Optic audio cables are among the most commonly used cables for transferring audio information, but they are also among the most expensive. When it comes to optical audio cables, one of the most common questions that most people have is whether they are directional or not. So, are optical fibers directional?
Optical cables are not directional. They are bi-directional in nature and work in both directions. Bi-directional cables like optical cables mean they don’t have a specific direction in which they send their signals. This indicates that these cables can transmit signals in both directions in a two-way communication system.
Fundamentally, the communication sent by optical cables moves through small glass fibers with the aid of light. They can receive signals from both ends of the optical fiber line as a result of the way they are constructed.
Please keep in mind that bending the optical fiber cable in any manner might result in issues such as light being reflected backward, which can create interference with messages being received or delivered.
It is for this reason, in particular, that the majority of optical audio cables are utilized in pairs. If you are utilizing longer optical audio cables, it is possible to utilize distinct colors on each end of the wire.
It is possible to send signals in multiple colors and frequencies at the same time to increase speed by using SFPs at either end to filter out their signals while only looking at the other ends signal.
When to use the optical audio cable
The utilization of optical audio connections may be quite beneficial in situations when your equipment doesn’t have any HDMI capabilities. But if your devices are capable of supporting HDMI, the optical audio cables may not be necessary.
This is because an HDMI cable can do all the work that an optical audio cable can do and even go as far as transmitting video signals.
If your AV equipment is equipped with an HDMI connector, it is generally recommended that audio signals be sent over the HDMI port.
This is because HDMI accommodates all forms of audio transmissions and allows you to transport both sound and video data over a single connection.
An optical audio connection, on the other hand, is a great choice if you do not have any access to an HDMI port. It may be used to send audio between equipment.
For example, with optical audio, the only audio formats it can accommodate include Dolby digital 5.1 sounds, uncompressed stereo format as well as compressed DTS.
A small number of older devices equipped with HDMI ports do not enable audio transmission over the connector. The use of an alternate digital interface in this situation would be yet another example of such use.
Another instance where an optical audio cable would come in handy is when you are connecting your Television to your sound systems. Furthermore, if you would like to wire a CD player to amplifiers, this works well.
Consider the following scenario: whether you get your television broadcasts using an internal tuner or a smart TV app, you may wish to route the audio signals from the television set to the sound system, what do you use?
You have the option of using an optical audio cable as well as an HDMI cable. what you choose to use will depend on the kinds of connections that your devices are equipped with.
Most current televisions are equipped with an optical audio output that may be used for this reason.
Conclusion
Optical cables are widely used devices today. These cables are not directional or intrinsically unidirectional. However, an optical cable is a bidirectional cable. Therefore, an optical cable does not have a specific direction in which its signals are sent.
This means that it is capable of transmitting data in two directions at the same time. Similarly, you will not find a fiber optic cable that is intrinsically digital or analog, they can send both signals, they can be used for conveying digital signals as well as analog signals.
The signals in an optical audio cable are transmitted through the use of light, because of their fragility, it’s essential to properly take care of them to prevent them from bending as this can affect signal transmission. We hope this post helped you answer the question of whether optical cables are directional.
