Besides retailers trying to earn big bucks on expensive HDMI cables there is a lot of the Hi-Fi press that will let you believe it is a must to purchase expensive cables. There is some difference to the old analogue days with cables that may feed your speakers or connect your separate Hi-Fi system together.

But with HDMI cables they are basically transferring a digital signal from your source i.e. Blu-ray player or HD set-top-box to your HDTV that is basically 1s and 0s. Now over a short distance and if the cable isn’t damaged it will make no difference how much you pay for a HDMI cable.

There can be some exceptions to this though as some cheap cables if regularly unplugged and plugged back in can cause some disruption to the image quality of the cable. This is basically because of the cheaper materials used in the manufacture of the cable failing, but most of us rarely unplug our equipment from the TV.

Also if your equipment that is to be connected to the TV is only a few feet away a cheap cable will work just fine, but for longer runs of a meter or more it will probably be a good idea to spend a little more. By a little we don’t mean anywhere $200 that some salespeople may try and get you to spend.

Another issue with cheaper HDMI cables is when there is a lot of different cables and equipment connected close together. The cheaper offerings because of their manufacturing process may pick up interference from other sources, which can slightly affect the picture quality.

As an experiment we tried some cheap cables along with some slightly more expensive units in a home theatre set up. Connected underneath the TV there was a PS3, AV Receiver, HD Satellite box, Apple TV, and a DVD player. With the cheaper cable the picture image across all the sources was great, and connecting the more expensive cable resulted in a very slight improvement in the image.

Now it has to be stressed the difference could hardly be noticed, the blacks were no deeper or the colors more vivid. The image was slightly sharper and could mean the cheap cable was picking up some slight interference. To check this further we decided to check with another HDTV that only has a Blu-ray player underneath it and nothing else.

The same Avatar Blu-ray was used viewing the same scenes of the movie over a number of cable changes. It was found that there were no visible differences between the two cables to our eyes, and proves spending vast amounts of cash on an HDMI cable is a waste of time.

There will undoubtedly be many of you who don’t agree with this and think nothing of spending big on these cables. There is nothing wrong with that as it at the end of the day your choice. What is the maximum you would spend on an HDMI cable?

Only last month we told you about the supermarket giant selling an affordable Blu-ray player for only £40. Now according to an article over at TechRadar the retailer is going to offer consumers an HDTV to connect it to for only £50.

The HDTV will be available from the 26th of this month as the post Christmas sales kick off, and the TV could stop all those arguments on what to watch this time of year. For your money you get the 15.6-inch Venturer TV that comes with 720p resolution.

Ideal for a kitchen or a small room you also get a built-in Freeview tuner, one HDMI input, 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio, and stereo sound. The screen is a backlit LED display that may not be the best TV you can buy but for the money you can’t really go wrong.

Expect to see the little Venturer to quickly fly off the shelves this coming Monday, and if you don’t fancy facing the rush and the crowds you could always try Asda’s online store. Remember the £50 Venturer is available from the 26th so good luck if you are planning on purchasing one.

Are you going to try and purchase the £50 Venturer?

The TV promises stunning images up to 1080p with a 4000:1 contrast ratio, and is currently on offer over at Best Buy for $499.99, saving $200. For your money you also get three HDMI inputs to connect all your HD equipment to, and has a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080. The display has a 3D digital comb filter that provides better color and picture detail.

Its 500 cd/m² brightness will provide the viewer with nice crisp images on the screen, and the stereo sound system will provide a better audio experience. Other inputs include 1VGA, 2 A/V, 1 composite, 2 component, and 1 PC audio that are all situated on the rear of the TV.

There is also a PC video input that allows you to achieve high resolution images from your computer. Supplied with the set are the stand and remote with batteries supplied, and obviously the instruction manual. Owners of the set have left reviews with ninety percent of them would recommend it to other people. Out of a total of 234 reviews the RCA has an overall score of 4.4 out of 5, with many saying how easy it was to set up.

It may not be the best TV out there but for the money it would make a good second set or for someone on a budget needing a new HDTV.

The new Optimum app gives you the chance to watch video on demand (VOD) while on the move, and this is in addition to the live channels of about 300 stations, using the already obtainable viewing package. The programming becomes easier to follow, containing an upgraded information guide to help you organize future DVR recordings as part of your existing television packages.

Cablevision has an advantage as it’s content is not delivered over the Internet, but transmitted from the new Optimum app to the iPad straight from the cable network, making the iPad an added TV with all the added viewing capabilities, and permissible under current licensing agreements as stated in its press release. With a network providing us with programming for use on the Optimum Live TV App for iPad, I wonder if other providers will up their game?

How do you currently watch your TV while on the move? Would you like to see more competition in this area of live TV? You can read the full press release in this article, let us know what you think. Macrumors wonder how the other TV providers will react to the new app.

This kind of support will certainly be welcome by iPad users, but only those with the 2nd-generation model – those with the original model will either have to upgrade or just stay angry with Apple. Knowing that you will be able to connect your tablet to a large-screen HDTV to play an app such as Real Racing 2 HD is something that will appeal to gaming fans – but will it ever replace the console?

The simple answer is no, but it does show that you will no longer need a next-gen games console if you are not a full-time gamer. For those of you who consider yourself a casual gamer, then this could be the perfect solution for you – only if you were considering purchasing an iPad 2, as it is more expensive than an Xbox 360 or Sony PlayStation 3.

With the racing game mentioned (thanks to AppleInsider) above being the first to take advantage of 1080p video output, we will be interested to see what apps will follow. However, knowing what app will be next and what one we would actually like to see are two different things – just hope users get what they hope for? There will be nothing worse than having 1080p support for a game that will not be played or appreciated much on a larger screen.

What game would you like to see get 1080p HDTV support for the iPad 2?

An article over at Bitmob is reporting that when playing Dragon Age 2 on a 4:3 display, every cut-scene in the game is squished. This makes up for almost half of the game, and the image flickers during cut-scenes as well. The problem is noticed only ten seconds into the game with the opening cut-scene, so means the developer either didn’t test the game on a SDTV or didn’t care.

The first patch planned for the game has no mention for a fix for this. Many people may just say so what and get with the times, but there will be many gamers who use their consoles on a second TV so why should they? Does the industry now not consider SDTV gamers?

The problem is many reviewers of the game may not even own a SDTV anymore, so developers may not be able to test their games on this platform now. Even without the aspect ratio glitch text is really tiny and hard to see. If developers no longer want to support the SDTV platform than fair enough, but it would be nice if they put a warning on the game before people lay out hard earned cash for a game.

There may be some gamers using SDTVs especially the younger generation who have to rely on parents to provide them with a TV, which in many cases could be a hand me down.

Do you know of anyone using an SDTV?

CNNMoney are reporting that according to the research firm DisplaySearch, slow holiday sales figures have left companies with an excess of stock. Director of DisplaySearch – Paul Gagnon – reckons this could lead to discounts of twenty to thirty percent. He said “Just prior to the Super Bowl is one of the last opportunities for manufacturers to clear out their 2010 models.”

Prices have been falling for a while now, and according to Ticonderoga Securities sales have been dropping for seven months. This is said to be because most people who want a LCD TV already have one, with 56 percent of US households already owning a HDTV.

Bloomberg are reporting that Panasonic has just revealed profits which fell short of estimates. This is being blamed on falling prices for TV’s, despite the company seeing sales rising 28 percent from the previous year.

The UK was the only country in Europe which also saw new TV sales to drop last year. According to a report on What HiFi, out of 9.5 million TV sales only 125,000 were 3D or 3D ready TV’s. It seems that Plasma screens were becoming popular again with a 19 percent increase in sales, while LCD sales shrunk by 13 percent.

You may have stocked up on your food, as second to Thanksgiving, Super Bowl day is the largest day for food consumption in the U.S, but what will you actually be watching the event on?

If your TV isn’t quite up to scratch and rather on the small side, then you’re not quite going to get the desired atmosphere, not to mention all those commercials you won’t see in their full potential. Well don’t worry if it is because we have news that Best Buy is offering great deals on TVs especially for the big game. As reported by SlashGear.

Some of the TVs they are offering are the Samsung HDTV LED backlit with a 55” screen. It’s also 3D ready and for the price of $1999.99 dollars, that’s a discount of $1,300. If that doesn’t appeal to you then maybe the 3D-TV LED backlit 46” screen will at the price of $1,899.99. That’s a $1,030 discount. They’re also offering a Samsung Blu-ray player with Wi-Fi free with some of their other Samsung TVs. If you’re not satisfied you could always trade it back in after as Best Buy are promising 50% of your money back if brought back within four years. To see more TVs Best Buy are offering visit their site here.

This year’s Super Bowl, to be played on February 6, between NFC champion’s Green Bay Packers and the AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers, marks the 45th edition in American Football.

Will you be watching the big event? What are your thoughts on Best Buy’s offers? Check out what apps are available for Super Bowl XLV here.

According to Will Greenwald of PCMag, it doesn’t only have 3D, there is more to this TV than that; it has built in WiFi, which will allow you to access the Internet apps used by Vizio. There’s a variety of different apps, to name a few; YouTube, Hulu Plus, Pandora and Netflix.

Perhaps one of the coolest features that this TV has, is the remote control; it has a full QWERTY keyboard that slides out. It doesn’t stop there! It connects to your TV using Bluetooth. The other accessories that it comes with are the glasses, it comes with 4 pairs, 2 of which are designed to be used with prescription spectacles.

The specs of the TV include: a 65” screen, 64.5” is viewable; a dynamic contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1; a refresh rate of 120Hz and a resolution of 1920 x 1080. It also has a VGA connection, Ethernet connection, 5 HDMI ports with HDCP. These are just some of the specs, but you can see the full details over at Vizio’s official website.

If this is taking your fancy then you will need to have $3,499.99 burning a hole in your pocket, you can get the Vizio XVT3D650SV from Sam’s Club and Costco stores.

What do you think of this TV? Is it something that you would consider purchasing? Let us know in the comments below.

One example is the Mitsubishi WD-82738 82-inch 3D home cinema TV, which is currently available to purchase for $3499.00, giving you a saving of $300. This model features 3 HDMI ports, 1 USB port, a 1920 x 1080 resolution and smooth 120Hz Motion Enhancement Technology.

If you’d rather go for a TV that is a little bit smaller in size, then the Mitsubishi 60-inch 3D Ready HDTV might be the ideal choice. The original price was $1,099.99, but Dell is now offering it for just $599.99. That of course gives you a massive saving of $500.

Another great deal is the Vizio VM190XVT 19-inch LED HDTV, which is ideal for a spare room, kids’ room or even kitchen. The VM190XVT’s features include 2 HDMI ports, 20000:1 dynamic contrast ratio and a 5ms response time, and is available to buy for just $239.99.

You can view more Dell Cyber Monday deals via the dell.com website. Do you like the looks of any of these TVs?