Optical input optical in what is it?

How to connect Digital Audio Out?

To connect the system:

insert optical fiber into the output of a TV or other device;
connect the cable to the connector on the set-top box;
Connect an audio system via the coaxial input.

Oct 28
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Coaxial digital connection

Perhaps the rarest type of connection in modern audio and video components, coaxial, involves the use of electricity to transmit the audio signal.

The corresponding connector is a familiar round RCA plug that terminates a pair of analog interconnect cables on both sides.

But don't be tempted to use a standard analog RCA cable instead of a dedicated digital coaxial cable! It looks similar and is even quite functional, but its characteristic impedance is lower than that of a digital one (50 and 75 Ohms, respectively), so you won’t get good results. For most systems, an entry-level cable such as QED Performance Coaxial will do just fine.

Today, coaxial connections are less common than optical ones, but they can still be found on the back panels of some AV receivers, amplifiers and televisions.

In our experience, compared to optical, coaxial connections generally provide better sound. It has higher bandwidth, which supports higher quality file formats with up to 24-bit/192 kHz sampling. The optical channel is usually limited to 96 kHz.

The main disadvantage of a coaxial connection is the potential for electrical noise to be carried between devices in the system. It always reduces sound quality and is present to varying degrees in all components. Unfortunately, when using a coaxial connection, noise can be transmitted from the source to the amplifier.

In addition, coaxial cable does not have enough bandwidth to carry high-quality surround sound formats such as Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. Therefore, the possibilities of its use in a modern home theater system are limited.

What to look for when buying an optical audio cable?

Of course, the main issue is the cable length, which according to the official specification should not exceed 5 meters unless an appropriate signal amplifier is used. Opinions on the maximum signal transmission length are divided, but the most common opinion is that a lossless signal is guaranteed with a cable length not exceeding 50 meters. This means we don't have to worry about whether we buy a 5 meter or a 30 meter TOSLINK. However, remember that the signal quality in this case will also depend on the class of the transmitting and receiving device and the class of the signal amplifier used.

It is also worth paying attention to what kind of tape the cable we buy supports. The optimal range is 9 MHz to 11 MHz (higher range indicates better cable material). The material from which our TOSLINK is made is also important here. The lowest place is occupied by plastic, and the highest by borosilicate glass. The latter material can be found almost exclusively in high-quality audio cables. However, the price of 1 m of such cable can exceed the ceiling of 15,000 rubles.

How to Use the Optical (S/PDIF) Port on Windows 10

The optical output port on a PC is a mystery to many. It sits at the back of your PC and emits a constant red laser beam, regardless of whether anything is connected to it or not. It looks like you should be connecting something to this, but what? The logical answer is an optical audio cable, and here's a good look at how to get it to work, with the caveat that it's become quite clunky to use on Windows 10 in recent years.

Typical fiber optic cable design

Fiber Optic Cable Design

UTP cable

Optical fiber can be made from:

Polymer;
Quartz glass.

Polymer fiber is, as a rule, more resistant to mechanical stress and cheaper. However, over time it may lose transparency, which negatively affects the durability of the product.

Glass light guides have better optical characteristics, but are more expensive and fragile.

Comparison with HDMI

How to connect a TV cable

Fiber optic communication systems of the early 2000s have a serious competitor. These are devices for transmitting digital information, including an audio signal via an HDMI cable.

HDMI cable

HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) is an interface for high-definition multimedia systems.

The big advantage of an HDMI connection is the ability to simultaneously transmit digital signals, both video and audio, in high quality. Moreover, sound can be sent over eight channels with 24-bit resolution and a frequency of 192 kHz. At the same time, surround sound is easily realized in the speaker system. The HDMI interface is superior to fiber optic systems in terms of the amount of transmitted audio information. For home use, HDMI cables have a length of 1.5-3 meters, but can reach 15 m.

The only disadvantage of an HDMI conductor is the signal transmission through metal conductors. Although they are well shielded, there is still potential for interference from local electromagnetic fields.

Will HDMI replace fiber optics? Not likely in the near future. Many acoustic systems and music centers using optical audio channels have been produced, and their production continues. The consumer will have to choose.

What is a soundbar?

LG LAS260B soundbar. Santeri Viinamäki [ CC BY-SA 4.0 ]

The soundbar is a universal compact speaker system located in the center. Soundbars are often known for their high-quality sound. They go beyond the sound played through your TV speakers.

Soundbars can be used as part of a complete surround sound system, but can also be used as standalone speakers. When used alone, they provide quality sound without taking up as much space as a surround sound system. They are easy to install and have become a must-have in homes across the country.

(If you want to learn more about soundbars, my complete soundbar buyer's guide will help you appreciate what these devices have to offer and how they fit into your home theater setup.)

Is it worth buying an optical audio cable?

Probably, many people think that there is no point in buying an optical cable, for example, for a TV, since HDMI can transmit both sound and image. And although the HDMI connection is indeed of high quality, in many cases we cannot use it. In a situation where we want to connect an audio source, such as a Blu-ray player or console, to a separate amplifier or DAC, connecting using an optical TOSLINK or Mini-TOSLINK cable can be a salvation.

The history of optical transmission dates back to the early 1980s and began with the debut of CD-Audio players. Although fiber optic connections were already known, the technology entered the consumer market with the introduction of the first all-digital audio format. The connection standard was developed by the Japanese company Toshiba, to which we also owe the name of the plug standard for these cables - TOSLINK (TOS (hiba) LINK).

Signal transmission via light guide

Full-fledged computer networks and communication lines are built on the basis of fiber-optic cables, and data is transmitted over long distances, even between continents. Optical fiber for information communications was first used in 1934 to build optical telephone systems, so the principle of information transmission has been known for a long time:

Converting an electrical signal to an optical signal
Optical signal transmission via optical fiber cable
Reconverting the signal to electrical form

The fiber optic cable itself has a multilayer design, where the number and type of layers depends on the operating conditions (examples can be seen here https://lan-art.ru/catalog/opticheskiy-kabel/). But there are elements common to all fiber optic conductors:

The core (core) is a light guide that transmits light waves through itself. Made from pure transparent material, such as glass.
Shell - necessary to reflect refracted light rays back into the core. Has a lower refractive index.
Insulation is a protective layer of plastic that prevents mechanical damage to the light guide.

Despite the fragility of the core, it is flexible enough to make cable products based on it. Depending on the type of cable, the diameter of its minimum allowable bend can vary greatly. Excessive bending of the fiber optic line may damage it.

Fiber optic cable for audio devices

Almost all high-quality audio reproduction systems have an optical channel.

Digital audio transmission between remote devices follows the SPDIF (Sony*/Philips* Digital Interface Format) protocol. Its implementation in an optical version was made by Toshiba and became a generally recognized standard called TOSLINK.

Optical audio output

View of the optical digital audio cable of the TOSLINK system

For portable devices, such as laptops, smaller Mini TOSLINK connectors can be used.

Mini TOSLINK connector

Installing a special driver (Windows only)

The driver cannot be installed correctly if your computer is connected to the device using a USB cable.

If the device is connected to the computer using a USB cable and the computer is turned on before installation, disconnect the USB cable and restart the computer.

The installation begins. Do not perform any operations on your computer until the installation is complete.

For more information about connections, see Connecting to a PC or Mac link.

When the device's power is turned on, the computer automatically finds it and connects to it.

A list of control panel settings is displayed.

The sound menu window will appear.

If another device is checked, click “Marantz USB Audio” and then select “Default”.

Outputs a TEST signal from the computer and checks the audio output of the USB-DAC function.

The Digital Audio Interface Properties window appears.

It is recommended to select “2 channel, 24 bits, 192000 Hz (Studio recording)”.

Make sure this unit can reproduce the sound output from your computer.

A special driver must be installed on the PC before the device is connected to the PC. Playback will not work properly when connecting a computer before installing the dedicated driver.

This mode may not be supported by some hardware and software configurations.

Method 1: Connect the optical cable to the motherboard

Buy:

sound card with spdif outputs (coaxial and optical);
cable;
connectors.

Steps:

connect the wire to the sound card;
find the JSPD, JSPDIF or SPDIF_OUT connector on the motherboard;
select a connector that matches the location of the pins;
put the connector on the free end of the cable;
connect the cable to the spdif connector on the motherboard;
fix the board on the system unit with the outputs facing outwards;
connect the optical cable to the Spdif Out output;
select the sound card as the playback device through the volume menu on the monitor.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Connecting home theater to PC

In this case, the connection is standard and no different from the above examples, with the difference that instead of a receiver we will have a DC. As already written above, the DC can be made either in one case or in the form of two separate modules - a receiver and a player. The second is true for more expensive and naturally higher quality systems.

The type of connection will depend on what type of interface for connecting external signal sources is available on the body of your DC. For example, inexpensive DCs often have nothing, or only two connectors - a stereo input; more expensive models have coaxial SPDIF or HDMI on board. Good models contain optical SPDIF and HDMI; in rare cases, there are all the necessary connectors for connection, both digital and 5.1 analog channels. It makes no sense to draw a connection diagram, since according to the figures above you can easily connect a DC, only instead of a receiver there will be a DC itself. Well, if you have a receiver-DC combination, then it depends on whether there is an additional connector on the receiver for connecting not only the player itself, but also an external source.

After all the manipulations, a question arises. What to do with old (2.0) stereo speakers?

There are two - even three - options. 1. Give away, remove, throw away. 2. Use as a radio, player in the kitchen, or another room by connecting a flash or HDD player to them. 3. Connect to your new speaker system.

Since we are inquisitive natures, we prefer the third option. And if you have ordinary stereo speakers up to 1,000 rubles, then you shouldn’t try; on high-quality acoustics they will ruin your whole picture. True, if the acoustics themselves are quite simple, then why not. But, if you have good, solid stereo speakers, then connecting them additionally to the overall system will not be difficult, and they will not greatly affect the overall perception. And then an amazing thing turns out: if you have 5.1 acoustics, then by connecting two more to it, you will get 7.1 acoustics, if you have 3.1 then 5.1 and so on. I’ll make a reservation right away that it can only be connected to a PC; you won’t connect them to the receiver. Interesting? Then let's figure out how to do it.

Firstly, you need to take into account that you shouldn’t “interfere” into a ready-made system developed by the manufacturer. I mean that it is absolutely not worth replacing the complete front or rear speakers with your old ones. It's much easier to add a "component". But adding a component can sometimes lead to worse sound. However, all 2.0 speakers have volume control, some have tone and balance control, with this they can be adjusted and adjusted to your system, taking into account your requirements.

Secondly, there is a significant disadvantage: if you change the volume on your new speaker system, the volume on your old one, naturally, will not change and will stand out from the general background; of course, you will have to change it there too. It’s good if you have it on your remote control, but what if not? Then you need to get up and change the volume manually. Well, it’s not very convenient, you’ll agree.

For example, you have 2.1 acoustics, two front speakers and a sub. Then simply add your old speakers as rear ones, and connect them to the PC using exactly the same scheme as shown above. Thus, connect the wire through which the old speakers were connected to the black connector, your sub will be on yellow, and the front ones will be on gray. You just need to remember that sometimes the signal connection wires for these speakers are not always enough for installation, and then you will have to extend them. In addition to everything, you need to take into account the fact that they must also be connected to the electrical network. If you have 3.1, then the old speakers also act as rear speakers. But the connection remains the same. 4.1 is already more difficult, but not as much as we would like. There is already a choice here.

Re: Connecting a computer and receiver digitally (only 2 channels play)

So, in order: - if you connect the computer digitally, then only 2 front channels will work on the receiver, except for the case when an AC3 or DTS stream is sent via S/PDIF. — AC3 and DTS can be obtained on DVD and some DivX films with a corresponding soundtrack. To do this, you need to specify in the player that you do not need to unpack DolbyDigital (AC3) or DTS programmatically, but directly send them to the sound card. Also, for some sound cards (in particular Live), you need to disable AC3 hardware decoding in the drivers so that it goes directly to S/PDIF. Then the receiver itself will unpack DolbyDigital into the required number of channels. - in games there will be 2 front sound channels. Why? — Because S/PDIF is a stereo signal, and the audio package itself cannot pack multi-channel audio into AC3.