HDMI or digital optical cables: What's the difference? | Digital Trends

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HDMI and optical are the two go-to connections for modern picture standards and surround sound, but is there any difference between both wires? Let's find out.

Modern home entertainment is spearheaded by the almighty A/V system, a high-octane amalgamation of TVs, projectors, receivers, speakers, and the many standalone components we do our cable and Blu-ray watching, music streaming, and next-generation gaming with. And amidst this medley of wired this-and-that is the all-powerful HDMI cable tying everything together. But let’s not forget about digital optical, too.

Whether you’re watching movies and TV shows through your TV directly or using a streaming device, you can think of your TV as being the main hub — everything connects your TV, with a separate sound system as the device you’re sending audio into. SPIDF can deliver uncompressed stereo two-channel sound, also known as PCM, as well as compressed bitstream surround sound formats like Dolby Digital or DTS Surround System. SPIDF, and thus your optical digital connection, is limited, though.

In fact, the new Sonos Ray soundbar only offers an optical connection, so this old standard is still getting used in new products today. But if you want top-quality surround sound with future-proofing built in, HDMI ARC or eARC is the way to go. And because of its uncompressed limitations and complete lack of picture-sending capabilities, digital optical isn’t receiving the same stream of standardized upgrades and evolutions that HDMI is.

 

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