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June 8, 2007
Dear CNET members,
Happy Friday! This week's topic is premium vs. generic cables used for home audio and video. As you can guess, it's one of those sticky topics that can have no end--everyone has an opinion and up to a certain degree, it really just boils down to what works correctly and satisfies you. I'm no audiophile or videophile, but I will weigh in briefly to kick off this topic.
I have spent my fair share on premium and generic cables. When it comes to digital connections, I believe it doesn't matter if you spend $100 or $15 dollars--digital is digital--it either works or it doesn't. Sure, I'm not going to buy the cheapest (manufactured poorly) cable, nor will I spend money on those high-end expensive cables--that don't perform better than the less expensive ones. So I'm the middle-of-the-road guy. As far as analog cable goes--I tend to be a bit pickier and do tend to lean toward better quality cables--because I personally can see and hear the difference--plus analog signals can get interferences from surrounding sources, which can sometimes degrade the sound or picture quality. I'm going to stop right here and let you folks read our member answers to Derek's questions. There is a lot of great advice that ranges from full details to simply personal experience. Take our members' advice for what it is, but ultimately you are the judge. What satisfies you should be all that matters. Personally, I would do some tests, as many members suggested--buy both an expensive and an inexpensive cable and come to the conclusion for yourself--that's what I did and it proved helpful. Good luck, Derek.
Thank you, everyone, for your great input. I'm sure this discussion won't be settled once and for all, but given the information we have from you, I'm certain people will have a better understanding of premium and generic cables--to make a better decision all around. The topic is open for discussion. Have a great weekend!
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Member Question of the Week
All right, so I've been trying to become involved in the high-definition era for a few years now. As far as I'm concerned,
picking the right cables can be controversial. Whenever you
go buy a new HDTV or an accessory component, the salesmen
always ask if you have the appropriate connections. Then they
always ask if you have "the best" connections that will
provide the optimal picture and sound. So is there? Is a $15
cable going to provide equivalent performance to a $100 cable
of the same type? And does this question have a different
answer for analog and digital cables? I'd love to get the
facts straight once and for all. Thanks!
Submitted by:
Derek M.
Vote for the most helpful answer
 Below are the answers we've selected for you to vote on. Click on the title to read the answer by the member.
Here are the selected submissions grouped in one post.
Time to vote! Now that you've read our members' answers, which would you consider the most helpful? Click on the button to weigh in on the decision.
 Answer by bus
Answer by davdunlap
Answer by the_shelton
Answer by thekidrocks
Answer by Watzman
Answer by agb100
For the member whose answer was voted the
most helpful by our community, we will send
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 Previous week's Q&AThe votes are in! Below is the answer voted most helpful by our community to last week's question.
My paid security suite is up for renewal soon, and I'm not
too sure as to whether I should renew it or not--because I
hear about the many free antivirus, spyware, and firewall
programs available out there. Is what I'm paying for going to
do a better job of protecting my PC? I'm hesitant to believe
that free software will do as good of a job as a paid one or am
I wrong for this belief? After all, I've always been taught
that nothing is free. Please help me, as I really want to
know the facts about paid versus free security programs? What
benefits do I gain or lose by going free? How do these types
of freely distributed security program companies make their
money anyway? There has to be a catch and I would like an
answer. Any help in demystifying this will help me
tremendously with my decision in the next security software I
pay for or receive for free. I love this newsletter, and the
people who are always so helpful. Thank you!
--Submitted by:
Jasmine H. of
Actually, in this case you can get something for "nothing." In most cases your assumption would be correct. With most types of products you can expect that the paid version will be better than the freebies, but this is an exception.
If you pay for your antivirus and anti...
(read more)
Congratulations to the winner!
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Check out next week's question:
So there have been a lot of questions and discussions about making computers boot faster and run faster, and I've done a bunch of stuff to help. Still, when I first turn on the system I have 49 processes running in my task manager, using more than 300MB "Commit charge" (memory? I haven't added all the numbers listed as Memory Usage to see if it matches). They have names like shstat.exe, UdaterUI.exe, wmiprvse.exe, issch.exe. How do I know what these are, and if any is unimportant and can be stopped? Also, some seem to be listed multiple times, like svchost.exe (seven times--once for local service, twice for network service, and four times for system). Is all this really necessary? Explanation of exactly what is needed or not during start-up will be very helpful!
--Submitted by:
Larry N.
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