Fiber optic has become sort of a breakthrough in technological achievements. One mentions the term optic fiber and automatically your Nerves go to more advanced and higher performing electronics. With fiber optic revolutionizing the way we get the internet and its multiple applications, why not apply the technology to other mediums like HDMI cables?
You need not be overly reactive. Fiber optic HDMI cables have been around for quite some time and hence it is not something that came up now.
Have you seen those big LED billboards, well, they are working on fiber optic HDMI. But what are these fiber optics and how do they function?
Fiber optic technology uses light pulses to transfer- data as light through strands of fine glass filament or fibers. HDMI cables with fiber optic convert the data from the source into light and then back into a readable signal. This means that each end of a fiber optic HDMI cable serves as a converter.
Fiber optic HDMI cables are the best way to connect between devices, like if you're connecting a PC to a TV across a large room or house. These cables are like standard HDMI cables except that they are made with optical fiber inside the cable in place of the usual copper. Since the connection is made of optical fiber, they can reach longer distances while keeping a high data transfer speed. These cables may be capable of reaching similar distances as HDMI repeaters, but it's more compact and cleaner and therefore cannot be perceived as substitutes.
Then what makes a fiber optic HDMI cable different from a copper HDMI cable?
While they may look similar, there are some differences when it comes to manufacturing.
Fiber optic HDMI cables aim to serve one purpose, and that is cable run length; functionally, there is no difference between the two. Copper-based HDMI cables have problems with interference and length. Length is an issue when you want to transfer a 4K video over a copper HDMI. Beyond around 30ft, you start having issues. Fiber optic HDMI cables are capable of sending video and audio to a display and standard HDMI cables are in no way inferior in this, in terms of performance. These optical HDMI cables can help transfer up to 32 uncompressed audio channels.
Fiber optic HDMI cables can support a speed of 18 Gb/s without any loss of signal and are meant for distances up to 164 ft (50 m) for 4K resolution @ 60 Hz. No extra devices are needed, only the cable.
Fiber optic HDMI cables are worth getting if you are looking to extend the range, to connect a device to a display, while keeping it as simple as a standard HDMI cable.
These optical HDMI cables are also suitable for higher resolution displays since standard HDMI cables are limited in length. For example, using a standard HDMI cable with a 4K TV farther than 10 to 15 ft would most likely land up in HDMI signal loss and distortion of the picture or sometimes not at all work.
With fiber optic, the distance issue is ruled out. A fiber optic cable can transfer data at a stunning 1000 ft. For those huge LED billboards used for advts and stadium screens display, the source is usually too far away to rely on copper HDMI.
Thus when distance matters, fiber optic HDMI with 4K resolution is undoubtedly the best.
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