Having posted news about Lindy products for ages now, we thought it high time that we tested one of their products. So essentially as we had the opportunity to play with some High Def LCD screens recently, we killed two birds with one stone by reviewing the HDMI cable at the same time.
Benefits
Of course having a hi-quality cable is best suited to 1080p (Full HD) screens because after all, if you have shelled out a £1000 for a set you want to make sure you get the best from it. Though it would still do no harm to invest in a quality cable for even a low spec display. However a cable is only as good as the screen it’s plugged into.
The major benefit of the Lindy cable lies with its shielding - to prevent interference. As you will see from reading the specs the cable is triple shielded which will ensure that interference is not going to cause you any problems.
A prime example of requiring such a cable comes when you have a lot of electrical equipment near to the screen, the other equipment can cause interference with your picture, so you want to ensure that you invest in a cable to eliminate any outside influences.
Specification
- HDMI 1.2 and HDMI 1.3 CAT 1 HD 1080p compatible
- Full support for high definition video, multi-channel digital audio and HDCP
- Triple shielded, low attenuation cable design
- 24K gold plated connectors
- The patented, unique RF-BLOK full metal connector greatly reduces interference and provides increased EMC shielding without the need for a ferrite core
- Supports HDTV resolutions up to 1080p and DVI-D resolutions up to 1920 x 1200
- HDMI compliance certified
- Available in lengths of up to 15m
- 25 year warranty
Build Quality
As you can tell from the above the Lindy cables come in sizes up to 15 meters, we got in a 3meter cable for our review unit, though the 1 metre may be better suited to screens placed on top of cabinets (with your HD Equipment nearby).
When we first laid our eyes on the Lindy cable we were really impressed with its construction, it certainly looks the part and the triple core cable is about 5mm thick in diameter and its exterior is coated with the same material you find on expensive PC PSU cables.
The ends of the cable are 24k gold plated and are easy to grip with thumb and first finger - thus making it far easier to plug-in and remove cables from the backs of HD Equipment. The only criticism is that the quality of the cable ends is not as good as other makes we have seen - in terms of finishing.
But as mentioned the functionality outweighs the style, especially as the design allows you to use Lindys own HDMI lock system to keep HDMI cables in place.
Image Quality
For our tests we used the cable on a 24" iiyama 1080p and a 37" Panasonic LCD 1080p screen, via a PS3 console.
As this was our first cable review we did not have anything to compare the Lindy cable to, but in the end we managed to test the cable with the 37" screen against an IXOS XHT288 HDMI cable (IXOS are a renowned Hi-Fi cable specialist).
As soon as we pluged in the HDMI cable via the PS3, it detects the full 1080p output of the screen and the colours from the 24" were brought to life. There was no ghosting or interference to be found and we even had stacks of electrical equipment surrounding the LCD screen to make it a challenge.
On the Panasonic we were able to test the cable using Blu-ray films and PS3 console games. The Lindy cable compared well against the IXOS cable and it was as good or if not better in certain areas at bringing the colours to life. Pirates of the Caribbean looked great, as did Call of Duty 4 and there was no ghosting or interference to be found again.
So the Lindy cable compares well to known Hi-Fi specialist manufactures.
Sound
As the cable supports HDMI 1.3 with multi-channel digital audio, all the basis are covered - so you can enjoy sound at the highest possible quality levels.
Again you need the EQ to gain full benefits from the above, but it’s useful to know that you have up-to-date compatibility with the Lindy cable.
Value For Money
Prices of the cables start from about £44 which compares well to other Hi-Fi specialists, but you also get the bonus of a handy 25 year warranty.
