By the way, the optical cable and HDMI cable that I'm using are both some no-name brand that I got from Amazon.com. I just thought that these cables would do the job, but is it possible that I got a bad quality optical cable (since it was a no-name brand)? I have no problem with the HDMI cable though.

 

yes. The quality of the cable can very much make a difference.

 

Any suggestion on a decent cable?

 

as cliche' as it is, I run Monster optical cables. I got a bunch of them from my buddy who works at a high end audio place for free so I was stoked. I have had zero problems with them, but they are expensive if you have to pay for them :happysad:

 

I've used anywhere from cheap $5 to $100 ones and found no difference in audio quality, except in pretty jackets and slightly better connector ends. If it's a home audio setup, any should be sufficient. The digital connection is much more quiet compared to your analog anyways.

 

there are people who love to bash brand name cables / connectors stating that a cable is a cable. I have no opinion, but more of a price in mind.

I do order from www.monoprice.com and their products, although nameless, work perfectly. www.thingfling.com is known to have HD Monster Cables (DVI / HDMI) for $10 from time to time.

 

I had a problem with a cheapy optical cable. I switched it over to a better cable and the issue was resolved. It could have been an independent incident, but I find the medium to higher end manufacturers have a much better quality control.

 

Yeah, I was hoping I didn't have to go that route.

Quick question, would dirt/dust cause this? I did notice that the back of my TV happened to be dusty when I made the connection. Would this also cause problems with the connection? Just trying to rule other factors to the problem.

 

quality and price don't mean the same thing. If I can find a cheaply priced cable that is well built than I am all about it. I have just found that most of the cheapy cheap cables I have bought have come back to bite me. I am not saying people need to run Monster cables, it's just a brand I have had nothing but good service from.

 

well, you really can't compare defective ones to a working one, that's the case for any cables.

It often gets misinterpreted with people saying the more expensive ones will sound better than the cheaper one. It's quite fun to watch the audiophiles fight over differences in sound of cables. I've yet to see any fights over optics though. Now, analog, otoh, oh my!