News Vivify Launches RGB HDMI 'Gaming Cable' With RGB Mixer For $100

[Admin]

Vivify announced the PC edition ARQUUS W73ø, a fiber optic HDMI RGB gaming cable.

Vivify Launches RGB HDMI 'Gaming Cable' With RGB Mixer For $100 : Read more

 

[AnimeMania]

Ouch, that price, maybe for a pack of 4 or more cables. The fiber optic cable is a new and expensive innovation that might be worth the cost, but for just RGB bling they could have used a regular metal cable with an optical outer coating to display the lighting effects. Thinner isn't always better when you have a cable that is that expensive. I wonder what kind of lighting effects it can produce if not connected to a computer. I really like the concept and the new tech that was introduced that could possibly be used to create super long reliable HDMI cables if they chose to go that route as well.

 

[InvalidError]

A 9' fiber optic cable? Seems pretty pointless for such a short distance, well within what is possible with plain old copper. I'm using a generic 15' HDMI cable between my wall-mounted 4k60 TV and PC, the only issue I have had was not knowing that 4k60/444 was disabled by default and needed to be manually enabled, so I ended up wasting an hour trying different combinations of sources and cables before looking it up.

 

[JamesSneed]

Shining happy cables...

 

[gg83]

linus reviewed this months ago. How is "Vivify Launches RGB HDMI 'Gaming Cable' With RGB Mixer For $100"
accurate, unless "launches" was changed to "launched months ago"

 

[TJ Hooker]

linus reviewed this months ago. How is "Vivify Launches RGB HDMI 'Gaming Cable' With RGB Mixer For $100"
accurate, unless "launches" was changed to "launched months ago"

Linus reviewed the ARQUUS W73. This article is about a new product, the ARQUUS W73ø.

 

[gg83]

Linus reviewed the ARQUUS W73. This article is about a new product, the ARQUUS W73ø.

Thank you for the correction. I shouldn't make false assumptions.

 

[Deicidium369]

Well the RGB everything crowd is not that bright - kinda like the morons who kept using component connections using Monster Cable instead of 1 single cheap HDMI cable.

 

[cryoburner]

As opposed to traditional copper-based cables, Vivify makes the ARQUUS W73ø out of optical fiber. As a result, the ARQUUS W73ø can transport signals over great distances with minimal signal loss.

But instead, they chose to just make a regular length, 9' cable. >_>

I have a 75' (~23 meter) braided HDMI cable, non-amplified, using traditional wire. It's quite thick at 3/8" (1 cm) in diameter, but is regularly priced well under half the price of this cord, and I got it on sale for even less. The cable has worked fine in my limited testing, though I didn't try 4K, and I doubt it would handle that resolution at that length. Compatibility may also be device-dependent due to variances in signal strength. Still, 30' HDMI cables can generally handle 4K at 60Hz for around $20-$30 or so. And you can even get a pair of HDMI over ethernet adapters for less than $100 that can handle runs over 100'.

So, being fiber optic seems to serve little purpose for this cable, and performance-wise, it should be no different from just about any $10-$15 HDMI 2.0b cable of similar length. Fiber is currently only really useful for HDMI cables above 30', where traditional cable can potentially become unreliable.

Perhaps cable lengths may become somewhat more limited with devices utilizing the additional bandwidth of HDMI 2.1 for things like 4K at 120Hz and higher resolutions once those become more common, but its already possible to find well-reviewed 10ft HDMI 2.1 cables for under $30 that seem to handle that just fine. And this fiber optic cable isn't even HDMI 2.1, just 2.0b. If one is spending $100 on a 9' HDMI cable targeted at gamers, shouldn't it at least fully support the capabilities of the new consoles and gaming displays launching this year?

The RGB does look nice and will undoubtedly be what sells the cord, but I think it would be a bit distracting. Well, assuming you have the cord draped across your desk as in the product images, rather than mostly hidden from view as monitor cables usually are. : P