Steve alerts us to a ten-foot HDMI cable deal on Amazon: 74 cents, plus $2.95 for shipping. That’s a grand total of $3.69 – much cheaper than, say, the nine-foot cable that Best Buy sells for $19.

And if I may add something to Jabsie’s deal, I’d point out that if you can make-do with a six-foot HDMI cable, you can get one of those on Amazon for just a penny, plus $2.98 for shipping.

And while even less expensive HDMI cables may exist somewhere out there, the moral of the story is: there’s no need to overpay for HDMI cables — Jabs tested, Aamoth approved.

10 FT HDMI Cable [Amazon]

6 FT HDMI Cable [Amazon]

Thanks for sending this in, Steve.

Sanyo has been offering Xacti camcorders shooting 720p video (1280×720) for quite a while now, and today Sanyo Japan announced the DMX-CG11 [JP], another (enhanced) 720p model. The new device features a mini HDMI interface and Eye-Fi support.

The DMX-CG11 features a 10.66MP 1/2.33-inch CMOS sensor, 5x optical zoom, USB 2.0, SD/SDHC memory card support (internal memory: 40MB), a stereo mic, mono speaker, and a 3-inch TFT screen. It measures 72.0×38.0×112.8mm and weighs 190g (including the battery and an SD card).

The camcorder will hit Japanese stores on September 11 for a moderate $300 (available in green, silver and orange.

I’m a sucker for products that make installing A/V equipment easier and these cables from Atlona do just that. The ends swivel to allow for tighter mounting against the wall. You see, some cables feature large, cool looking ends that don’t like to bend against a wall, which then pushes the flat screen out a bit or forcing the installer to cut into the wall. But these cables bend in half which should make for a cleaner install. Wall brackets are getting thin and thin, and these cables will allow installers to practically flush mount a flat screen.

The AT14035-X HDMI cable and AT14022-X DVI cable should be shipping out today and start at $29.99 for a 3-foot section and climb up to $39.99 for the 10ft cable.

Atlona Releases new HDMI and DVI cables with swivel connectors designed for mounted HDTVs

Atlona’s New HDMI and DVI to HDMI cables designed for mounted flat screen HDTVs feature 180 degree swivel connector ends that only protrude about 1 inch from an HDMI port

San Jose, CA — July 25, 2009 —HDTV owners placing plasma on the newest slim profile mounts proliferating the market are faced with issues when connecting standard HDMI cables to rear-facing HDMI ports. The average HDMI cable connector combined with limited cable flexibility near the connector ends can extend up to two and a half inches from the HDMI port. This limited distance requires users to either use mounts or risk damaging their cable as well as their televisions HDMI port. Atlona Technologies has developed a line of HDMI 1.3b cables that cut the distance needed for the HDMI connector ends by more than 50%, extending just over 1 inch from an HDMI port.

Atlona’s hew HDMI and DVI to HDMI cables feature a swivel connector end which allow them to bend at a 90 degrees in either direction. This new connector allows users to nearly flush mount their HDTVs. “This is another product designed to solve a specific problem that a affects a lot of HDTV owners,” says Michael Khain, who heads up Atlona’s Product Development Department.

Atlona Technologies has held true to their motto of being a solutions based manufacturer since its inception, making products that resolve problems. Abandoning the “good, better, best” product strategy that has ruled the AV accessory market for years, Atlona Technologies has surpassed such standards, providing high quality products typically missing in most AV systems. These new swivel connector cables fall right in line with Atlona’s market strategy of providing solutions that serve every market from Professional to Residential AV.

Atlona’s new line of swivel connector HDMI and DVI cables include models AT14035-X (HDMI) and AT14022-X (DVI to HDMI). They are expected to start shipping by July 27, 2009 starting at $34.99 MSRP.

In this case, it is indeed nothing. Nothing, plus $5.99 for shipping. That’s still not a bad deal, though, as you’ll get two — oooh, gold plated — HDMI cables.

The deal, good today only, comes from 1saleaday.com, which I can’t say I’ve ever heard of or used. Here’s the privacy policy, if you’re interested. If not, enjoy your free + $6 cables.

1 Sale A Day, Daily Deal [1saleaday.com]

Thanks for sending this in, Dave.

Now this makes sense. Can’t you see the future when all you need to do is plug your new flat-screen into a wall outlet and the video will magically appear on the screen?

Averlogic has a system that’s not that advance, but can still send 1080p24 video with 5.1 audio over standard power lines. Both ends of the transmission of course have a box, but hopefully someone, somewhere is working on the future that eliminates those and packs the needed components into HDTVs and AV equipment

This system by Averlogic can send the goods out to three receivers, which then output the signal either by HDMI, component, or composite. The transmitter has three HDMI inputs and one set of component and composite each. There isn’t any word on pricing just yet, but we’ll betting that some A/V installers and homeowners will be willing to fork over good money instead of running long and expensive HDMI cables.

AVSforum and this Revision3 System video helped me a lot when I first started making cables. I went on to make a DIY guide for component cables. If you get the right tools and cables, it’s really not that hard. There’s nothing better than having matching, custom length cables connecting everything together. Too bad DIY HDMI cables are still a thing of the future.

It’s looking good that HDMI might become a standard port on small gadgets if the new connector is approved. The prototype mini-HDMI connector (far left) can transmits all the data as its full size counterparts, but is significantly smaller. How small? It’s half as small as the current portable size and even a touch smaller than micro USB. Somehow the 6.4mm wide connector still has 19 pins arranged into two rows.

This prototype might be included in the next revision of HDMI, which is scheduled to drop sometime within the next few months. If it’s included then, we might see devices sporting the new connector by the end of the year. Just think: mini HDMI on cell phones, UMPC, netbooks, and camcorders. We can’t wait to see how this is implemented.

Quickie: An HDMI cable that snaps into place and cannot be pulled out without pressing the little lock. It works.

I have had numerous issues with HDMI cables that don’t stay in place. For some reason, random cables seem to come unplugged just slightly and cause problems with the audio or video. This locking HDMI cable from PPC should not have that problem. 

The secret is that the ends have a little lock on them that ensures the cables stay in place. The lock is strong and will not accidentally come unplugged. If for some reason it is forced out though, the cable will not re-lock in the same device. The lock on the cable remains intact, but the device’s female port  seemingly doesn’t like the lock anymore. The cable will still transmit the signal fine though.

There is a little button on the top of the cable that disengages the lock just as you can imagine. It’s that easy. 

As for the picture quality, it’s an HDMI cable and only 12ft long. I didn’t notice any audio/video quality difference, which is a good thing.

These cables are pricey at $48.99 for the 3-feet, $59 for the 6-foot, and $72.99 for the 12-footer. But, the locking connector is sweet and I would love to do up my entire rack with these cables just for that feature. I can’t afford them though. I don’t see any reason not to buy these if you dig the locking connector besides the high price though.

Hopefully, it won’t be long until a similar locking mechanism is standard on every HDMI cable including the ultra-cheap Monoprice specials.

Well, this cable takes the cake for the lowest priced HDMI cable ever. I have never seen an HDMI cable this inexpensive before. Plus, shipping is only $2.98. Seriously, this is dirt cheap. Did you know that you can buy 210 of these cables for the price of one Monster Cable HDMI cable. Just something to think about.

Short cables are great! Less clutter and the same functionality. This 10 pack of 3-foot HDMI cables could be mighty handy for an A/V setup as long as the devices will stay in the same place – say, on a rack. However, if you have to pull the equipment out to access the back panel, buy longer cables so you don’t have to unplug cables constantly.

Use coupon code 50%HDMI1M10 to drop the price down to $15. Think about it. $1.50 per cable. That’s not bad at all, fella.

PC Micro Store via dealnews

Tokyo-based electronics company Lancerlink [JP]  has added Mac support to the Grand HD Cinema, a dongle that allows users to view media files stored on their computers on their TV by converting USB to HDMI. The PC version of the device, which was developed jointly with Taiwan-based GRANDTEC ELECTRONIC, was released in Japan back in January and was the first of its kind.

The new converter, dubbed GHC-U2H, is compatible to both PCs and Macs (Windows XP/Vista, Mac OS X 10.4.11/10.5.5 and above) and lets you view video in 720p, also supporting audio signals. Mac users can connect up to four HDMI screens to the device, while PC users can even hook up six screens.

Lancerlink sells the device on their Japanese homepage for $130. The first version of the Grand HD Cinema is already available outside Japan, but I couldn’t find the Mac-compatible update anywhere online. Impatient Non-Japanese people can ask the Japan Trend Shop, Gizmine or Geek Stuff 4 U to get it for them.

Monprice via OhGizmo!

Tokyo-based electronics company Lancerlink [JP] and GRANDTEC ELECTRONIC from Taiwan have jointly developed the Grand HD Cinema, a USB to HDMI converter. According to GRANDTEC, it’s the world’s first device of its kind.

The Grand HD Cinema basically allows users to play media files stored in their PCs on their TVs by transforming USB input into HDMI. Up to six external HDMI screens can be connected that way. The makers promise installation takes just a few seconds.

The device converts video in a resolution of up to 720p and also supports audio signals. It supports Windows machines only (XP and Vista) and requires a Pentium 4 2.4GHz (or better) processor.

The device costs $140 in Lancerlink’s online shop [JP] but is already available outside Japan as well.

One of the keys is that audioquest is using solid wire instead of the stranded type which improves signal integrity. Even better, the crimping method was found to produce a better signal than with soldering and so audioquest is implementing the method across all of their product lines.

The system should ship sometime in the Spring but pricing hasn’t been announced yet. Installers and DIY have been praying for such a system that audioquest might be able to price the system more than Monster Cable’s crap and will still sell enough to fund a yacht fleet .

As I recall we had an issue a few months back with another big box store but someone just caught Best Buy also using HDMI cables and comparing them to component cables. Consumerist just found another example. While this is obviously a massive fraud it might have been the only way the Best Buy folks could think to stream the same signal from the Blu-Ray player to both TVs – besides, obviously, using two Blu-Ray players.

What is this mysterious calibration? The tipster asked and discovered:

I called over one of their oh-so-helpful employees and asked them to describe what calibration meant. His explanation involved someone who has some certifications messing with the color combo’s till they feel that the TV “looks good”.

Stay classy, Best Buy.