GADGET GURU

This issue

Should I buy flashy HDMI cables? Are film cameras worth the fuss? How can I de-ice my car windscreen? Can I get a hot meal while hiking? What’s the deal with UHD Blu-ray? I want to know how hard my punch is!

KEN HALL, HEREFORD

Is it worth splashing out on expensive HDMI cables?

AYou probably know this already: spend big bucks on the thing that links that one thing to the other thing and you are, in the most part, paying for pseudoscience and lies.

That said, GaGu will now offer up some legitimate situations in which you may be allowed to buy higherend cabling, while maintaining his right to send you to the naughty corner if you get conned into an extortionate copper purchase by a shifty salesman with commission falling out of his pockets.

First up, active HDMI cabling. It draws a bit of power from the HDMI socket on your TV to give the signal a little boost, which helps when you have longer cable runs or thinner wires, and, in a very small way, also helps in reducing the occasional error being sent from device to screen.