Home Video Asylum

TVs, VCRs, DVD players, Home Theater systems and more.

HDMI vs. Optical; why did HDMI become the standard ?

Optical technology (but not Toslink) seems tailor-made for high bandwidth digital audio/video distribution. In fact, I think most of the internet distribution backbone relies on Fiber optics. Why would the Consumer electronics industry settle on a copper distribution system with bulky, awkward connectors when an itty, bitty Optical cable would easily have served the purpose (Toslink was a specific implementation which didn't require any bandwidth) ?

A friend of mine (engineer) asked this question and I didn't have a good answer. Why are we settling for second-rate technology in our Consumer electronics products ? HDMI was supposed to simply connection issues, but fiber optics would seem to be simplify even more (I hate that flimsy, non-locking HDMI connection).


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Topic - HDMI vs. Optical; why did HDMI become the standard ? - oscar 19:16:46 01/22/08 (13)

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