Posted Tue Aug 31, 2010 at 09:00 AM PDT by Dick Ward
Unnecessary data points aren't lying, reasons CEO William Low.
Chances are you're already wise to the HDMI game. You laugh with derision when you see a box marked as 480Hz capable or promising higher data rates. You don't spend $100 on a cable that carries a digital signal.
There are plenty of people out there that just don't get it though, and it was those people CE Pro writer Gary Merson had in mind when he wrote a scathing article about HDMI marketing. Labeling cables with things like refresh rates and data speeds, he writes, "is simply to confuse you into spending more money on HDMI cables than you need to."
You'll find a great response from AudioQuest CEO William Low down in the comments. AudioQuest is one of the companies called out for what Merson refers to as "sham marketing," and Low doesn't disagree with any point in particular, going as far as to state that "AudioQuest makes no claim, in our sales material or on the box, to differences in video performance between our $25 cable and $895 cable."
What it all comes down to, says Low, is that these unhelpful and deceptive numbers are something cable manufacturers have to do to survive. "AudioQuest received great pressure to put 120/240/600Hz on our boxes, or risk losing business," he writes. "If someone thinks this is misleading advertising, rather than simply harmless self-defense, then take a look at laundry soap commercials, much less diet plans."
Source: HD Guru
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