Aren’t HDMI cables the best home theater cables money can buy – yes, they are.
If that’s true, you might be wondering what a fiber optic HDMI cable is. When we hear ‘fiber optics’, a lot of think that it’s a better option. When Bell Canada went to fiber op cables, the country swooned!
A fiber optic HDMI cable is not needed by most households but in some cases, it can be a wonderful upgrade. Here is everything you need to know about fiber optics are and how applicable they are to what we tend to use HDMI connections for.
Fiber Optic HDMI Cables Are High-Speed
Fiber optic HDMI cables are high-speed cables. Then again, so are HDMI 2.0 cables and 2.1 cables.
Where the true difference lay is in the type of material used inside an HDMI cable. Regular HDMI cables are made from copper. They use multiple lines of copper. This is all you need for the average home theater system. It’s fast and reliable. An alternative though is fiber optic HDMI which uses fiber optics.
Fiber optics are the use of lasers to transmit signals as opposed to electricity. Lasers are faster than electricity and also do not suffer from electromagnetic interference or radio-frequency interference. They have less signal loss as well.
When Is It Better to Use Fiber Optic HDMI Cables
Where copper HDMI cables run into problems is with distance. After about 65 feet, an HDMI signal’s dead in the water and can’t go any further. This creates a myriad of issues in terms of quality and connection.
A high-speed HDMI cable made with fiber optic technology however can go for up to 200 feet with maximum quality every inch of the way. It far surpasses the distance limit of copper. This is when you want to choose a fiber optic HDMI cable over a copper cable. That is, when long distances have to be covered.
When you don’t want to use fiber-optic HDMI is where you’re simply connecting a device to a screen and you’re within a few feet. For cases like these, fiber optics aren’t really required. The market for short fiber optic HDMI cables is very small for this reason. They’re really only used in extended distances.
The major disadvantage – if one can call it that – is that fiber optic HDMI cables do not have a reversible design. They are directional, meaning one side is for the ‘source’ and the other is for ‘receiver’. Install it backwards and you simply won’t get a signal.
Shop HDMI 2.0 cables, HDMI 2.1 cables, and fiber optic HDMI cables this season at PrimeCables.ca.