HDMI Licensing
It's nice to see that folks on this forum will refrain from going off the deep end before they get all the facts! An amazing post, and an even more amazing thread... It's not like Impact Acoustics' phone number, web site, email and contact information isn't spread throughout this site - before accusing someone of "deception" I would hope the courtesy of a phone call or email would be in order. Since this is the Internet - and I'm no newbie, I know how some folks just wait for a chance to rage on-line - I guess my expectations should be somewhat tempered.
First let's discuss HDMI (and by extension DVI and even Firewire) licensing. The factory that produces the goods needs to purchase an expensive license to manufacture. Each product then needsto be tested in the HDMI testing laboratories. The simple fact is that EVERY IMPACT ACOUSTICS HDMI OR DVI CABLE IS LICENSED AND TESTED! Period. No exceptions.
Second, the license is not, and doesn't need to be, in the name of the sales organization. In this case we have used contract manufacturing. This is a common practice (Dae Ryung and others build Motorola branded cable boxes for an example) and doesn't imply the product isn't proprietary. Impact Acoustics contracts with a major manufacturer (Master Hill Electric) to produce our HDMI and DVI products to OUR specifications. If you look carefully at the following URL -
http://www.hdmi.org/about/adopters_founders.asp
- you will see Master Hill Electric Wire and Cable Co. LTD listed.
BTW, what you won't see there is Monster Cable, Belkin, Audioquest, or any other traditional cable manufacturer. There is a reason for that. They all use contract manufacturing for this type of product, too! Are there other threads roasting those folks for this same issue?
I would very much like to know the name of the "customer service rep" that PhilTheMan spoke with. Certainly that individual needs a bit of training. I hope Phil will pass along that vital bit so it can be addressed appropriately. At the very least the exact time of the call (if you don't remember the CSR's name, Phil) will help me to get to the bottom of this.
For anyone who remains skeptical, I'd be happy to fax along a letter of declaration from Master Hill Electric naming the exact skus (model numbers) that we have contracted for production and licensing. All you need to do is ask.
I hope this helps to clear up a confusing situation and I certainly invite ANY Audioholics reader or Impact Acoustics customer with questions about our products, licensing, or business practices to contact me directly.
Joseph D. Cornwall
Business Development Manager
Impact Acoustics
1501 Webster Street
Dayton, OH 45404
Toll Free (877) 283-9737 x332
Direct Dial (937) 224-0639
www.impactacoustics.com
PhilTheMan said:
I was very surprised to learn the ImpactAcoustics.com (AKA CableToGo) has stooped to a level of deception I figured the boys at AudioHolics would be all over. They are marketing their HDMI cables as certified, but when I checked the HDMI Organzation website (
http://www.hdmi.org), they were not listed as a certified Adopter. Hmmm... So, I emailed the HDMI group, and they confirmed the their cables were indeed NOT certified (or in the process of becoming certified). I chatted this to a representative at ImpactAcoustics.com and I was told effectively "we aren't certified, because we don't want to pay licensing fee-that way we can sell our cables cheaper!" To me that says, "our customers are too dumb to verify our lies."
This is not like THX certification where a company has come up with a set of "standards" they feel a cable should meet-this the actual organization that governs this technology.
I'm not saying I wouldn't buy a cable from someone not on the list, I just don't like being lied to.
Does anybody else, think this is bad??? Or should we leave advertisors at AudioHolics alone? And pick on Monster and Audioquest
