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Optical audio cable dying out

by on31 October 2017


HDMI replaces it

Optical cable, which was the digital audio transfer method of choice for decades, is starting to die out as Toslink is replaced by HDMI.

Through the '90s and 2000s, the optical cable was near ubiquitous with it being the best way to get Dolby Digital and DTS from your cable/satellite box, TiVo, or DVD player. But now it is starting to disappear from hardware.

The latest Roku and Apple TV 4K, don’t bother and you can’t find it on many TVs. Chromecast Audio uses an optical connection because of space constraints any technical reason. The Chromecast Audio uses the mini-Toslink variant which fits inside a 3.5mm
analog jack.

This is mostly because it has been eclipsed by HDMI with ARC, even if in theory the optical has more bandwidth. However, as CNET points out, the optical audio connection is far more limited. It can't transmit the high-resolution audio formats that came out with Blu-ray more than a decade ago, such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio.

HDMI has expanded its capabilities significantly over the brief time it's been available and since no-one could be bothered upgrading optical because HDMI received greater acceptance the tech was toast.

Fibre technology will still be around as the backbone of the world wide wibble, but chances are you will not see it in your home in a few years.

Last modified on 31 October 2017
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