!

[Morphius909]

Just trying to help out the person that DOES buy a Flatscreen TV this season.

Stick with www.monoprice.com

Or Loblaws/Superstore/Princess Auto as others have suggested!

FS/BB/Retailers in Canada are a complete scam when it comes to HDMI cables.


I hate good people being scammed by bad people, throwing away good money for sheer marketing.


Happy Shopping!

[Spongeg]

yes i saw a story on Marektplace on CBC that showed the $100 cable was just as good as a $10 cable

[rimi]

good point.
Get the cheapest cables. Sometimes the small time electronics stores around the corner have them for like 8-10$ if not go to monoprice.com just like the OP suggested.

[canadianguy_001]

Good post...

Yes cables is where retailers make a lot of money. In most cases they are complete deal-killers.

I know most of you buying new HDTV's this boxing day will be very ansy to get your beautiful new TV's up & running right away, but even good quality cables are really only worth about $5.

If you absolutely cannot wait for monoprice, I think I saw a thread about loblaws having HDMI cables for $6.99 - not too bad. Also I have seen them for cheap at Princess Auto in the surplus section before - although that is a total YMMV

[killoverme]

all corner stores seem to have cables priced high too, if its short then sometimes its worth it to buy it around the corner but anything longer then 6ft, you most likely should go to monoprice.

LCD arms are nice there too =)

40 USD approx (including shipping) 20 for the LCD arm and 20 for shipping

[Morphius909]

Excellent suggestion folks!

I've edited my Original post.

Keep it up!

[canadiankorean]

Order now so you can get the cables earlier so you can enjoy your new TV.

Imagine buying the TV, then having it sit in your house for 5-10 days while the cables ship... lol

Well if you have Rogers HD, at least the cable box comes with component.

[wahyinghung]

Damn someone should have made this thread like two years earlier

[CRXGSR]

During the Philips Clearance sale, HDMI cables were only $5, whereas it would have cost like $20+ at the big box stores. You can still buy from the Philips as they are open regular work hours as well.

[MaDgamEr]

The trick is not to get the absolute cheapest crap out there, because there does come a point where quality will suffer.

Just remember that $5 at monoprice is MUCH better than $5 at a supermarket!
Hands down, monoprice all the way!!!

[MrKat]

Just trying to help out the person that DOES buy a Flatscreen TV this season.

Stick with www.monoprice.com

Or Loblaws/Superstore/Princess Auto as others have suggested!

FS/BB/Retailers in Canada are a complete scam when it comes to HDMI cables.


I hate good people being scammed by bad people, throwing away good money for sheer marketing.


Happy Shopping!

Wow welcome to 2006! I didnt know that, wow ground breaking news.

[speedyforme]

wait is this only for HDTV cables right?

I have Rogers but not HD tv since I don't find it worthwhile. BUT if I say I plug in my DVD player, everything should appear in good quality right?

[MaDgamEr]

Wow welcome to 2006! I didnt know that, wow ground breaking news.

That's a bit harsh, no? Next time you're @ BB or FS hang out by the tv's for a while and watch how easily (and often) people get duped into this bs. OP had good intentions, and IMHO, made a very valid post considering this time of year.

[Sniper001]

That's a bit harsh, no? Next time you're @ BB or FS hang out by the tv's for a while and watch how easily (and often) people get duped into this bs. OP had good intentions, and IMHO, made a very valid post considering this time of year.

+1. Thanks. In fact, I wasn't even aware of this till last year and I got duped by it a few years ago.

[qrayzie]

I'm going to have to post a negative for monoprice. Yes their cables are cheap (in cost), but no, they aren't always the best.

Example 1: RCA Component Cable--the cheapest kind they offer, is a ridiculously heavy cable with plugs that don't grip properly. Depending on the orientation of the sockets on your television, the weight of the cable alone will pull them right out. Also, the plugs are aligned A-V-V-V-A (A=Audio V=Video) rather than V-V-V-A-A, which may or may not cause problems for you depending on the setup. The PREMIUM cable that they offer, which is about 4x more expensive, is just as heavy but with plugs that have much better grip. However on this cable, the audio lines are longer than the video lines, making for an awkward, bulky plug in setup. On both cables that they offer, the plugs are actually quite bulky as well, and it can be a pain to get them plugged in properly if you have multiple component sockets one on top of another. Finally, they rate the cheap cable for up to 1080i and the premium cable for up to 1080p, and yet neither appears capable of carrying a proper 1080 signal. For 720 and below the picture quality is fantastic, but for 1080 and above, it seems hit or miss. I've also received plenty of faulty cables that just don't work, generally because of a snapped wire in the cable. YMMV.

Example 2: Component Wii cable--What a great deal, under $4! However, only if you like your reds to show up green. It's a universal problem with the cable that still doesn't appear to have been corrected.

I'm hesistant to try their HDMI cables because of my experiences with their component cables. HOWEVER, I think the lesson the OP is trying to teach is a good one, and should start with don't buy Monster cable from the big box stores--it really is a rip off, and there are plenty of viable alternatives. Component cables for example, can generally be found at the source (nexxtech, etc) for $19.99, and are high quality cables from my experience. The price pretty much matches monoprice once you add shipping(duty) and time spent waiting anyhow, and they are good cables with good gripping plugs that don't pull themselves out of your sockets by their weight alone.

Just my experience!