Okay. This sh!t storm can end now. I'll moderate this little tussle since I was the one who fielded the question. Let me rephrase some things: 1) I'm not a ratard. Yes, rAtard. I know that digital isn't just "it is or it isn't", but I'm smart enough to know what Sniper was talking about. You either get a good picture or you get no picture or a sh!tty one--sparklies, artifacts, etc. I also realize that it depends on the quality of the cable. Well, I don't go around looking for the sh!ttiest quality cables to post questions about. I'm not a ratard, as I previously mentioned. I also know that Monster and every other company that charges way too much isn't cracked up to what they say they are...they may be good quality but the price/performance ration is completely whacked and no one in their right mind, minus Hugh Hefnor and video/audiophiles buy their crap. Therefore, I have been through Newegg, Monoprice, BJC (blue jeans cable), and a few other sites to price and review HDMI. I had it narrowed down to the two that I found and posted--they were in the same price range. I was leaning toward the Monoprice cable as their cables are high quality--I have many of them. Though, I may back it down to the next size smaller gauge as it does seem a bit bulky to run through the basement, but who knows.
So, at the end of all this, all I really wanted to know what: with a higher quality cable, what's the average max length you can expect to use before getting signs of degradation such as sparkles and artifacts, or no signal at all (without using a repeater, of course)? From my experience in looking at multiple reviews and sites, it's upwards of 35-40 feet. Since I'll be right at that length,I wanted the opinion of someone else, which is why I asked.
So: everyone can stop their trolling and insulting.