The battle between HDMI and DisplayPort is not new. But if you really understand them both, you will know that each serves its own purpose. In this blog, we will talk about how to get the best display results with the use of these two cables.

A wide range of devices come with HDMI port, from TVs to laptops and projectors. DisplayPort, on the other hand, has a much more niche usage (or acceptance or requirement). It is great for a gaming setup and external monitor usage in a workstation setup. It works great with most graphics cards and has a daisy chain mechanism, so you can hook up more than one monitor to a single CPU with just one DisplayPort on it.

Let us explore the nuances of the different setups that work with the HDMI cable and DisplayPort cable:

Entertainment Setup:

Since all TVs have an HDMI port on it, it is the easiest and the best option for this setup. Generally, a TV has around two or three HDMI ports. With the increase in streaming devices, this is great if you want more than one option. You can use one port for a channel setup box, the second for a streaming device and yet a third one for connecting a soundbar.

HDMI Arc output gives you the option to route audio out to a soundbar. This is, of course, very convenient as you can extend your music system beyond simple TV speakers. You are free to switch up to whatever speakers you want to use, including the latest ones that have digital assistants built-in.

This gives you the flexibility of switching out the streaming device if you ever want to plug in your laptop to the TV, leaving the soundbar and the channel setup box as a permanent setup.

Another different entertainment setup is when you want to use a projector. All standard projectors have HDMI compatibility. So, you can attach your source device and a soundbar to it.

HDMI’s ubiquity provides an assurance that you can buy a device with this standard and expect it to work with the rest of your setup over the coming years. Device manufacturers will not want to instantly disconnect you from their brand, so no matter how much “courage” they have, the HDMI port is not likely to disappear from everywhere suddenly. This is why the cable is cheap to buy.

Such a setup would not require a particularly long HDMI cable. An average of 3 to 5 feet should be just enough, though SF cable does have a variety of options to suit your needs.

Gaming Or Video Editing Setup:

We can easily club these two setups in terms of the devices used. Whether you are gaming or editing videos, the most important thing is the monitor. You need something with a high refresh rate, ideally 90Hz or more. But the monitor’s refresh rate is not enough to get the best results. You need to connect the computing source to it, with a DisplayPort cable that can drive such a high refresh rate.

DisplayPort has this neat function of being able to daisy chain monitors. You can connect one monitor to a CPU and add the rest to it. This makes for a neat setup even when your CPU does not have more than one DisplayPort. This is of great value for video editing because you need to be judicious with the ports.

An efficient setup tends to have three monitors: one for a full display, and two for the edit timeline. Additionally, this setup needs to have advanced no latency audio output, through speakers or headphones. If required, a sound mixer is also a part of this editing suite.

If gaming is your priority, a two or three monitor daisy chain connection via the DisplayPort cable is essential. You can add a joystick, controllers, and headphones or speakers. Just like video editing, gaming also requires zero-latency data transfer and you can do it using DisplayPort.

With both, the HDMI cable and the DisplayPort cable, it is important to note what version you are buying. The ports and the cables have to be of the same version. If your cable is older but your device is new, then you will not get the best results.

For optimal display experience, you must check their compatibility. The newer your port and cable, the more future proof it is.

SF Cable offers all kinds of cables under the sun, in varying lengths. Contact us today to start building your dream entertainment and working setup!

The debate is not between HDMI and DisplayPort because their version and your requirement are what really matters for the perfect display. Learn what all these cables can do. 

The Ethernet cable has been around for over 35 years. It is difficult to remember a time when you could use either your house phone or the internet via a dial-up connection. This changed when you could use both at the same time but still with an Ethernet cable. The cable got better in terms of speed and reliability. Then we switched over to Wi-Fi and modified Maslow’s pyramid to put Wi-Fi as a basic need. While wireless connectivity is great, the internet is faster when data passes through a cable. With every iteration of the Ethernet cable, the aim is to improve upon the speed and reliability.

Devices we use nowadays run on the internet. Our use of the internet is so much that we have refrigerators with screens and smart ovens that have cameras to see how much your food has cooked.

As our dependency on the internet increases, so does our need for speed and reliability. This is where the new type of cable comes in: fiber optic cable.

Fiber optic cable has a strand of pure glass that can transmit light. It can cover great distances because the coating around the glass strand does not absorb any. Light reflects internally in a phenomenon called “total internal reflection”.

Since light travels faster than electric current, a fiber optic cable can transmit data faster than copper cables. It transmits data at speeds of 1000 Mbps, or one Gbps, therefore, called gigabit internet. It makes promises (and comes through) of never having to wait for videos to buffer, never having your video call freeze awkwardly and getting an edge over your fellow gamers.

Gigabit internet is truly for the future. And the future is the Internet of Things. IoT devices popularly work on the IFTTT (If This Then That) protocol. One action triggers the next. This is how our routine tasks happen. This concept of routines translates to technology. A connected home routine is for your digital assistant to execute, or rather help execute. Your digital assistant is a central hub for all your smart devices. Let us look at some examples of how these routines work:

Morning Routine:

A standard morning routine triggers when you turn off your alarm. Then a pre-selected playlist plays, while your smart plug connected coffee maker turns itself on. After that, your digital assistant reads out the top news (based on your interests) to you. Lastly, it will tell you about your appointments and events for the day, the weather and commute time to work and sends the directions to your phone for navigation.

Safety Routine/Leave The Home Routine:

When you are ready to leave for work, you can trigger the leaving home routine with simple phrases like “leaving now”, or “I am leaving”, to your digital assistant. The smart home hub device then takes necessary, predefined steps to secure your house. Once you step out of the door, your smart door lock locks itself; your appliances like the coffee maker, air conditioner, toaster, and TV turn off. At last, your smart shades shut and your security camera monitors everything.

The advantage of this is that if you forget to turn any device off, you won’t have to rush back home. It will automatically turn off or you can turn it off remotely if connected to a smart plug. The important thing is that your home hub device should connect to everything in your house.

Come Back/Evening Routine:

On your way back home, you can trigger actions with phrases like, “I am home” or “I am back”. This can happen after you unlock your main door with a secure pin or key. After the trigger phrase, actions can start unfolding, with the shades opening. Then your evening playlist can start playing while you start cooking dinner and then the lights come on as the sunsets.

Night Routine:

At the end of the day, your night routine can trigger based on a phrase or set by a specific time. Your door will lock, the music will stop, and your thermostat will adjust to your ideal sleep temperature.

As the flow of these routines suggests, all the devices require constant and speedy internet connection, which a fiber optic cable promises to deliver. And with increasing devices, if you want to maintain speed, you need your house connection to switch to the fiber optic Ethernet cable.

SF Cable offers a wide variety of fiber optic cables to choose from based on your requirements. You can browse them here. For any other queries regarding this cable or any other Ethernet cable, you can contact us here. 

Source: https://www.sfcable.com/blog/fiber-optic-cable-reliable-smart-home-routine/

If you found these blog post useful, here are some other blog posts that may be of interest.

The History And Evolution of Fiber Optic Cables

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Fiber Optic Cables Vs Ethernet Cables: What Is the Difference?

Making, Working, And Advantages of Fiber Optic Cables

It’s about connecting your shiny new soundbar or AV receiver and having to decide between HDMI cables and Fiber Optic Cables. As home theater systems get more and more complex (Including wiring). Back into the good old days, all that you need was a coaxial cable to get the audio and video signals to your television set. Unlike today, to align your system with sound, Blu-ray players, and high-definition programming, you will have to go through a tedious set-up procedure. One major decision includes choosing the right cables: HDMI or Optical.

So, to help you make an informed decision, here are their pros and cons.

Going To The Basics

Both HDMI and optical cables pass the digital audio from one device to another. There is no difference when it comes to passing multi-channel audio like Dolby digital. The major difference is that HDMI cables can pass higher resolution audio which includes formats found on Blu-ray like Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master audio. Fiber optic cables won’t be able to transmit these high-res sound formats. HDMI can also pass video signals. So, if you don’t want the hassle of managing multiple cables between two devices, HDMI should be your pick.

But it would all come down to the devices that you want to connect. You might not have an option of HDMI altogether. Or maybe you have an older receiver. Or you have everything in place connected to your TV and just want to get the audio to a soundbar. Here, optical cables will be the perfect fit. You will get quality sound only as you get with HDMI cable.

Let’s say you possess a soundbar, which benefits from a surround sound signal and you connect it to one of the many TVs which cannot pass such signals via its optical outputs. Such soundbars many not have HDMI inputs anyway. Hence, the best way to use them is to connect their source to the bar via optical, skipping the TV.

Here Is The Comparison:

In the end, it depends on one’s individual needs. Even optical cables give decent audio results. But we live in a space of convenience. And HDMI has become a go-to cable for all the things. And it might become hard to argue against if your system itself supports it.

With HDMI’s feature set, upgradability and the fact that it can handle both the formats, you don’t need to worry about the wire jungle. Plus, you will have great results too.

Confused between HDMI and Optical Cables? Read more to make an informed decision on buying the right cable for your needs.

If you found these blog post useful, here are some other blogs that may be of interest.

The History And Evolution of Fiber Optic Cables

Fiber Optic Patch Cables: Here's All You Should Know

Know Everything About HDMI Technology

Fiber Optic Cables and Their Multiple Benefits!