My little HDMI cable rant

[Bigeyez]

It's widely known that gamers as consumers put up with a lot of bullshit that other consumers wouldn't stand for.

When we buy a PS3 and 360 we are paying for the HD capabilities these systems have. We don't have an option of buying a non-hd compatible version of these systems.

Why is it then do we get a product that comes with standard cables? Then to add insult to injury the proprietary cables made by M$ and Sony are INSANELY over priced.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16874103073 $49.99 for a 360 HDMI Cable.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16879261116 $39.99 for the Sony version.

Now If I'm dropping $300 or $400 on a product I expect to be able to use all the features the product boasts and brags about as soon and I unbox it. Especially in this generation when usually the first thing advertised about a game is how it looks and if it can run in full HD or not. Frankly it's bullshit.

Imagine I buy a brand new car. The car is adevrtised to have a top speed of 100 miles an hour, but really in order to get that car to go up 100 miles an hour I had to drop extra money into a proprietary engine modification that was triple the price of a similar engine mod made by a third party. People would be calling the BBB left and right. There would be an uproar over something like that.

And look I know this isn't a "zomgz end of the world" really big deal. And yes I know you can buy third party cables for pretty cheap. My whole point is that us as videogame consumers put up with getting shafted all the time like this.

/end rant.

Anyways whats everyone elses thoughts on things like this? Do you even care?

 

[Sixties Spidey]

There are really cheap HDMI cables that every one says OOH IT'S BAD BECAUSE IT'S CHEAP! IT'S SOOOO NOT LIKE ALL THE OTHERS!

Bull Fucking Shit. They actually did a test of a very expensive HDMI cable to a 10 dollar one, and there was no fucking difference. Bad because it's cheap my ass. There were cases where the more expensive one was dropping in quality.

So yes, there are cheap cables, and they work well, if not better than the more expensive ones.

 

[Bigeyez]

There are really cheap HDMI cables that every one says OOH IT'S BAD BECAUSE IT'S CHEAP! IT'S SOOOO NOT LIKE ALL THE OTHERS!

Bull Fucking Shit. They actually did a test of a very expensive HDMI cable to a 10 dollar one, and there was no fucking difference. Bad because it's cheap my ass. There were cases where the more expensive one was dropping in quality.

So yes, there are cheap cables, and they work well, if not better than the more expensive ones.

Thank you for missing the entire point of my post! Congratulations!

 

[Beltom]

You didn't get an HDMI cable? When I bought mine it had a split cable, one ending with the regular pins and the other with the HD pins. How long ago did you get it?

 

[Faps]

It's simple economics, the majority of 360 owners (I'm not sure about PS3) don't have an HDTV so Microsoft aren't got to spend money putting a cable that most people won't use.

It's a sucky deal if you do have an HDTV but if you can afford a 360 and HDTV you can spring for a £15 HDMI cable.

 

[Bigeyez]

You didn't get an HDMI cable? When I bought mine it had a split cable, one ending with the regular pins and the other with the HD pins. How long ago did you get it?

I'm really refering to thew newer bundles that are cutting HDMI cables out altogether. Even the Elite versions and the 360 are no longer coming with them. Also included with that are "cheap" versions of the console like the arcade which don't come with HDMI cables.

It's simple economics, the majority of 360 owners (I'm not sure about PS3) don't have an HDTV so Microsoft aren't got to spend money putting a cable that most people won't use.

It's a sucky deal if you do have an HDTV but if you can afford a 360 and HDTV you can spring for a £15 HDMI cable.

And thats what really sucks. Every person who buys a 360 and PS3 is paying for that HD compatibility whether they have a hdtv or not. So the companies are already charging us for that HD function but not giving us a way to use it without shelling out more cash.

And yeah like I said it's not a really big deal but still. It's something that if it happened in another industry people would have a hissy fit over but because it's the videogame industry it slips by without a second glance.

 

[Depth Charge]

@Faps, I actually think the majority of people with these systems DO have an HDTV. I honestly think it's pretty stupid to even own one of these systems and not be playing it on HD. The games aren't made for standard definition and just don't look good at all on standard. Some games are nearly impossible to read the text unless you have HD.

I also think it's ridiculous a cable isn't included (except with the 360 elite). I guess it's just a cost cutting measure, or a way to make a good profit on selling the cables seperate.

 

[Cowabungaa]

You didn't get an HDMI cable? When I bought mine it had a split cable, one ending with the regular pins and the other with the HD pins. How long ago did you get it?

I'm really refering to thew newer bundles that are cutting HDMI cables out altogether. Even the Elite versions and the 360 are no longer coming with them. Also included with that are "cheap" versions of the console like the arcade which don't come with HDMI cables.

Don't they even come with the, as I call it, "rasta cable"? That's what I got with my 360, 1 cable which you could switch to HD or SD mode.

 

[GonzoGamer]

I can see both arguments.
It's kind of stupid to complain about since you can get an hdmi cable for pennies but since the common consumer can get an hdmi cable for pennies, it's stupid for sony & ms to leave them out of the package.

 

[Sixties Spidey]

There are really cheap HDMI cables that every one says OOH IT'S BAD BECAUSE IT'S CHEAP! IT'S SOOOO NOT LIKE ALL THE OTHERS!

Bull Fucking Shit. They actually did a test of a very expensive HDMI cable to a 10 dollar one, and there was no fucking difference. Bad because it's cheap my ass. There were cases where the more expensive one was dropping in quality.

So yes, there are cheap cables, and they work well, if not better than the more expensive ones.

Thank you for missing the entire point of my post! Congratulations!

There is a reason why I brought that up. I had a similar episode like yours, and here's what prompted me to type that post up.

[blockquote]
Then to add insult to injury the proprietary cables made by M$ and Sony are INSANELY over priced.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16874103073 $49.99 for a 360 HDMI Cable.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16879261116 $39.99 for the Sony version.[/blockquote]

I didn't miss the point. Trust me. I had an experience where some dumbass clerk at the store I got a 360 Pro from pitched me a 360 HDMI cable because it was better than all the cheap ones which have lower quality. I just got him to shut up by saying, "How come they all perform the exact same way with the exact same quality?"

 

[Bigeyez]

You didn't get an HDMI cable? When I bought mine it had a split cable, one ending with the regular pins and the other with the HD pins. How long ago did you get it?

I'm really refering to thew newer bundles that are cutting HDMI cables out altogether. Even the Elite versions and the 360 are no longer coming with them. Also included with that are "cheap" versions of the console like the arcade which don't come with HDMI cables.

Don't they even come with the, as I call it, "rasta cable"? That's what I got with my 360, 1 cable which you could switch to HD or SD mode.

Yeah I think all Pro's still come with those. I know mine did. HDMI cables are being taken out of all bundles now though. (Official ones anyways) And they are already cut from arcade bundles. I'm not exactly sure what the Elite cable looks like and if it's a hybrid one like the pro cable or not.

 

[Faps]

It's simple economics, the majority of 360 owners (I'm not sure about PS3) don't have an HDTV so Microsoft aren't got to spend money putting a cable that most people won't use.

It's a sucky deal if you do have an HDTV but if you can afford a 360 and HDTV you can spring for a £15 HDMI cable.

And thats what really sucks. Every person who buys a 360 and PS3 is paying for that HD compatibility whether they have a hdtv or not. So the companies are already charging us for that HD function but not giving us a way to use it without shelling out more cash.

And yeah like I said it's not a really big deal but still. It's something that if it happened in another industry people would have a hissy fit over but because it's the videogame industry it slips by without a second glance.

That's not true, you still get HD gaming by using the cables provided with the system. HDMI just gives you a small but noticeable improvement to graphics and sound.

And it's not just in gaming, I bought a Sony Blu-Ray player and it didn't come with an HDMI cable either.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Yeah I think all Pro's still come with those. I know mine did. HDMI cables are being taken out of all bundles now though. (Official ones anyways) And they are already cut from arcade bundles. I'm not exactly sure what the Elite cable looks like and if it's a hybrid one like the pro cable or not.

Well then it doesn't really matter now does it? With that cable you can still play in the glorious HD format, as far as I know, the only difference an HDMI cable makes is that it needs less plugs. As far as image quality goes, you'll still get HD.

 

[Beltom]

You didn't get an HDMI cable? When I bought mine it had a split cable, one ending with the regular pins and the other with the HD pins. How long ago did you get it?

I'm really refering to thew newer bundles that are cutting HDMI cables out altogether. Even the Elite versions and the 360 are no longer coming with them. Also included with that are "cheap" versions of the console like the arcade which don't come with HDMI cables.

I got mine Christmas 2008 and it's the regular 360, so they must have started cutting it recdently. However, my cousin got his 360 early last year or the year before and his doesn't have an HDMI cable either. How odd.

 

[Nutcase]

Now If I'm dropping $300 or $400 on a product I expect to be able to use all the features the product boasts and brags about as soon and I unbox it. Especially in this generation when usually the first thing advertised about a game is how it looks and if it can run in full HD or not. Frankly it's bullshit.

What's bullshit is advertising full HD on current consoles at all. The games that really render full HD are so rare that the average poster here is not going to be able to name even one without googling for it.

Imagine I buy a brand new car. The car is adevrtised to have a top speed of 100 miles an hour, but really in order to get that car to go up 100 miles an hour I had to drop extra money into a proprietary engine modification that was triple the price of a similar engine mod made by a third party. People would be calling the BBB left and right. There would be an uproar over something like that.

I can't help but think you are mistaken somehow. Component cables come with the console. Component, while analog, is enough for 1080p.

edit: I do think it's nickle and diming to not include the $10 HDMI cable, but that's not dishonest, just no class.

 

[Bigeyez]

Well then it doesn't really matter now does it? With that cable you can still play in the glorious HD format, as far as I know, the only difference an HDMI cable makes is that it needs less plugs. As far as image quality goes, you'll still get HD.

I'm not talking about myself here though. It's frustrating to see this sort of thing. With all HD cables being taken out of 360 and PS3 bundles future consumers have to buy these cables on the side. Again yeah it's not that big a deal but idk little stuff like this about the game industry just annoys the hell out of me.

Now If I'm dropping $300 or $400 on a product I expect to be able to use all the features the product boasts and brags about as soon and I unbox it. Especially in this generation when usually the first thing advertised about a game is how it looks and if it can run in full HD or not. Frankly it's bullshit.

What's bullshit is advertising full HD on current consoles at all. The games that really render full HD are so rare that the average poster here is not going to be able to name even one without googling for it.

Imagine I buy a brand new car. The car is adevrtised to have a top speed of 100 miles an hour, but really in order to get that car to go up 100 miles an hour I had to drop extra money into a proprietary engine modification that was triple the price of a similar engine mod made by a third party. People would be calling the BBB left and right. There would be an uproar over something like that.

I can't help but think you are mistaken somehow. Component cables come with the console. Component, while analog, is enough for 1080p.

Agreed on the first part and as for the second I could indeed be mistaken but from my understanding of the new bundles the cables they bring will be SD only, so no more of the "rasta" cables like someone calle dthem earlier. I could be wrong about that though. but still. It's a bit annoying nonetheless.

 

[gh0ti]

Yeah, it is a bit of a bugger. But no, I don't care.

Seems to me that after shelling out £300 on a console, then buying games at £40 a pop, £8 on an HDMI cable (1 year on and still in perfect working order) doesn't really bother me. It's not just game consoles that pull this BS either.

Buy an HDTV and you need to buy an HDTV box to get transmissions at that resolution.

 

[Cowabungaa]

I'm not talking about myself here though. It's frustrating to see this sort of thing. With all HD cables being taken out of 360 and PS3 bundles future consumers have to buy these cables on the side. Again yeah it's not that big a deal but idk little stuff like this about the game industry just annoys the hell out of me.

Well you're barely actually loosing something, you still get HD without that cable, you just need to plug in some more plugs. Why include an HDMI cable when most people won't get to use it anyway, since there are still far more people with SD tv's than HD one's. Not me though! *does a victory dance* Oooo I just can't wait for the glorious HD splendour of the PS3's Blu Ray player. Tomorrow the awesomeness will begin!

 

[TraumaHound]

I ran into a similar problem when I bought a DVD player a while back that had HDMI COMPATIBLE!!! (or something similar enough) all over the box but it didn't come with the cable (picked the player up at CostCo where they, too, were showcasing all the hi-def tvs and DVD players) and I had to shell out the extra cash for one. Thankfully, I'd seen on the box that it didn't come with the cable so I didn't get home only to stare perplexedly into the box looking for one.

As long as it's clearly stated somewhere that it's not in the box I don't think the console companies are too worried about it. An add-on will sell, either theirs or someone else's, and the buyer'll still play their games. Everybody wins except the consumer but they already took his money so I'm sure the console company's sleeping just fine at night.

Spoiler

I've a similar rant with party/family -oriented consoles (the little white one in particular) that only come with one controller. I've had this same rant on and off since the Sega Genesis shipped with Altered Beast (touted as THE co-op game to play) only to come with one controller so your buddy's out of luck when you pull it all out of the box. But, that's a rant for another time/thread.

 

[headshotcatcher]

There are really cheap HDMI cables that every one says OOH IT'S BAD BECAUSE IT'S CHEAP! IT'S SOOOO NOT LIKE ALL THE OTHERS!

Bull Fucking Shit. They actually did a test of a very expensive HDMI cable to a 10 dollar one, and there was no fucking difference. Bad because it's cheap my ass. There were cases where the more expensive one was dropping in quality.

So yes, there are cheap cables, and they work well, if not better than the more expensive ones.

Thank you for missing the entire point of my post! Congratulations!

Starting a rant thread and then acting like a smartass is not going to gain you any favors.

You did REALLY miss his point though..

As for OT: I think it's ridiculous for them not to add stuff that would seem obvious but other posts here seem to say the ordinary cable gives HD quality as well so I'm tied on the matter as I have no experience whatsoever with consoles