Unfortunately, again, I have to disagree.  I thought as you did at one time.  Ones and Zeros...its all digital.  How can it make a difference.  Then I bought a digital coax cable, and bought another and another.  They all sounded different.  Appararently 1s and 0s have character ;)

I'm not here to explain the science (or lack of it) behind it.  All I know is what my ears and eyes tell me.

Also, I don't want to come across as harsh, because I'm trying to be helpful and educate people here on the forums.  But I have to point out that your testing seems limited to two companies.  Mono and Monster.  It could very well be that the Mono's standard of cable is close to Monsters.  So, YES...if your bar for greatness is Monster Cable...then buy a Mono for the lower price.  That is wisdom.  But if you want a BETTER cable...there are far better cables out there.  Some that are littereally night and day differences.  Some that are so subtle that you might not feel its worth the money.

It's all about the point of diminishing returns.  What is worth it TO YOU.

I guess all I can reply to that is, that's your experience.  My experience has proven otherwise.

I'm happy for you if you're content with your findings.  And if you do frequent the AVS forums you'll find that there's just as many people who are advocates of aftermarket cables as there are not, if not more that are pro.

First off, this is very lame on Sony's part.  Its just a poor excuse to get you to buy 'their' cable.  As far as HDMI functionality, one cable will not break a PS3 that the 'official Sony' one would never break it.  Niether will have problems.  The ONLY issue I could see is that they want you to make sure its HDMI 1.3 specs, otherwise there's no warranty issue.  Its just their way of having a clause to not repair their broken systems.  This is a stark contrast to Microsoft, who have been bending over backwards for their customers.

On the note about all cables are the same.  I can tell you without question that is utter hogwash.  I have purchased several cables (analog, component, HDMI, power) over the past years...have done extensive A/B testing and there is NO WAY you can convince me they all sound or look the same.  NO WAY AT ALL!!!  Not only does a $100 cable look/sound different from a $5 cable.  But a $100 cable looks/sounds different then another $100 cable from a different brand!

Research, test, find your personal taste.  That's the only advice I can give to you.  Most places have at least a 30 day money back guarantee so it gives you some time to test things if you're not happy.  The people that are shouting on here "don't waste your money".  I guarantee one of two things.  Either they don't care as much and whatever is whatever to them so why spend the money (and that's great for them!  Really! Not everyone needs the BEST.).  The other is that they simply are saying crap that they don't have any time or evidence to back it up with.  I have not only done this A/B testing with myself, but several of my friends and heck...even my wife can tell the difference with some of these tests.

Just to throw in there...Monster Cable is not high end.  They're better then stock.  Sometimes they can be pretty decent.  But they're not high end.  I personally DO own some Monster stuff, but I don't look at it as the Ferarri of cables.  There are other far superior brands out there as well.  The only problem is...it's like just knowing of the Atlantic Ocean all your life, and then someone tells you there's a Pacific Ocean too.  There's a lot out there.  Check out reviews and forums.  They usually are the most helpful.

If you're worried about warranty, do what you feel is best.  But don't be hung up that only Sony knows how to make an HDMI cable, or that $5 crap will get you by.  I'll just drop a few lines of things that better cables do.  Better clarity.  Seperation of sound (3 dimensional).  Less bleeding of images.  Less ghosting.  Better colors.  Less noise.  And so on.

One thing to note is.  If you have a $400 tv and $300 sound system, don't spend $100 on a cable.  You won't really notice the difference as much.  But if you're in the $1000+ catagory for either, and you care about making improvements without replacing your equipment nothing will do it better then upgrading cables.  And also getting a good power conditioner.

I'm sure there's some out there that doubt me.  But don't bother telling me that I'm full of it, because I've been testing this stuff for years.  I have thousands of dollars invested in my home theater and thousands on various cables.  Its not placebo.  Its reality.  Feel free to ignore it if you want.  But don't rant that its not a fact. 

It is possible that if he is using a scaler on his tv or projector that it is inferior to the native resolution.  In that sense there is a possibility that it COULD look worse.  But in most cases, yes.  1080p will be superior to 720p, no question.

 To answer the poll, I use 720p on my tv and projector since that is it's native resolution and the native resolution of the 360, though I do want to jump to the 1080p world soon.  A year or two it will be pretty commonplace for 1080p stuff to be in the market, thus good prices.  Watch for the next evolution of projectors in 1080p to come out.  They'll be in the sub $4000 price range.

Currently using a 50" Sony Grand Wega LCD and a Panasonic AE-900 projector.  Both great.  One gets used to gaming with a 94" screen though!  Come hither Halo 3!