Ever since the introduction of high-definition television sets, there has been a glut of misinformation and confusion in the marketplace, most often fostered, if not outright encouraged, by the very people purporting to help you make heads or tails of all of it. One of the biggest upsells that people got stuck with was HDMI cables. A certain marketplace “monster” made a killing selling grossly overpriced HDMI (and a plethora of other) cables to the unwitting consumer, and retailers were only too happy to play along, because there was an unbelievable amount of markup and profit to be made. The same goes for “calibrating” your new TV, but that’s a post for another day. Today we get to go over Fusion4K’s high-speed HDMI cable.
To start, most of us do not have a 4K TV. 4K is considered “Ultra High Definition”, which is a horizontal resolution on the order of 4,000 pixels. Far in excess of what the current high definition standard is, and far beyond the capabilities of most affordable consumer electronics. There is also precious little 4K content out there either, so rushing out and getting the “bleeding edge” of technology is not advised. Likewise, we’re pushing past the boundaries of what the human eye can even distinguish as far as resolution. I say all that to tell you that while this cable is capable of transmitting 4K resolution, 3D, x.v.Color, sYCC601, Adobe RGB, and has all the bells and whistles of gold-plated connectors, heavy duty braided shielding, and what feels like heavy gauge (the don’t state the wire gauge on the package or the Amazon listing) 100% copper cores, there’s absolutely no reason to spend 5 times the money of a Monoprice or Amazon Basics cable. It’s a digital cable. It conforms to the HDMI 2.0 standard, so it works, or it doesn’t. Everything else is smoke and mirrors. What’s worse is the warranty. Monoprice, for example, will warranty their cables for life. And I know this because they’ve replaced, at no cost, a cable that failed me. It was 8 years old, covered in shmutz and they didn’t care. 3 days later, brand new cable. Fusion 4K warranties theirs for just 1 year.
The picture from Fusion4K’s cable was identical to the Monoprice cable I have installed normally. It was also identical to the cheap no-name cable that was included years ago in some package or another that we keep around as a spare. So between the $35 3ft Fusion4K cable, the $5 6ft. Monoprice cable, and the free 6ft. no-name cable, there was not a single visual or aural difference, no performance issues, no connection issues, no signal issues. I can not see a single reason to pay such an absurd markup for a cable that performs exactly the same as every other cable I’ve tested. The plusses are that it transmits ethernet signal for your connected smart TV, it’s HDMI 2.0 compliant, it feels like a heavy-gauge cable, and has similar braided shielding as those that are rated for in-wall installation, though it doesn’t specifically state that it is safe for an in-wall installation. But it’s major negative is the price. So yes, it works, but I don’t see why you’d need to pay nearly $40 for a 3ft. cable (and let’s be honest, most of us need a 6ft or longer cable, which bumps the price up to $49.99) when the cheap basic ones perform exactly the same, spec for spec. The choice is yours.
Connect with Fusion4K:
- On Amazon
I received the above product(s) free of charge from Fusion4K. I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion. My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.
Now, I must mention the hiccups. This is my third HP printer. Every HP product I’ve ever owned has been rock solid in their build, and this one is really no exception. The chink in the armor with HP’s software. It’s always been a little buggy, for as long as I’ve owned HP products (I’ve beta tested for them in the past too), and this software is no exception. And, most frustratingly, is the constant “pop-up” asking me to sign up to HP’s ink cartridge subscription program. No means no, people. But once you get past that, you get to the quick printing, the colors that pop, and the privilege of not having to drag your devices across the house to print anything and everything. To scan documents and upload them from three rooms away. There’s a lot to like about this printer, and I’m happy I got to try it.
WOM-derful 