You know, as an editor who works out of his home office, I am constantly looking for “this cable for that connection”, and “that cable for this connection”, and I am always finding myself running out to Best Buy or Circuit City to find the piece I need. Problem is that either they have it and it’s expensive (or in the case of a cable, too long or too short), or their website says they have it, and when I drive there, surprise, surprise, they don’t. So what do you do. Well, I was introduced to StarTech, believe it or not, through what I originally thought was an e-mail blast from a PR rep looking to get the word out on them, so I figured I’d give them a shot to see if they really do what they say then can, so let’s see how it turned out.
Now, one thing I was planning on doing for a while, was set up a Blu-Ray approval unit in my upstairs office. Problem is/was that the Blu-Ray player is in the basement attached to my 57-inch television, and I need the signal up in my office so when clients come to approve their final Blu-Ray projects, they can sit and watch it in HD, and check out the surround sound mix. I know that I would need to get a cable length that would run about fifty feet, and when I checked it out at Best Buy, Monster, my favorite brand (not) of cable EXPECTED ME TO SHELL OUT $80 FOR EIGHT FEET OF CABLE!!!! Even the Geek Squad’s (I thought I was in the Geek Squad???) eight foot cable would run you $40. Let’s see, I’m no rocket scientist, but are you trying to tell me that I have to spend at least approximately $240 on seventy-five feet of cable, assuming they would even carry a cable length that long? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? There has to be a better way, and thank’s to that PR rep who e-mailed me, there is, and it’s name is StarTech.
Now, let me point out that as a Canadian, this is where things normally get thrown out the window, as I refuse to pay duties and taxes on things that have to be shipped up to Canada, so I end up biting the bullet and just spending the cash to save myself the aggravation. Well, I’m happy to say that not only does StarTech have offices located in Canada and the USA, but they have one in the UK to service Europe.
Now, let’s move onto the next issue, cable length. Now, you might think that a fifty foot cable run is a nice “round” number to work with, but once you start getting into longer cables, they become trickier to find, and what happens if you need an odd-length of cable? Well, again, don’t worry, as StarTech’s catchphrase is “Hard-to-find made easy”, and that is exactly what they deliver. On their site, you can choose between fourteen different cable lengths that vary between one foot and fifty feet. They are even very clever by having a cable that is three feet, and one that is 3.28 feet. For all of my friends on the metric system of measurement, that would be one metre even. Very, very smart.
Next, and maybe most importantly, price! As I said before, Best Buy is selling Monster cables at a price that will make your wallet croak. An 8′ foot Monster M-Series HDMI cable run will run you a whopping $149.99. Ouch!
At StarTech, you can buy a fifty foot HDMI cable run for $124.99. Well, that’s just about got me sold…..but what about the shipping? Well, because they have office’s in Canada, the US and the U.K./Europe, assuming the product is in stock (which you can even check US/Canada parts availability), I could have it shipped overnight to arrive at my house before 9 a.m. for $22. I also have the option to send it Fed Ex Ground for half the price.
Let’s see…..Great price, great delivery options and great selection on hard to find parts and cables. You really can’t go wrong. I highly suggest that even if you are looking for parts you would normally buy at Best Buy or Circuit City, stop getting ripped off, and look at a much better and faster option. Oh, and thanks Andrea (the PR rep) for introducing me to this great company.
Kevin P McAuliffe is a Senior Editor at MIJO, in Toronto, Canada. As always, you can send him an {encode=”kevinpmcauliffe@gmail.com” title=”e-mail”} or follow him on Twitter @ www.twitter.com/kpmcauliffe .
FTC Disclosure: I have not been offered any consideration or compensation from StarTech 61for the review/editorial of this product(s).