To begin with, we warn you that if your devices (both the emitter or source and the screen) are not compatible with the HDMI 2.0 / 2.1 standard, do not bother considering buying a fiber optic HDMI cable because it is not worth the pity, with a “lifelong” HDMI cable you will have more than enough. That being said, we are going to explain everything in great detail below.
What is a fiber optic HDMI cable?
They should really be called a “fiber optic conductor HDMI cable”. Thanks to a premium construction, the best quality of materials and, of course, the use of fiber optics instead of the usual copper, these cables allow us to obtain a high speed data transmissionsomething that is necessary for high resolutions and refresh rates (for example, 4K at 120Hz or more, or 8K resolution), especially for long distances since conventional cables start to fail and lose quality from the 10 meters away.
Physically, these cables can be differentiated from the conventional ones by two fundamental characteristics (apart from the fact that, normally, they usually put it both on the cable and on the connector): firstly, because, as with USB 3.0, they usually have the inside of the blue connector, although not all have it. What they all have is differentiated connectors, since these cables they only work one way.
So it doesn’t matter which connector you plug into which device: the end SOURCE (source) must be connected to the sending device (for example, the game console), while the end DISPLAY (screen) must be connected to your TV or monitor.
In which cases do you need one of these cables?
In general, normal HDMI cables are more than enough to connect, for example, a console to a 4K TV at 120 Hz; The problem comes when, as we mentioned before, you need a fairly long cable, 10 meters or more, in which case it would be recommended that you go for a fiber optic HDMI to maximize transmission quality, avoiding loss of data. quality and interference.
These types of cables are also recommended for environments where you need to connect multiple displays. For example, if you want to use an HDMI splitter to display an image on multiple displays at the same time, it is recommended that you use one of these cables from the source to the splitter to maximize bandwidth, even if you then use normal cables from the splitter. to the monitors.
Do you need to take any precautions?
Optical fiber is much more delicate than copper, and therefore some additional precautions must be taken. For example, although these cables can be coiled without any problem, it is recommended that the coke you make is wide enough to do not bend the cable too much; make sure it is at least 10 centimeters in diameter.
In the same way, you must be a little more careful than usual when connecting it: never hold it by the cable or by the rubber projection, always hold it by the hard part of the connector to prevent it from bending over time to connect or disconnect it.
Finally, something we’ve already mentioned before: fiber optic HDMI cables only work one way, so you have to be careful and make sure you connect the end that says SOURCE to the source (the console, for example) and the end that says SOURCE to the source (the console, for example) in which it says DISPLAY to the TV or monitor.
Any recommended fiber optic HDMI cables?
If, after reading this article, you are convinced that you want to buy a fiber optic HDMI cable, we can of course recommend a couple of them that we are sure are of good quality.
For example, you have this HDMI 2.1 cable for 8K resolution at 60 Hz / 4K at 120 Hz of 20 meters that is also on sale on Amazon, although keep in mind that it is a “Chinese brand”, and that means that although it will work perfectly fine for what it has been designed for, its build quality is not as good as other much more expensive cables. Consider this cable the “cheap option”, although as you can see fiber HDMI cables are not exactly cheap.
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