Rau - Right on! HDMI Cables are a scam. I have been buying inexpensive great quality cables at www.showmecables.com

Here is the bottom line when it comes to an HDMI cable signal.

There are only three possible states of signal through an HDMI cable. They are 1) perfect 2) intermittent/sparkles 3) no picture at all. If you get a continuous image over HDMI, it’s as sharp and clear as it gets, no matter how much you spent on a cable or its rating.- reprinted from HD Guru