Talk:TOSLINK

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[edit] mini Toslink

Many new laptops now have a combination Headphone/Toslink output. The connector looks like a mini stereo jack except the tip has a fiber connection. You can see an image of the connector at the bottom of the webpage. Fujitsu Siemens calls this output the Spdif out. If the output is enabled in software you can see a red light inside the Jack socket when adjusting the baudrate or for a short period when removing a normal analogue jack from the socket.

[edit] Length limit

The article states "TOSLINK Signal cables are unlimited in length as light does not degrade over length." Is this completely true? I don't know anything about TOSLINK but I know that optical Ethernet cable have a maximum length. Mind you, that is probably more down to timing as Ethernet is a two-way protocol, and after a certain time the other end will give up waiting and the link will go down. Is the same true for TOSLINK? Furthermore, the info box says the length is limited to 10m? Can someone who is knowledgeable about the subject make the article consistent? Pelago 09:34, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

Your argument doesn't seem to be unfounded. The article states (now at 1/15/08) that the maximum length is at 10m before degradation occurs. Is there a source for this information or is it being assumed? Light is light, which travels at (gasp!) the speed of light. That means there technically shouldn't be a maximum length for FI-Ethernet either, considering that these things are traveling at C. (or just under). Unless a server or client is expecting a connection to occur at thousandths of a millisecond, I highly doubt a connection will timeout. Someone needs to contact an proper engineer about this stuff.71.238.205.137 (talk) 05:57, 15 January 2008 (UTC)

The signal does degrade, the plastic optical fiber isn't a perfect transmission medium for light, as it bounces along the fiber (it doesn't travel straight along it as you seem to assume, fibers work by total internal reflection) some of the light will be absorbed by the plastic instead of reflected, and distortions will be introduced into the signal. Because it is used only for digital signals this doesn't matter at all over short distances, but as the distance increases the distortion will eventually exceed the amount which is tolerated by the receiver apparatus and the connection will not function. When using optical fiber for Ethernet rather than audio, there are different grades of fiber used and more or less sophisticated transmitters and receivers depending on the distance. Within a building relatively expensive and fragile glass fiber is used with simple electronics, a cheaper grade of glass fiber is used in conjunction with more expensive electronics for medium distances (e.g. across a city rather than between two buildings on a campus), and for extremely long distances (e.g. transatlantic) it is usual to both use exceptional quality fiber and amplify the signal at intervals using very expensive optical amplifiers. No doubt TOSLINK could be made reliable over considerable distances if it used more expensive electronics and/or fragile glass fiber cables, but that would sort of defeat the convenience and low cost aspects... 82.69.171.94 (talk) 12:18, 16 February 2008 (UTC)

Talk:TOSLINK

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[edit] mini Toslink

[edit] Length limit

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