Recently, many users and friends have asked us what is the difference between optical fiber HDMI cable and copper core HDMI cable? Which one is better? In fact, this question is difficult to answer, each has its own merits. Optical fiber has an absolute advantage in long-distance transmission. Copper wire is far superior to fiber optics for short-distance transmission. The main difference is what you use it for and how you use it. If you have very strict high-quality requirements for picture quality and sound quality, you will definitely choose to use a copper core HDMI cable. You must ask why? The answer is right below. After reading the introduction below, you will understand the mystery of this.

First look at the propagation speed of these two media.

The propagation speed of the electrical signal of the copper wire is about 2.3x10 to the 8th power m/s; the propagation speed of the optical signal in the optical fiber is 2.0x10 to the 8th power m/s. Yes, you read that right. In theory, in terms of propagation speed, the propagation speed of optical fiber is not as fast as that of copper wire. If you still don't understand, you can check "Modern Physics".

Why does copper wire travel faster?

According to "Modern Physics", the propagation speed of all electromagnetic waves (including visible light) in a vacuum is constant, that is, the speed of light, 3*10 to the 8th power m/s. So why is the propagation speed in fiber optics lower? In fact, the reason is very simple. Everyone should be very clear about the principle of optical fiber transmission. It uses the total reflection of light. Therefore, the actual distance traveled by optical fiber transmission is greater than the length of optical fiber, so the speed will be lower than that of copper wire electrical signals. transmission speed.

Through the above introduction, you must understand the basic principle of signal transmission, who is faster. Next, let's first understand the difference between them. Why? We must start from the principle of the signal.

An electrical signal refers to a voltage or current that changes with time, so it is expressed as a function of time in the mathematical description class, and its waveform can be drawn. Information is transmitted, exchanged, stored, retrieved, etc. through electrical signals. The signals in electronic circuits are all electrical signals, which are generally referred to as signals for short.

What is the difference between HDMI copper cable and fiber optic cable?

1. Different wire cores

The optical fiber HDMI cable uses an optical fiber core, and the material generally has two types: glass optical fiber and plastic optical fiber. Compared with the two materials, the loss of glass optical fiber is smaller, but the cost of plastic optical fiber is lower. In order to ensure performance, it is generally recommended to use plastic optical fibers for distances below 50 meters, and glass optical fibers for distances above 50 meters. Ordinary HDMI cables use copper core wires, and of course there are upgraded versions such as silver-plated copper and pure silver wires. The different materials determine the huge difference between fiber optic HDMI cables and conventional HDMI cables in their respective fields. For example, optical fiber wires will be very thin, light, and soft; while conventional copper core wires will be thick, heavy, and hard.

2. Different chips

The optical fiber HDMI cable uses a photoelectric conversion chip engine, which requires two photoelectric conversions to realize signal transmission: one is that the electrical signal is converted into an optical signal, then the optical signal is transmitted in the optical fiber line, and then the optical signal is converted into an electrical signal to achieve The effective transmission of the signal from the SOURCE end to the DISPLAY end. Conventional HDMI cables use electrical signal transmission and do not require two photoelectric conversions.

3. Different transmission effectiveness

As mentioned above, the optical fiber HDMI cable and the conventional HDMI cable adopt different chip scheme principles, so there are also differences in transmission performance. Generally speaking, since the photoelectricity needs two conversions, the difference in transmission time between the optical fiber HDMI cable and the conventional HDMI cable on the short line within 10 meters is not large, so it is difficult to have an absolute victory or defeat in the performance of the two short lines. The fiber optic HDMI cable can support more than 150 meters of lossless signal transmission without a signal amplifier. At the same time, due to the use of optical fiber as the transmission carrier, the high-fidelity effect of the signal is better and better, and it will not be affected by the electromagnetic radiation of the external environment, which is very suitable for games and high-demand industries.

4. Large price difference

At present, due to the fact that optical fiber HDMI cable is a new thing, the industry scale and user group are relatively small. So on the whole, the optical fiber HDMI cable is small in scale, so the price is still at a high level, generally several times more expensive than the copper core HDMI cable. Therefore, the current conventional copper core HDMI cable is still irreplaceable in terms of cost performance.

Seeing this, you may understand the truth, what kind of signal line is more suitable for you. Many friends who don't know much will definitely ask, copper wire has resistivity. In fact, the common sense of physics and the results have already told us the answer in the first picture. So don't make any explanations for those who don't understand and pretend to understand. There are always a group of people in the market who are constantly misleading users who don't understand, saying that optical fiber is better than copper wire? Etc depreciates the copper wire. In fact, when you really understand the principle, you will have a correct judgment on what kind of HDMI cable is better for transmission.

The HDMI cable 4K 18G needs a high-speed signal. So speed determines quality. Be sure not to confuse the audio-visual concept with low-speed signals. The advantage of copper wire is that it is fast. Good compatibility, no chip, no need to convert, etc. The disadvantage is that the lossless transmission of 4:4:4 18G 10Bit cannot be achieved beyond 30 meters. In long-distance transmission, it is weaker than optical fiber. The advantage of optical fiber is that the long-distance transmission of more than 30 meters has an absolute advantage. But there are also many disadvantages, such as high chip cost and poor equipment compatibility, multiple signal conversions, handshake protocol incompatibility, and equipment failure.

Each transmission material of HDMI cable has its advantages, depending on your needs. Therefore, it is expected that every user can use high-fidelity HDMI cables and experience the shocking audio-visual enjoyment brought by 4K 18G transmission as soon as possible.