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Journal LehiNephi's Journal: Gadget Feature.....idea 4

Gadget Feature: Fiber-optic link for displays.

I recently read an article where the author was given a demonstration of various HDMI cables and their ability to carry High-Definition content over longer distances. For a standard 6-ft cable, there was no difference in data transmission between the cheapest off-the-internet cable and the ludicrously expensive top-of-the-line brand name cable. However, when they tested 10-meter cables, there was a significant difference between the cables. The expensive cables were able to carry higher-resolution images farther than the cheap ones.

So here's my idea: why don't we use a fiber connection for our displays? I'm not particularly familiar with the encoding HDMI/DVI uses, but in terms of raw data, 1920x1080 x 60 frames per second * 24 bits/pixel comes out to around 3Gbps. That's a lot of data. It's a perfect application, in my opinion, for fiber. It's immune to electrical noise, so you don't have to worry about running it parallel to power lines in your house. It only takes one fiber, and requires no extra sleeving, so you have one small, light cable to attach. It can go considerable distances, provided it's a decent fiber, so you can put your projector, your receiver, your cable box, and your HTPC wherever you want. And it's getting quite cheap.

The home thater seems like a perfect situation to use fiber, but there's no reason it wouldn't work for desktop PCs, conference rooms, or any of a number of other applications as well. But nobody seems to be using it. Is there something I'm missing?
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Gadget Feature.....idea

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  • As the AC said, fiber does not bend like wire does. If people treat fiber like they do wire, there are going to be a lot of unhappy buyers. I'd expect that fiber will make an entry on the high end equipment, and trickle down as people learn how to handle it.
    • Ah, thanks for pointing that out. What is a typical turn radius for fiber? Many of the installations I've seen have some fairly sharp bends--under a 1" radius. Is that still too big for typical use? Maybe we could put the fiber in a thicker, or less-flexible cable-- (parallel) printer cables and VGA cables are often too stiff to put a tight bend in.

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