The digital optical audio cable is one dimensional and only puts out the sound.
Optical cable vs hdmi audio.
An optical connection also can t support more than two channels of uncompressed pcm audio.
Optical cables use optical fiber to transfer data.
In fact some have claimed that digital optical cables relay slightly better sound than an hdmi cable.
If you can t optical is decent enough for your audio or sound needs.
Coaxial and optical cables are used in home entertainment systems to connect an audio source such as a set top box blu ray player or video game console to a component such as an amplifier audio receiver or speaker system.
Optical audio cables for sound quality hdmi is better than optical.
The basics of hdmi vs.
Moreover with optical cables the usage is limited to speakers up to 5 1 while hdmi takes advantage of dolby truehd and dts hd master audio.
If you watch movies frequently with a home theater system use the hdmi cable.
The end connections are a little oddly shaped and the link may not be secure as in the case of hdmi or coaxial cables.
If the sound system is solely set up for audio and music either cable will perform the same function.
Another limitation that you may come across on an optical digital cable would be that the quality is limited to up to 5 1 channel.
Both can pass multi channel audio like dolby digital.
You can be assured of the minimum signal degradation over a distance.
These types of cables work through using a pulsing wave of light to relay audio signals from a source to a receiving device.
When comparing hdmi vs.
This is why between hdmi and optical the simplest advice is to go hdmi as much as possible.
A digital optical cable also referred to as an optical cable will produce a reliable and consistent sound.
Both are better than analog the red and white cables.
Both types transfer a digital audio signal from one device to the other.
Both hdmi and optical pass digital audio from one device to another.
Then there s the threat of damage if an optical cable is bent too tightly.
An optical digital connection uses the medium of light to transmit data through a cable s optical fibres which can be.
Although consistent and high quality it lacks the edge provided by the hdmi for video.
To clarify the official term for optical cables that are used solely for audio is toslink.
As you can see from the chart above hdmi is the best type of audio cable format available compared to optical digital coaxial and rca cables.
Launched in 2002 the biggest benefit of hdmi is it s a one size fits all connection for video and audio.