what is fiber optic audio?

[MorGoth]

as the subject reads, what is fiber optic audio? is it digital audio?....can someone just clear this up for me and tell what exactly it is?

thanks

[Azzkiller]

Its just a cable type. It carries the same signal as an electrical digital cable (coaxial) does, but instead of electricity to transmit the signal, it uses light. It's doesnt have any problems with picking up induced or radiated noise, and you can't form ground loops between components if you use it. That is probably the reason it's so popular today.

[MorGoth]

what do i need in order for it to work?...i've seen the cable for it and looks... different...do most recievers come with it nowadays?

[iwillburnbush]

Most highend recievers will have it, but It also has a limit on the length of a cable without a signal-booster. I forget what length it is (probably longer than you'd need), but that's always something to consider...

[MorGoth]

do most newer video cards have the input as well?

[RobxMcCarthy]

Fiber on computers is pretty much used to transport audio, no video as of yet. If you meant audio cards, some do some don't. Most have digital coax, a lesser % has fiber. You'd have to check the actual card as it's not a standardized feature.

Fiber cable can be a little more delicate than coax though, so in a dorm setting or other high traffic areas, it's not always the best option. My room mate had his stereo hooked up with fiber, but he stepped on the cable once (when it was bent) and the inner fiber must have snapped because it stopped responding...

[Ryan T]

Unless you have the cable running through the midle of you room stepping on it should never be a problem. In all the cases where i've used or seen fiber optic cable being used in a long term install its always behind the equipment. You'll find optical digital inputs on almost any 5.1 receiver now a days. Even the cheapo units have it usually. With sound cards you have to shop around like rob said. Coax is more popular but not all cards use it.


Ryan

[Steelpuma]

I remember reading somewhere that there is a limit to the amount of data that can get sent through a coax' cable. Does anybody know what it is?

[Azzkiller]

I remember reading somewhere that there is a limit to the amount of data that can get sent through a coax' cable. Does anybody know what it is?

That depends on the coaxial cable type, the length, dialectric material, center conductor type, etc etc. :)

But unless you are talking about very long runs, you shouldnt have any problems with something like an RG-59 cable carrying SPDIF.

[Mr.Guvernment]

Coaxile cable - i.e what u use for internet has a 10mb limit i recall


for an board with fiber out and in audio - look @ the Abit BH7 - although old - it has it!

[Azzkiller]

Coaxile cable - i.e what u use for internet has a 10mb limit i recall


That's due to standards, and typically isnt due to the cable not able to go any higher.

Coaxial cable for your tv goes higher in frequency than 10mhz or whatever frequency is used for 10base2.

[iwillburnbush]

If you are using standard cables made out of a metal of some sort, the speed of the cable is rarely the bottleneck, rather the controller that sends data over the cable is often not capable of reaching higher speeds. However there are ways to calculate the maximum total data bandwidth of a specific standard cable (Like what Azzkiller said), but as of yet I don't think that anybody has ever found a limit as to the maximum bandwidth of data that is physically possible to transfer over a fiber optic cable. You don't have to worry about that though because nobody has built a controller fast enough because as of yet there is no use for such a device...