Customer Reviews

Monster Cable DVI400-4M DVI-D Video Cable

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I bought this MonsterCable DVI cable to connect my DVD player to my new HD TV. I was certainly impressed with the image quality and the sturdiness of the cable, though honestly I found the connector pins a bit finicky.
Soon my HD system grew and I needed a way to better utilize the Sony TV's single DVI input, so I bought a very nice Geffen 4 port remote controlled DVI switch. It came packaged with 4 rather generic 6' DVI cables, which I used to connect the components to the switch, saving the MonsterCable for the switch's output to the TV.
The result was great in all cases. That's when the scientist in me took over. I started swapping cables like mad, and asking any poor soul who happened to be around to identify the best picture. The result? No one, myself included, could discern the least little difference in image quality from cable to cable.
Being that the generic DVI cable is one fourth (!) the price of the brand name, obvious questions about diminishing returns are raised.

In response to previous reviewers comments stating "Does it really matter?", since I am an electrial engineer, here is my situation:

I have an older ThinkPad laptop that IBM says only supports up to 1280x1024 DVI output because higher resolutions have bad digital video noise due to a weak TDMS transmitter. Thus, after doing my research, I realized I needed the lowest loss, shortest DVI cable I could find in order to drive my new Dell 24" 1920x1200 flat panel.

This cable performed better than I ever thought it could. I was able to drive my 24" monitor without any digital noise, when IBM and other users had stated it was impossible. I didn't even need to used the reduce DVI bandwidth options.

In short, for most users, this cable is a complete waste of money. In fact, the claim on the box that a bad DVI cable can cause dull colors and a blurred image is a flat out lie. However, if you need a high quality cable for a special situation like this, go with the 1 meter long DVI400!

I bought this cable to use in conjunction with a new LG brand L1932TQ 19" flat panel monitor. I could not be happier with my purchase. The picture quality is vastly improved over the analog cable I had before. The cord is also very solidly constructed and is long enough to have quite a bit of extra length if I ever need to move my monitor for anything. I would buy this product again in a heartbeat, especially at the low price I paid on Amazon.

I wanted an extension cable for a new secondary monitor I'd also ordered from Amazon, and normally I wouldn't pay the extra $ for the Monster name, I figured the price was pretty good for a 4 Meter cable.

I'm disappointed. I've got an NVidia GeForce 295 graphics card, which (like many graphics cards) has two side-by-side DVI ports for multi-monitor use. Unfortunately, because of the flare of the plastic part of the base of the monster cable, it can't be plugged in when there's an adjacent plug already plugged in. I tried other plugs, and they worked fine. At the price I can't be bothered to return it. I might be able to make it work if I spend a few minutes with my Dremel, but I really shouldn't have to.

The build quality seems pretty good so I'll give it two stars, but if you think you might ever use a second monitor you shouldn't get this cable.

I ordered the 4 meter cable which was pictured with 24 pin connectors and received one with 18 pins. Found out that the missing middle 6 pins are used to transmit audio which my monitor doesn't support anyway. Originally, the DVI-D specification allowed for both a video signal and an audio signal, but most manufacturer's have only used the video portion. If you need a DVI-D cable, an 18 pin connector will most likely work since most devices won't process the audio signal anyway. There are a few (very few) devices that do use all 24 pins, but with the advent of HDMI, nobody really makes them anymore.

Normally, Monster cables are out of the question for me because of their price and the fact that digital signals are almost immune to signal loss and degredation. However, at this cables price point, I opted for this cable over my usual supplier.

Keep in mind that this is a DVI-D cable, meaning it does digital only. It does not have the pins in it which allow it to carry an analog signal as well (DVI-I). For my purposes, linking my PC to my Samsung 27" P2770HD, this cable functioned flawlessly. It looks nice, although the connectors themselves are a little big. If you are running a Dual-DVI setup with two monitors, you may want to consider another cable because of the connector size. On my ATI 4870 and other cards I've had, the DVI connectors are too close together to connect two of these cables simultaneously.

Other than that, this is a great cable and is constructed well; it is a Monster afterall.

The quality of the cable seems nice but since this is a a digital cable that does not get converted to analog (DVI-D) then the quality of the cable doesn't really matter over short distances. But more importantly to myself the physical pictures clearly indicate this is a single link cable but the one in the middle picture showing the pin layout is a Dual Link DVI-D cable not to be mistaken with a Single Link DVI-D cable. But rest assured this is a single link cable. Hope this helps someone not make my mistake!

Cables were exactly what I expected. Nice fit and finish. I did have to trim the edges of the plug because I'm using them for dual monitors on an NVidia 9400 card. There is a lip just outside of the screws to attach them, had to cut it off. Image quality is great.

This cable is very well made and is very high quality. The connectors are solid as is the cord. The product is highly recommended. However, as these type of cords are generic, the retail price is quite high considering the fact even far cheaper cables also carry a signal in a lossless manner. The cable is a really great bargain only when it can be found at a signficantly lower price than retail price.

This is a well made DVI cable, that provides crystal clear video quality. Its priced very competitive on Amazon. I know its a digital cable and it doesn't matter . . . . . But it was priced in a similar price range to the cheap generic versions, so why not get a name you can trust.