Got an HDTV? Then you probably have (or need) some HDMI cables. HDMI cables are the preferred means of connecting video equipment to HD-enabled display devices. They’re digital and offer the highest quality available.

Problem is, they’re expensive. Unnecessarily expensive. At Best Buy, they start from about $60 and go up from there.

A website called monoPrice.com, however, sells 6' HDMI cables for about $5.

Five bucks? They have to be crap, right?

Nope. With digital signals, cable “quality” is less of an issue. But most importantly, there’s no reason for HDMI cables to cost $60-100 anyway. High-end video people are used to spending big on cables (which, in the analog days, WAS necessary for top quality), and so cable manufacturers are all too willing to mark cables up high, even if they don’t belong at that price.

The people at AVS Forums (a hardcore A/V crowd) love the monoPrice cables.

So, don’t get fooled into paying sky-high prices for HDMI or DVI cables. The markups above $10 are just pure profit.