StarTech.com 16ft (5m) HDMI 2.1 Cable 8K - Certified Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable 48Gbps - 8K 60Hz/4K 120Hz HDR10+ eARC - Ultra HD 8K HDMI Cable - Monitor/TV/Display - Flexible TPE Jacket

Product Overview

AI-generated summary

For £32.57 ex-VAT for a 5m certified HDMI 2.1 cable, this is one of those “quietly sensible” purchases rather than a bargain. If you’re running a longer HDMI run between a PC/AV box and a TV or monitor, this is exactly the sort of cable that helps avoid the usual flaky issues people blame on “bad settings” — handshake problems, dropouts, or HDR not behaving. The flexible TPE jacket is also a practical win in offices/IT racks/meeting rooms where cables get bent around furniture and cable trays.

That said, I wouldn’t buy it if you’re on a short run. At normal desk distances, cheaper HDMI cables tend to work fine, and HDMI 2.1 doesn’t magically guarantee better picture if your source/display/settings aren’t actually using the higher modes. Also, for high-end AV setups, cable quality is only one part of the chain—ports on the devices matter just as much, and you still need to enable the right HDMI mode on the display/graphics card. Buy this if you genuinely need 5m HDMI 2.1 reliability; skip it if you don’t—distance is the reason this earns its keep.