Yeah but it does imply that not all cables are the same – as long as they meet the standards then they’ll do what the standards say they will.
I’ve fielded this misunderstanding once already on this very thread. We’re not saying that all cables are the same; we’re saying they’ll either work or fail. Ie, you can’t replace a cheap cable with an expensive one and improve your sound / picture quality (as you might with say SCART), it simply doesn’t work like that. However, if your signal is faulty – if the audio cuts out or the video pixellates and corrupts, or if features aren’t supported – then you might need a better cable.
Looks like Blu ray users should use a cable that meets the High Speed standard.
Depends. If you’re just watching 720p / 1080i in a typical domestic setup then it doesn’t matter either way. Arguably though, there’s little reason not to get ‘high speed’ cables given the choice, so long as they’re similarly priced. (I think the last ones I bought were about four quid.) (EDIT – thus and so. All the cable you’ll ever need, until UHDTV comes out anyway.)