Verified answer

I bought and am using the cheap ones from ebay for both HDMI and optical, and they work fine. The cost was about $5 including shipping. From all I've read about it on Yahoo answers, there is no difference in performance between the most expensive and least expensive cables. As I understand it, with digital you either get the signal or not. As a word to the wise, in my case the HDMI cable only passes through my receiver and carries sound to the tv. To get the DVD sound to the receiver, I needed in add a separate optical cable. If your including a receiver in your set up, check your receiver manual to find out about using HDMI cables.

There is little advantage to really pricey cables for HDMI. However make sure to get a decent model to help with the amount of emissions that the flawed transport offers. The twisted pair design emits a HUGE amount of RFI and EMI so make sure to have good cables otherwise and power filtration.

Also it doesn't matter a huge amount for digital transmission except if you have sync issues with picture and sound it will be with error frames. So if you don't have a good transmission path then you won't get anything.

Monster is all the money I would spend on a HDMI cable. Any more and all you get are diminishing returns on performance on an already flawed transport. I prefer component with the proper bandwidth performance cables.

I've bought a cheap Phillips brand HDMI cable and the picture stutters sometimes and even lost color once or twice. Don't buy expensive but don't go too cheap....get something in the middle.

In most cases very little. 20 bucks is a fair price to pay anywhere but Best Buy! Add a good coaxial audio cable and your good to go! Pure AV is a fair brand.

brand name. Belkin and Monster Cable will attempt to sell you on features, like gold plated, electrostatic shielding and so forth. Gold plating is really quite useless and electrostatic shielding is not worth they extra $20-30. In other words, get the ones for cheaper.

I've heard that you should go for the cheap cables unless you are running the cord a very long distance. If you are running a cheap cord a long way it can pick up interference. So go for the cheap cord.

go with eBay, I've had no problems with mine... eBay sellers buy items at bulk witch allow them to sell at deep discounts.. pretty much the same cable.

reg. cables are cheaper. monster cables are pricey, but well worth it.. and you pay by the foot. is your system worth it?

buy them from play.com everywhere else seems to sell them at a ripoff price