Mudge,
You are mixing two issues, jitter and signal strength.
If you have a brand name middle of the road DVD player, I am saying that you will get good signal strength out of the unit. If you have good signal strength then the signal will get to the other end with a decent cable. If the digital bits are getting to the other side then improving the cable will not improve anything.

If you have a player that has no jitter or a lot of jitter, then improving the cable will not change the jitter. Cable quality makes a difference on a digital signal until the digital bits are getting across the cable, after getting the correct bits across improving cable quality makes no difference.

My point with the comparisons to other interfaces is that with a digital signal in 2004 we no longer need “gold infused laser etched multi-polymer substrate” cable to get the sound from one unit to another. That simple looking cable that Meridian supplies with their equipment will do just fine. If you are making your own cable, always use quality cable and quality connector and take your time and do a good job. Enjoy the fact that we do not need the $1,000+ cables that the analog guys need.