[mythtv-users] coax vs. composite

[Brian Wood]

On May 16, 2006, at 6:01 AM, Cory Papenfuss wrote:
>
>  	As others have said, the quality of the cables rarely influences
> the capture quality much... despite what Monster and other snake-oil
> peddlers would have you believe.  When the signal is crap to begin  
> with,
> putting it over a better cable doesn't make it any less crap.

Boy you have that one right, and it is worth pointing out to everyone  
on this list that the "snake oil purveyors" have a real racket going.

They try (and often succeed) to sell vastly overpriced cables,  
claiming that somehow they will make your audio sound better and your  
video look better. I can't believe what some people I know have paid  
for products more suitable for mooring ocean liners than for  
connecting home entertainment gear.

"Gold" is another overworked selling point. While it is true that  
gold is used in electronic equipment, it is usually used for  
connections where its non-corroding properties are useful. It is  
certainly *not* a better conductor, silver, copper and aluminum are  
all better (in that order I believe).

Most of the "gold" cables etc. that are sold are simply gold-colored,  
which of course make absolutely no difference in electrical  
properties, and might even make things worse. The only thing gold- 
colored products affect is the mind of the ill-informed purchaser.

The home entertainment electronics field is so full of deceptive  
advertising, bogus products, ill-informed sales people etc. that it  
is a virtual minefield for technically deficient purchasers. Even  
magazines that purport to inform the consumer often do not, and are  
often thinly-veiled fronts for the marketing "snake oil salesmen".

As always, caveat emptor.