Fiber vs. Copper; What do we really need?

[@rickperez8044]

When I built my house, I had it wired with "Cat 6". Friends asked, "Dude haven't you heard of wi-fi?" My answer: yes, that's why I'm installing cable.

[@joebonsaipoland]

Rick Perez smart man. They put cable lines to all the rooms in my house, for what, I never watch tv.

[@fsmoura]

I did exactly that too, but before answering I took one giant spit at the ground just to emphasize my disgust.

[@RyanMorey1]

I love daydreaming about the amazing networking installation I'll one day have in the house I'll never be able to afford

[@rickperez8044]

@@RyanMorey1 Don't sweat it, my dreamhouse belongs to my ex now. It was a short-lived dream.

[@Sinjinator]

Well I ran coax AND cat5 cables throughout my house; called it "the pipeline". But that was almost 30 years ago! Now I don't even have to use them anymore.

[@Reczack]

Fun fact: audiophiles hate literally everything, including their own equipment and, of course, themselves.

[@photicguitarisakasucc647]

Who is this lovely wamen? Never knew I could have so much in common with an object

[@NightRogue77]

hmmmmm.... no i don’t

[@TheGrinningViking]

So like everyone else, except they don't like their equipment? 😎👍🏼

[@fjl05]

it might have been a fact but it wasnt fun at all.

[@BrianJT]

@@override367 good advice, don't get sucked in :P

[@ihaveasticknmyi]

Optical amplifiers work on a very simple principal: they make the light louder.

[@Nandru85]

I thought it made light lighter

[@ristopaasivirta9770]

Personally I think that the effort is wasted. There's only so many frames per pixel a human ear can smell.

[@wojiaobill]

How bright of you

[@ThePetaaaaa]

Nice. To be a bit more precise, it's just a diode pumped solid-state laser like your green laser pointer. However, the power source (pump diodes) are and the laser medium are a bit more separated than in your laser pointer. ;-)

[@evandavis5223]

To amplify your optical signals, what you need first are some essential oils....

[@ChatookaMusic]

"I'm sorry for calling this Ethernet cable" *casually pans over a cable with a tag that literally says "Ethernet cable"*

[@wolu9456]

But is it a Patch Cables or Crossover Cable? Just bringing awareness that there are such things. P.S. When making them for the love of god test them with a meter(it just test's for good connections). You can spend hours trying to find the problem if you mess up.

[@mycrowatt]

Who even uses crossover cables any more with auto MDI-X.

[@kevreeduk222]

@@mycrowatt Whilst Auto MDI-X is almost ubiquitous, it does remain a solely OPTIONAL element of the 1000Base-T standard. Although there appears to have been a campaign to make it part of the core standard, it was only adopted as an optional element. As such, it is possible (albeit unlikely) to encounter a situation in the wild where a crossover cable would be required, although the likelihood goes up at locations where the kit installed is from the earlier generations of kit (If my research on the matter is correct, Auto MDI-X was developed as part of a series of proposals for 100Base-T, AKA 802.11ab, so would have been less prevalent in 10/100 networking kit). Some manufacturers did incorporate Auto MDI-X into their 10/100 devices, but this was never mandatory (and remains optional).

[@InservioLetum]

We should mount a net above your head. While that's being built, the reason you saw the cable being panned over was that this was by design. That was precisely the joke.

[@ChatookaMusic]

@@InservioLetum lmao thanks for explaining, I totally wasn't just commenting on the sass he was employing, I'm glad there are smart people like you to keep idiots like me in line with *woosh* nets 😒

[@SgtAbramovich]

"I know! I'm going to make a new standard!" Said 30 different technicians around the globe, roughly at the same time.

[@Jimorian]

As usual, there's an XKCD for that: xkcd.com/927/

[@BillAnt]

One can have the greatest tech idea, in the real world it all comes down to ease of usability, and most importantly COST. Sure, fiber is fast and wonderful, but special connectors are required along with relatively expensive light transceivers, oh and it lacks power delivery. That's not to say that fiber is bad, in fact it's great for long (hundreds of miles) of data delivery, just not so much in the consumer market.

[@BillAnt]

@cloridan Beauchamps < I hear ya, and I'm sure it would work great in a lab, but in the real world usb 3.0 is much more durable with its cheap copper including power, and it's plenty fast. Sometimes the best solutions lose out due to being "too good" or tech-politics. ;)

[@Gshadin]

you could make a religion out of this

[@BillAnt]

@@Gshadin < I subscribe to the USB Religion. lol

[@Rudofaux]

YOU FOOL! That isn't a Cat5 cable, it is a Cat5E cable.

[@andrewgwilliam4831]

What?! Who do I complain to?!?!

[@ballsrgrossnugly]

YOU DOUBLE FOOL! CAT 6 DOES GIGABIT! ;)

[@amshermansen]

I mean - So does 5e.

[@Keex11]

@@ballsrgrossnuglyPffff, CAT III lands aircraft automatically.

[@SianaGearz]

@@ballsrgrossnugly 100BASE-TX, the predominant 100Mbit standard, and 1000BASE-T, the predominant Gigabit standard, both share CAT5 cable specification, though CAT5E supersedes it and is preferred. They can do this because 100BASE-TX doesn't even use half the wires in the cable, plus its transmission method is simpler and less efficient, plus it barely uses half the bandwidth of those wires that it does use - essentially CAT5 was overengineered for 100BASE-TX. CAT6 is a 10Gbit standard.

[@andreib302]

The fact that there is a Part 2 shows why i love this channel

[@obsidian9998]

Agreed.

[@invalid2985]

he actually cares enough to go back and wrap up some things that he forgot in the main video, which most people wouldn't care enough to go back, but he does!

[@BradleyBishop]

If you think about where he was a few short years ago, he's really coming into his stride. The videos are better, funnier, and more entertaining. He reminds me, and I think he'll get this, of the old, "The Secret Life of Machines" series. (www.secretlifeofmachines.com/) - if you haven't seen that series, go watch it. Either way, great videos!

[@jameswyatt1304]

Well, they're *part* of why I love this channel...

[@StarkRG]

Just wait 'til part 3

[@rikkir6229]

I've worked in Optical Fiber production for a very large, very well known glass company for going on 5 years, and still learned some very understandable points concerning dispersion and distortion. Points that were explained to me, but never as well as you've explained here. Great video!

[@pinheadlarry1019]

Wouldn't happen to work for Corning would you? Because if so I do too

[@jessihawkins9116]

what company? Is it Corning? Just say so 😩

[@eviltux65]

Unwatchable

[@jessihawkins9116]

it was Corning wasn’t it

[@ChunkyMonkaayyy]

10 years installing carrier level telco equipment. There’s equipment that literally says “RJ45” or “Ethernet” on the copper ports so even the vendors realize it’s ok to use common terms to make things easy. I find the people who are super picky are either specialized, or have too much free time and just want to sound smart because they read something once.

[@redrocketgame]

yeah it's wack, one of my teachers who was working at a telcom technician when they were first installing networking lines in Canada calls them ethernet and rj45. no need to get super nitpicky about calling it by the cable's grade instead of what it's used for

[@glytchd]

TRUE! I was about to chime in too! I used to be a NETWORK ENGINEER in the 2000s before Virtualization kicked my ass ;) - "you cant call Cat-Ve Ethernet" is just Bogus and really SHOULD be ignored. Anyone worth their salt, will draw the distinctions When Needed! It's Perfectly FINE to use 'short hand'; Unless you're discussing something which specifically entails differences between the Categories (ex 1000base-T 'gigabit' ethernet Requires Cat-6 etc)

[@BlackmageAlexi]

@@glytchd Ok I don't know anything about networking but why would you need to specify CAT-5 or CAT-6? To me that seems like a plumber saying "you shouldn't say "tube" you should say ½-inch pipe!"

[@CodeKujo]

​@@BlackmageAlexi CAT-5 and CAT-6 differ in their ability to carry data; CAT-6 can do higher "bandwidth"--more data per second. They all have the same plug/socket, though, so if you care about how fast it goes, then it's entirely appropriate to say "at least CAT-6". In your pipe example, a manual for a lawn sprinkler pump will specify something like "threaded 1.5in schedule 40 PVC". "threaded 1.5in PVC" is roughly like saying "RJ45", and "schedule 40" is like saying Cat6. It's not perfect, but we'll go with "PVC"="ethernet" in this analogy. There are ways to do ethernet that aren't RJ45, just like not all PVC will mate with a threaded 1.5in hole. Not all networking is ethernet and not all piping is PVC.

[@dustojnikhummer]

@@CodeKujo Cat5e can do 1Gbit just fine, but I think there is a distance limit

[@andrewchapman2039]

Practical and common use of fiber optic in the consumer market you've glossed over entirely. Those real neat lamps.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

Have you seen the ones that slowly color shift? Wow! The future is cool.

[@Mrch33ky]

oh hell yes!

[@TheGrinningViking]

Fiber optic winter holiday trees as well. Everyone loves generic winter holiday 👍🏼

[@DaimyoD0]

Look up "space whip" if you wanna see a bunch of hippies turn playing with fiber optic toys into an artform lol. It is considered a novelty in the "flow arts" community but it is still widely considered to "look pretty sick."

[@joshmiller5422]

Some manufacturers used to use it for interior illumination in cars.

[@soupsandwch]

“Just by calling a specific number and having your computer screech at another one...” I like this description of dial-up

[@imark7777777]

@@fsmoura or are they meeting?

[@joeconti2396]

I mean really that's what it was. It was one computer yelling at another until the other yelled back. Then they both got along in the end and boom. Internet.

[@GashimahironChl]

One computer yelling, and another one patiently waiting for it's turn to yell, specifically, and then the pc who yelled would also patiently listen until the other one finished. This is why when the machines finally take over the planet, and potentially put out brains in jars, i'll be a satisfied brain-in-a-jar!

[@laurencenoble3629]

I work in live events / theatre and have to say that having one type of cable for everything would be a nightmare. Especially with reversible ends. There's definitely something to be said for knowing exactly what a cable is for just by looking at it

[@firereverie]

I don't know, some times it's lots of fun to have a stage hand jam a powercon cord into a speakon jack and hook a passive driver into mains current.

[@namibjDerEchte]

Use different colored connectors?

[@thunder____]

@@namibjDerEchte Color-coded connectors would work in situations where everyone working on setup and teardown is trained in and familiar with the color-coding system. That is to say it is not practical in many real-world situations, where a traveling act hires help from the local union, help that won't be familiar with the particulars of your system so you need to make everything as simple as possible. If a piece of equipment only has XLR connectors, there's no risk of an untrained stage hand connecting a power amp output to it and blowing it up, for example.

[@__Andrew_]

ABSOLUTELY !!

[@FLECOM]

what? they already do? lighting? ArtNET is ethernet? pretty much required for the huge DMX universes that are being used for things like LED walls... audio? AVB/Dante/MADI/AES50 (take your pick) all ethernet? actually pretty neat, ethernet stage boxes, ethernet mixer, ethernet to the amps, only thing still analog is from amps to speakers

[@jimnms]

Power Over Optical Fiber, or POOF. It sounds magical.

[@KevinLyda]

I'm imagining teeny-tiny solar panels.

[@KriLL325783]

Actually it's using micro solar sails arranged in a circle around an axle, making it spin and generate power in copper coils. What do you mean that's a water wheel?

[@encycl07pedia-]

Power over optical pipes... Sounds like shit.

[@nacoran]

Glassy polymers? There are transparent materials that are also electrical conductors, but they tend to be brittle, but they are working on that problem. newatlas.com/transparent-conductive-polymer/53983/

[@filminginportland1654]

MeanJim lol Would be amazing if physics worked that way, but alas it doesn’t.

[@MrRadar]

You should do a video on the history of Ethernet, from its origins as the networking protocol for the Xerox Alto, to an IEEE standard, the various cables it used, Attachment Unit Interfaces, "vampire taps", hubs vs switches, etc. It's a whole fascinating world of obsolete technology.

[@ragingbombast]

I miss vamp taps. I mean, they were horrible and I'd rather kill myself than actually set up a network with it now, but they're neat.

[@deefdragon]

and it would cover the cat 5/6/7/8 (8 technically exist) cables and how those are all then part of the Ethernet family. It could also covor RJ45 vs 8p8c etc.

[@mattiviljanen8109]

I so look forward to token ring explanation drawing with collisions and every party shouting and it's a mess and that's why want to see it!

[@deadsi]

Maybe the ppl that made the brave little toaster should make a sequel about it instead

[@NathanaelDuke]

I would watch this with my eyes glued to the screen, lol. I love old network standards, especially how physical issues like end of cable reflection had to be solved with terminators and stuff like that. ^_^

[@baganatube]

I think a USB rant video would be quite enjoyable to watch.

[@grizzly6699]

Hear hear

[@sogero2]

DO EEET!

[@juri14111996]

its called display link and its only usable for office applications, watching video dosn't work.

[@mattiviljanen8109]

Ah, the USB rebranding. I just use USB 2, USB ⌊3⌋ and USB-C in speech.

[@juri14111996]

@@mattiviljanen8109 usb 2 and are standarts, C is just a Connector. some usb c just carry 5V at max 500ma, no data, other usb carry 100w (20v@5A) and 40gb/s of data.

[@Bloodray19]

I just found this channel yesterday. Watched a couple of videos. These carry a very very interesting overall aura, the host guy is loveable and dedicated, the quality is superb. I just wanted to thank you for producing these kind of videos

[@DougSalad]

Yeah, Alec kicks ass and we love him.

[@arivandiver7580]

I really do like these videos. It's him talking about something he's either passionate or at least interested in, in a way that is informational for a viewer who's never watched his videos before, AND in a way that really scratches that 'tism itch the way other informational channels don't

[@AdmiralQuality]

Yeah he's good. I'm definitely addicted.

[@dunar1005]

his videos feel like a wholesome 90 tv show talking about future technology

[@kmemz]

When talking about modal dispersion, and TIR, you missed two points. One, is that if there are any bends in the cable, TIR applies anyway; that's the only reason that you can get light on the other end, even if your cable is coiled several times over. The other, is that almost all modal dispersion is almost completely remedied by using lasers in place of LEDs, alongside using higher quality fiber strands with less imperfections. As well as using single mode fiber cabling in multi-mode systems.You did mention that lasers make fiber faster, but you didn't provide the why, even though you explained the how beforehand. Another thing to consider, is that fiber doesn't handle kinking very well. You can staple a CAT5e cable to a wall, and crush it into a kink, or bend it 180° to where unbending gives it a permanent bulge, and it will still have a chance of functioning, even if not ideal. But Fiber will break instantly, immediately, and almost irreparably the moment it gets in any of these tough situations, unless the sleeving is reinforced. And sleeve reinforcements only help with some of the problems. It's probably impossible to fully cover every aspect properly, without making a heavily edited three hour document with multiple takes for each section.

[@TechnologyConnections]

Thank you for this extra info, and *especially* thank you for the last sentence.

[@johnnylavoie]

The modal dispersion example he provide is only a simplification. It's a complicated subject. You shouldn't crush with a staple or kink your cat cables... same as for hdmi. There is a minimum 1inch bend radius on your Cat5e that you should use. And use insulated staples. Fiber optics is less fragile than you think, and will be able to take a lot of beating, if you select the proper fiber for the job and are not at the limits for the usable length. If you expect physical abuse, you should get armored cables, be it fibers, CAT or power.

[@kmemz]

@@johnnylavoie I work with the stuff, I know how sturdy the stuff is, I spent two years learning about it along with pretty much every other aspect about hardware, software and security. What you said was valid, but I'm just trying to provide extreme examples where copper can, just barely, prevail. I've had coworkers use fiber cabling like whips as a joke without damaging them, and I've had coworkers look at them wrong and break them. But while abusing copper in the same ways is a bane to copper cables as well, they are far more resilient to complete signal loss when thrown in the same situations. Not to mention that terminating the end of a copper CAT5e cable with an RJ45 8P8C is much easier than working with .55/.65μm multi-, and especially .45μm single-mode fiber, and requires zero toxic adhesives regardless of the type of end you use on it. Jeez, this is the most active comment I've had in a while.

[@smokeduv]

Curiously though, CAT5 cables have been made more and more complicated and more delicate because of interference and many other things

[@blackhatfreak]

@@kmemz nerd

[@YOUTY209]

As an enthusiast, I am very offended that not all tech is developed specifically for me.

[@vitalsignscritical]

Yeah if it was developed for the enthusiasts it would be the best it could be.

[@YOUTY209]

I do, on other platforms my name is Kitten Jesus.

[@worstuserever]

As an enthusiast, I'm not offended that tech isn't developed specifically for me. I am offended that it isn't all developed specifically *by* me.

[@Sinjinator]

Damn casual consumer majority... *grumble grumble splice splice*

[@lobsterbark]

@@vitalsignscritical It would also be needlessly expensive and probably have strange quirks.

[@ergosteur]

"To put it simply.... It's complicated." I nearly spit out my coffee lol.

[@wlan246]

Short answer, no. Long answer: noooooooooooooooooo.

[@iwinrar5207]

The case often lol

[@OneEightZero180]

This should be the motto of this channel :D

[@TravisTev]

Man, I didn't even notice that pun.

[@nthgth]

🤣🤣 I love this channel

[@noiseismylife]

The content on this channel is absolutely exceptional. I can't get over how well presented and written all episodes are. My wife, who normally shies away from engaging in my incessant tech related banter, really enjoyed it. That's saying something about the quality of the writing. Amazing

[@Zhixalom]

"To put it simply: it's complicated!" - It should be a bumper sticker, on a coffee mug or a T-shirt or something... Seriously, I would buy that T-shirt.

[@sixstringedthing]

Pretty sure every engineer in the world would want that shirt. :)

[@donadams5503]

I'm an engineer, I want the coffee mug asap.

[@IanPattisonOakville]

I like to say, "It's not hard. It's extremely complicated, but it's not hard."

[@JeremiahFernandez]

when anyone asks anything about your job

[@seriouscat2231]

@@IanPattisonOakville, thanks. I have caught myself a few times now saying the exact opposite about theological and metaphysical concepts. "It's hard. It's not that complicated. But it's hard."

[@daveb5041]

*I like to piss off audiophools by replacing my fiberoptic with rusty coat hangers soldered together (using plumbers flux and a blow torch) to hook up the digital out and marvel at the sound quality* shh its the same

[@BillAnt]

LOL... you could also use one inch copper water pipes to carry the sound acoustically. xD

[@MonkeyJedi99]

@@BillAnt That would reduce your edge effect in the conductors...

[@BillAnt]

@MonkeyJedi99 < The pun is on the "pipe", actually carrying the sound acoustically instead of the signal. ;)

[@FroggyMosh]

@@BillAnt When mounting the equipment be sure to account for duty cycles though. Account for pressure and contortion through heating and cooling. If supported inadequately and mounted too rigidly, built up torsion in the pipes'll rip the screws right out of your walls one day. Oh, I might be thinking of my bedroom radiator. But the same rules may well apply in the realms of audio too.

[@flowinsounds]

i'm just imagining the look of an audiophile setup with proper audio pipes made of braised copper. It has to be done.

[@Wertercat]

You forgot the most important part of switching to USB3: MAKING THE PORT BLUE

[@williamreid6255]

wertercatt YASS

[@EdwardMillen]

Or green, if you're Razer 🤷‍♂️

[@ronnycook3569]

It's because blue is faster, like Blu-Ray. It used to be that we thought black electronics, like red cars, were faster. Those were simpler days.

[@mrbisshie]

What color will USB 4.0 ports be?!

[@353Tensa353]

@@mrbisshie rainbow cause all your data is at the end of it already

[@shawn576]

With respect to the ground loop thing at the beginning, we get around that in automation systems by only grounding the panel side. Cat5 going to the panel has a grounded metal rj45, but cat5 to the device side has an ungrounded plastic rj45. When dealing with systems that use a lot of power (100A at 480V), there's no practical or cost effective way to remove ground imbalances

[@Andrew-ep4kw]

"stupid physics making everything more difficult" - the lament of every designer, engineer and architect :-)

[@1FatLittleMonkey]

And physicist.

[@billysgeo]

Designer and architect yeah... the engineer is the one that has to bring the bad news to them!

[@broklond]

and chemists

[@nuwang2381]

And highschool students

[@jed-henrywitkowski6470]

@@billysgeo Basically the emotional Vs. the logical.

[@sonycans]

At my parent's home in Malaysia, I used a fibre optic link between the houses. The reason is that there are strong electrical storms and between the home office and the house a lightning can strike the ground or a nearby tree, the currect enters the cable and damages the equipment at both locations. The fibre optical cable acts as an opto-isolator against lightning strikes.

[@gtsteel]

I'm pretty sure that this opto-isolator property was the exact reason behind the design of toslink. Plenty of consumer grade audio equipment has shorts between one of the wires of an audio input and the chassis, and when those inputs are connected to something with powered by a grounded secondary, the chassis and the entire grounding network it's connected to becomes part of signal path, leading to all sorts of interference (such as the ignition coil in my car's stereo when a phone is plugged into the aux cord while charging it). The big problem with consumer electrical SPDIF (unlike AES/EBU, which uses RS422 transcievers on each side), if that it will get a signal through when there is a short between negative and the chassis, but it will do so badly. The fact that at worked at all with this problem meant that many defective and badly-designed units left their factories, giving SPDIF a bad name. Toslink, on the other hand is literally impossible to short since it's optical, giving it the nice property that an input is almost always either working or totally dead, making it very easy for a buyer to test at home. My guess is that it was designed by an engineer who was sick and tired of dealing with shorts. PS. If you own equipment that has an input shorted to chassis, driving it through an isolation transformer will usually make it work properly. Adding one to the line-in saved my car's stereo.

[@vchip77]

My dad was one of the engineers for Corning’s Thunderbolt project and it failed exactly why you said: no consumer needed that much bandwidth and therefore wouldn’t pay the exorbitant price for a Corning branded product. I’ve been to the plant where the manufacturing equipment for those cables sits collecting dust, just waiting for the consumer to adopt fiber optic cable

[@ashishpatel350]

Who knows maybe with external ssds people may want more bandwidth.

[@DanHarkless_Halloween_YTPs_etc]

Wow! Thanks for the inside scoop on that, Daniel. That's a shame it didn't work out for them - Corning certainly makes some amazing glass.

[@mor4y]

Ya'know that external SSD idea is a interesting one.... if the M2 or whatever they're called versions were used, not sata ones. I wonder if a PCI-e to corning's thunderbolt bridge could be made 🤔

[@maiklorenz9348]

@@mor4y i see no reason why not, espacally as you need "only" PCI-e 1x and not the extremly bulky exorbitant bandwith x16 used for graphics cards to run m2, which as you already implizitly said is just plain PCI-e, which in fact is just PCI, but faster. So the encoding is not that hard, and the bandwith is so exorbitant, just becouse of high clock speed as this Standard is only used for ver, short distances, like only on Motherboards,which are usually not bigger that ATX standard. But you would need power to run your SSD, so at least you need 5v 500ma or Something,no problem for Thunderbold, but for optic fibre only ot could be, althought if this cable supports thunderbold Standard, it will already has a copper wire to provide the power needed, so you can use this to power a little decoder encoder device at each end of your cable, to translate between the thunderbold bus protocol and the PCI-e bus protocol, wich should be done easy by a litte Microcontroller. But you ran into another problem here, you have many physical wires in PCI-e for doing stuff like check if a divice is even plugged in into the port, as well as many tx and dx channels, you all need to translate to some sort of code, you send over your faster fibre thunderbold to get this read correct on the other end. But its nothing unsolvable, and in fact that would give you the opportunity to put an m2 ultra fast SSD outside of a pc or Laptop, or even 100m away. And as soon as any manufacturer supports it directly this coul just be used like usb3 is for HDD and "non nvme/non m2" SSD today. With Thunderbold or usb-c, becouse it is in fact the same protocol, just different jacks and speeds. So that means, as soon as someone develop a port for this you could use super ultra unbelivable fast SSDs, just by plug and play as if your using a usb Stick. And will likely couse Manufakturers to just take this adapter, put in an m2 SSD and sell it as super fast pen drive. Amazing, i hope someone builds this, this would mean you could move data so freaking fast and easy and cheap, couse you will not need any wires... Just the plain adapter and ram it into your pc, and there you go. This also would make it possible to have your SSDs mounted into a pc as HDDs are and gets rid of the need to screw this things directly on the Mainboard, wich in fact limits it to 2 or 3 per Mainboard, compared to about 5 HDD you could place in an average pc case so you by then are just Limited by the cpu itself, which is getting faster and faster each Generation, and having more Channels supporting such high bandwith connectors. To sum it up, i think Yes. Possible.

[@Anvilshock]

Since when has "no consumer needed" and "exorbitant price" ever been a reason for an Apple-device customer?

[@icanrunat3200mhz]

Backwards compatibility with your "UniLINK™" connector could be achieved in the same fashion as the micro-USB 3 connector. Simply build extra connections for the next-gen around the original ones, still ensuring that the older style could plug in to a smaller portion of the larger next-gen jack and still operate seamlessly at the lower bandwidth.

[@matthewmiller6068]

IT person...we call it "ethernet cable" or "network cable" too. It's easier than getting into the debate of hand me the cat5/cat5e/cat6/whatever cable.

[@MrIzzy5466]

My brother: "I don't care what it's called, hand me the Goddamn cable."

[@matthewmiller6068]

@@MrIzzy5466 I feel like we also just say "thing" or "whatyacallit" a lot too. Which is fine, we all know what we mean.

[@morgfarm1]

I'm guilty of calling it an RJ45 connector at the end of my Network cable. Network Cable is just more generalized. Cat5e is still common. Cat 6 is common. Cat 7 is meh, Cat 8, Supposedly, is basically next last I looked, but that was last year, so what do I know? It has the right number of pins and the right number of wires, how many twists does it have in the pairs is the largest and most notable difference in the Cat specs the last time I checked.

[@encycl07pedia-]

CompSci major: I call them noodles.

[@BlakeJay]

If you say hand "me the Ethernet cable", I'm handing you the closest Ethernet cable ASAP. If you say "hand me the Cat5e cable" I'm going to be squinting at the sheath to find the class before handing it off.

[@HungryGuyStories]

Well, if TOS Link is okay, we should move up to TNG Link or even DS9 Link.

[@Phobos_Anomaly]

It even comes with built in LCARS for any video applications!

[@Ruiluth]

No, that path leads to VOY Link, ENT Link, and DSC Link. Probably better to leave well enough alone.

[@usseal922]

Well, KelvinLink sure has a great optical bandwidth with all the lens flares

[@leopold7562]

@@Ruiluth At least VOY link allows us to go much further than we ever thought possible, I guess.

[@brianmiller1077]

DS9 Link took a while to get going, but it's great by version 3 or 4.

[@PedanticNo1]

The production quality, humor, and general structure opf your videos continues to improve. Rock on.

[@aaron74]

Improve? That suggests he was at one time bad. I just think he keeps going from awesome to "awesomer" with each new release.

[@amicloud_yt]

@@aaron74 I think maybe a better term would be "develop". It feels like he is having more fun with it as time goes on and I think it's great. It's like more of his personality is shining through if that makes sense?

[@hokkypro]

Agreed, love his videos they just become better and better!

[@hudde814]

@Joe Kinchicken "Everyone loves fat guy technodweeb" I'll have you know that they do in fact lo- "The only reason I'm a subscriber" Not gonna lie, you had us in the first half.

[@PedanticNo1]

@Joe Kinchicken as a gay guy, I didn't realize that he is gay. I just assumed he is a bit more effeminate. Now I like this channel even more! In-group bias FTW.

[@pinheadlarry1019]

I actually work for Corning and get to make those fiberoptic cables, and you did a pretty good job explaining it

[@David-vw5hf]

Tell Corning to stop putting 10 foot fiber patch cables on DAMN REELS. THEY DONT NEED AN ENTIRE REEL.

[@richardjohnson8197]

I love this channel, he has a way of explaining technical information for the masses that doesn't have the "dumbing down" feel. Educational & enjoyable.

[@BrendarthGaming]

I think it's usually because if he can't explain it well he admits it hurts his brain and doesn't even really try to explain in depth.

[@rpocc]

You’re seem to be god damn right about it: a perfect balance between geekiness and understandability of the material to anybody with a basic mid school education.

[@rpocc]

@@BrendarthGaming Actually highlighting essential principles from technical specifications, patent and articles, and rephrasing that in a simple manner is a true art. This guy could write books based just on his scenarios

[@KurosakiYukigo]

*THE HI-FI GODS JUDGE THEE FROM THEIR VINYL THRONE*

[@MysteryMii]

*AND THEIR 96K/24-BIT CUSHION*

[@CaveyMoth]

@@MysteryMii Um, excuse me. My Schiit can render 32bit 192khz.

[@Fearnil]

@@CaveyMoth BLASPHEMY!

[@emini6]

The human ears cannot listen no more than 20FPS (20 KHz)

[@CaveyMoth]

@@Fearnil But I usually run my setup at 24bit/44.1khz, because that's what the music I listen to is encoded in. Gotta keep everything bit perfect.

[@duane8620]

"Wait, it's called *Power over Ethernet* ? Interesting." Haha, love this channel!!

[@DigitalBenny]

It was such a passive aggressive jab 😏😂

[@waqasahmed939]

I thought it was quite funny too. I guess, he didn't however mention that the 802.3bt standard can in theory allow us to send 95W of power through a single cable, but the network switches that do that atm, are insanely expensive and it also requires you to have 802.3bt capable devices on the other end It'd be interesting given that in theory, you could have a network switch and then convert to USB C for the last few devices, and do away with physical plugs for every laptop, TV, monitor etc... Though you would probably need more wall ports / switch ports. But, hey it's definitely a far neater and safer way to power up stuff without overloading your mains sockets

[@dunar1005]

20:58 1. Raman Scattering: Raman amplifiers use the Raman scattering effect for signal amplification. In these amplifiers, a pump laser injects photons into the fiber at a different wavelength from the signal. These photons interact with the glass in the fiber, transferring energy to the signal photons and amplifying them. This process is considered passive because it amplifies the signal directly in the fiber without electronic intervention. 2. **Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifiers (EDFAs)**: While EDFAs do require an external pump laser, the amplification process itself is passive regarding the data signal. The data-carrying light passes through an erbium-doped section of fiber, where it is amplified by stimulated emission. There's no electronic processing or modulation of the data signal during this process. 3. **Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBGs)**: These are not amplifiers but can be used in conjunction with amplifiers for wavelength-specific signal enhancement. FBGs can reflect specific wavelengths while allowing others to pass, which can be used to stabilize and enhance the efficiency of EDFAs. 4. **Optical Add-Drop Multiplexers (OADMs)**: In wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) systems, OADMs can add or drop specific wavelength channels from a fiber without converting them to electronic signals. This can be seen as a form of passive signal management, although not amplification per se. 5. **Passive Optical Networks (PONs)**: In PONs, signals are distributed passively using fiber splitters. While this doesn't amplify the signal, it's a key example of passive data transmission in fiber networks. In each of these cases, the focus is on enhancing or managing the optical signal in its native form (as light), without active electronic processing. This approach is beneficial for reducing latency, improving reliability, and enhancing the overall efficiency of the fiber optic communication system.

[@ceebee]

"Why not create some kind of composite cable? .... no, not that kind" Genuinely made me chuckle.

[@ScorpioHighlander]

"To put it simply, it's complicated." My new favourite answer to any question I can't or can't be bothered to answer. XD

[@BillAnt]

That's what I say about my ex too. xD

[@lexscarlet]

"delivering... 'must watch' television programming..." You can almost HEAR the air quotes.

[@AndreasTriller]

Wow. I came across your channel as a (non native english-speaking) slightly nerdy guy wanting to be entertained and learn a thing or two. Perfect match. You talk fast and have a huge information density, but it's always still entertaining at the same time. You my friend, create pieces of art.

[@user-dj1hy6zc6q]

That Power over Ethernet (POE) revelation at the end was good. I am glad that I watched it all of the way to the end. You are entertaining.

[@feha92]

I suspect it is called PoE because CAT cables are built to support the standard just as they are built to support the ethernet standard. Seems simpler for people to use that than "power over cat Xy" where the numbers change depending on each cable, and a good analog is how there are many car models, but the transit is called "moving by car", and if you send power(banks) its called "shipping by car" rather than "shipping by volvo5". Or in other words: its called that way because while not totally logical or accurate, it is simply the way humans thinks of stuff when they label them. Because we are cute creatures like that.

[@alphaxion]

@@feha92 PoE exists in layer 2 and uses the L2 protocol Ethernet to negotiate with the switch and tell it what class of device it is and what sort of power it requires with the help of additional protocols such as CDP, if you're using Cisco kit. The cable is just the layer 1 component.

[@alvallac2171]

@@feha92 *power (banks) *it's called (contraction of "it is/has") it's = possessive pronoun *humans think

[@feha92]

@@alvallac2171 All store entries has it written as powerbank, as a new conjoined word to describe the object, rather than two separate nouns. Do you really expect me to use "'" for its, dont, etc. in a youtube comment (although I might do it for you're)? Yeah, 'think' shouldnt have an s there, you are correct.

[@Carewolf]

@@feha92 CAT cables?? The cables are TP, cat is short for category, that is a specification of how mucht that specific TP cable can carry.

[@ObiWanBillKenobi]

I really love your background. Each square/cube is its own visual, aesthetic, and geeky world, all joined beautifully together by a neutral black grid.

[@JonnyD3ath]

He did a video on it before, go have a watch!

[@JonnyD3ath]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pp3Fc2doerp8i7c

[@gasdive]

There's only one solution to ground loop and clock jitter. Sheet music!

[@CaveyMoth]

People always call my music sheet.

[@jk9554]

are you insane? With the "human element" playing it, the "clock jitter" is the worst! (OK, some call it "groove", but what do I know? :p)

[@dragonfireproductions790]

It does bring benefits to get BACH to basic :) works like a canon in the old age. It's really nice to note

[@Sypaka]

Or make music using the ground loop and clock jitter noises and call it "Glitch". Waaaait a sec...

[@user-zq6pj5jo8j]

@@Sypaka That's a new kind of Electronica Techno music...heheh

[@MattSeremet]

Such a good one. IDK how many times I've retwatched this. The theatrics throughout and the snark at the end, magnifique!

[@Cruznick06]

My god this is one of my favorite episodes just from your "YoU'vE AnGeReD tHe ____ GoDs" bits. Thank you. Your videos are so informative also entertaining.

[@gltovar]

yeah, instant thumbs up click from me

[@LMacNeill]

Those beginning "silly" parts were actually hilarious! And what will they call power over optical fiber? POOF? As in POOF, it's magic? 😂

[@SreenikethanI]

hehehe "POOF" is a nice name

[@ian_b]

Its a nice name but unfortunately at least in the UK, "poof" is a (these days, somewhat old fashioned) term of abuse for gay people so probably not.

[@sageosaka]

+1 for POOF

[@ballsrgrossnugly]

@@ian_b Yeah but if you wanna go even more old fashioned, it's the name of the little foot stool in front of your couch when you watch top of the pops on sundey guvna!

[@dan_loup]

The high power laser ones could be called JBC (James Bond Cutter).

[@atkinsondp]

Every tech developers meeting starts the same way. 1: assume consumers are morons 2: what's for lunch

[@MrBearyMcBearface]

Most of them are.

[@leverloos]

99.9% of them are though.

[@kargaroc386]

@Luke Bilston What about those ominous ellipses huh?

[@sammiches2555]

Most consumers are dumb. That's why they need everything so simple.

[@stevesedio1656]

Actually, we assume consumers are brilliant. How else can they come up with such innovative ways to break things...

[@qaldiga]

Even for cases where isolation is critical, there are pretty good ways of doing it with copper, including the use of balanced cables in the audio world.

[@wrong2h8]

I laughed too hard at this... "Having one computer screech at another one and you're connected to the internet." I died...

[@Bacteriophagebs]

Then we started listening to the screeches ourselves and called it "dubstep."

[@msherretz]

Wifi is also literally multiple computers screeching at each other in RF, and waiting for any two of them to understand what they're saying.

[@scythal]

@@msherretz So you're saying Wifi is just the very same screeching but inaudible to us humans?

[@msherretz]

@@scythal exactly!

[@scythal]

@@msherretz And I believe fiber-optic internet is the same screeching but in the form of light (also a certain wavelength) too!

[@LifeWithMatthew]

5:52 - "Well not so fast (pauses to laugh at his own joke)" I seriously love your presentation style!

[@Hashtag_Laser]

“Just by calling a specific phone number and having your computer screech at another one, you’re online!” -. - he knows...•. •’

[@ulischmidt03]

I am pretty sure that is just the internet today

[@HyperVectra]

@Opecuted 9600 baud

[@punditgi]

This is perhaps my favorite techie channel. Brilliant, informative, and highly entertaining! 🤩

[@nnelg8139]

"I was mad at 1+ for ditching [the headphone jack], but today I rarely miss it." I hear you say through my wired headphone.

[@Ck87JF]

I heard him say it on my OnePlus 6t over my Bluetooth headphones, though I could have plugged the headphones' wire into the USB C adapter and then heard it via a wired connection.

[@Andreeexp]

And I'm using my older phone because I lost my 3.5mm jack adapter few days ago D:

[@Roxor128]

The only wireless headphones I use are an RF set around the house, so I can keep listening when I get up from the computer (though they are the better part of 20 years old by now and are rather slow to start up, probably due to old capacitors). For going out, wired all the way. Insurance against them falling out and getting lost.

[@Ck87JF]

@@Andreeexp I've been having weird issues with my 6t receiving calls. I went back to my OnePlus 3t and realized it was trying to take my calls. Tried to fix it and broke the 3t by deleting something I shouldn't have. Whoops. :P

[@Ck87JF]

@@Roxor128 Bluetooth range has gotten insane, especially with higher quality stuff. I leave my phone in my bedroom and take laundry downstairs, go to the kitchen, check the mail at the front door, even go to the car to get something from it. Sometimes audio skips a beat, especially toward the car as it goes to the extremes of its range, but it's pretty great. As to the getting lost comment, I'm not a fan of the "truly wireless" earbuds with absolutely no connection to anything, except friction-hold against your ears. I'm the weirdo with the giant Sennhaiser cans on my head.

[@Zenodilodon]

Optical amplifiers in a nutshell. The smaller the wavelength the more energy it has in a volume of space. In vanadate or YAG lasers the pump laser light is at a certain wavelength, often in the 808nm region. When this light hits the pump crystal the photons causie electrons to raise in atomic orbitals and then release light in a larger wavelength with lower energy, such as 808 into 1640 when a Vanadium crystal is pumped. Same thing happens with fiber optical amplifiers. The light leaving the transmission source is at a smaller wavelength then when it exits the optical amplifier. The fiber optics in the optical amplifier work the same way, they are doped with a particular atom that can absorb the wavelength and therefor they play the same role as a gain medium. The light entering is a smaller wavelength and is able to be absorbed, then when the electrons drop back down they release a larger wavelength with laser photon energy. For example 808nm from source to optical transmitter then this pumps the atoms in the doped fiber loop ( kind of like how black lights make things glow ) and that there you have it, a new fresh laser pulse at a larger wavelength with less energy.

[@kaitlyn__L]

Damn that's even more awesome than I was expecting, I hope this comment gets pinned.

[@Zenodilodon]

@@kaitlyn__L I wrote it with my remaining eye. If you like laser tech I have a bunch on my channel. I am a freelance optical engineer.

[@daanwilmer]

Simplified version: atoms can become excited and get into a higher energy state, and can then release this energy in the form of a photon of a certain colour, depending on the difference between these energy states. These energy states are at fixed levels, depending on (among others) the atom and its charge, so if you know your material, you know the colour. Certain atoms, that we found useful for amplification, can be excited by high-energy photons and can be triggered to release this energy when another photon of the "output" colour comes along. This turns one excited atom and one photon into one base level atom and two photons. Put enough of these atoms into your fiber (which is called "doping") and shine the higher-power laser into it, and any input will trigger some of these atoms to release more photos, so that you end up with more photons on the output than in the input, amplifying your signal.

[@Zenodilodon]

@@daanwilmer A bigger nutshell with less grammar errors! Good addition to this comment!

[@nthn-]

So do these passive amps require more energy to be put in at the start, but stop it from dispersing?

[@meh6722]

I like the layout of how you handled the patreon credits. Keep them running while you talk about something else so you can get more people watching to the end. Keep up the great work, bud!

[@jed-henrywitkowski6470]

I greatly appreciate my toslink. Especially since my equipment is of various generations.

[@Dee_Just_Dee]

TOSLINK is a neat little standard. Equally at home on a brand new TV or soundbar as on a 30 year old CD player... for stereo, anyway.

[@deusexaethera]

21:06 - Optical amplifiers work more-or-less the same way lasers do. Incoming light strikes a material that has previously been energized, causing the material to release a new burst of photons with the same properties as the incoming photons.

[@rudde7251]

Will this clear up modal dispersion or will it just relay the problem equally without making it worse?

[@the_undead]

@@rudde7251 based off my very limited understanding of the situation, I think they would make the problem ever so slightly better but not by a whole lot

[@lightwaves1859]

@@rudde7251 as i understand it, the latter. the main goal with using optical amplification seems to be to avoid the latency brought about by having sluggish electronics involved in relaying the signal.

[@rudde7251]

@@lightwaves1859 I get the part about latency. What I don't understand is what it accomplishes. Since it's passive, it doesn't introduce new energy into the system, the light doesn't become brighter, so is it cleaning up the signal? If that's the case how? Doe it cut out signal too weak and only emit at the peak brightness?

[@eldonad]

​@@rudde7251I think TC didn't mean passive as in "no energy added to the system" but as in "no electronics needed". The amplification mediums are generally "pumped" by other light sources, but the signal emission is triggered by the incoming light in the fiber directly.

[@costa_marco]

Might not have been clear on the video: the external diameter of the fiber is the same (125µm). The alignment of the core is critical for single-mode fibers because the core is 8-10µm. The multi-mode fiber has a core of 50 or 62.5µm. Connectors are not a problem for single-mode fibers, because they are constructed with a very high tolerance, so anyone can terminate a single-mode optical fiber manually. The real issue is splicing. You need a smart splicing equipment that matches both fiber centers. It is not too expensive anymore. When I worked on the field, it was very expensive. My 2¢

[@nicklaseriksson8863]

Well, maybe not anyone. But I agree that the alignment isn't really a problem anymore. These days we (Nexans Sweden) use UPC polishing for everything meaning an apex offset of

[@BillAnt]

A solution I can think of, is running multiple thin cores bunched together but isolated from each other by microns, this way even if you're a bit off during splicing, chances are that one of the cores would match up. ;)

[@EliStettner]

THE FOOL!

[@nobodynemoq]

and that's why ether...um, cat5e/cat6e cables are still in use even in applications where you never have to deal with sending power through the network cable. They are very cheap, easy to handle, almost immune to mechanical shocks, and you can cut it, apply connectors, connect to the patchpanels etc. with easy to use, cheap and very simple tools. I remember myself being in high school and using a screwdriver to finish cat5 connectors when I happened to have no crimp tool when I needed it... or modifying patchcord to the cross-cabled patchcord with use of scissors :) Good luck with such applications to the multimode fibers ;)

[@AndersEngerJensen]

14:30 Welcome to my world. AV rental business where I work, use fiber for our runs all the time. From FOH to stage to the roof/grid etc. Multimode stops at 550m but real life applications stops us at around 300m due to the devices in each end and ir requires a lot of fiber cleaning though. :)

[@johnarthurkelly]

Literally watching this video while I unpack 300' MultiDyne fiber cables for a Silverback setup :D

[@StigDesign]

Data Elektronikker utdanning? ;D jeg har gått den typen og lært om fiber elektro etc :D

[@Damindeater]

As a matter of fact the achievable distance depends on multiple factors like which modulation is used, what symbolrate is used. It also depends, if you use a regular multimode-fiber a graded one or a trenched one. Than there are differences in attenuation an dispersion.

[@Xanderfied]

Yes, can you imagine tech support trying to talk a 70 yr old through cleaning the fiber tips, or God forbid, cutting them to make a new termination?

[@Xanderfied]

"ok sir, you're gonna need some isopropyl alcohol, cotton pads, and a really sharp razor." "No sir, sharper than that, you can rent one of our fiber termination kits!" "No sir, it is an extra charge"

[@StopChangingUsernamesYouTube]

8:38 This phrase perfectly sums up why I love this channel.

[@Sheepy007]

Why Toslink is superior? Easy. Toslink glows red. You know what else glows red? Terminator eyes. case closed.

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

The red signal goes faster

[@gianluca.g]

@@andymerrett that's MOS, not TOS

[@renakunisaki]

@@joshmbrown42 that's for the next version of TOSlink with embedded DRM. "I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't play that."

[@atlys258]

Well damn, I'm sold.

[@adamsfusion]

As a professional on thunder and lightning, you fool, your studio is entirely enclosed and wouldn't be subject to such random weather patterns.

[@WingMaster562]

The hi-fi and IT gods can will it.

[@NourSelim0]

Are you also a professional on very very frightening me?

[@JonasDAtlas]

@@NourSelim0 This is exactly what I was looking for.

[@Amazementss]

But when you say "USB 3.2" do you mean Gen 1x1, 1x2, 2x1, or 2x2? (USB4 will fix it, we promise)

[@BenMelluish]

Seriously, the situation with USB naming really pisses me off. Loads of smart blokes done all the hard work of getting the standards agreed upon and working and then buggered up the easy bit.

[@grizzly6699]

Simple. USB3 = 5Gbps - USB3.1 = 10Gbps - USB3.2 = 20Gbps... Why can't things be simple and uncomplicated? Because life would be boring.

[@Puremindgames]

@@grizzly6699 Or you know USB3 = 5Gbps - USB4 = 10Gbps - USB5 = 20Gbps

[@dycedargselderbrother5353]

@S A If you hate fractions, base 60 is for you.

[@arahman56]

@javier n USB4 is Thunderbolt3...mostly. The big difference being no licensing fee.

[@JasonWatsonDr]

It's awesome to have interesting detail delivered in such a witty way. You're doing a great job. (Must take a lot of time to produce these at such high quality).

[@951258tike22]

when you said "what we in the business call 'itty bitty'" i spit my drink. i gotta learn to go into technology connections videos like i'm watching a comedy lmao

[@c.a.7844]

I accidentally left closed captions on and I'm so glad I did; "Unexpectedly smooth jazz" - lol.

[@bizzzzzzle]

C. A. Not unexpected if you watch this channel lol

[@ki5aok]

@@bizzzzzzle Apparently it was unexpected for KZbin.

[@thundercamel]

Incomprehensibly smooth jazz

[@ianowens1905]

“Because, ya know, plus 5 agility” Leave me alone, it looks cool! 😭😭😭

[@yuusegawa]

... well, I use mine to type in the dark

[@dominiccasts]

@@yuusegawa I use mine to distinguish which layer is currently active

[@Bacteriophagebs]

The RGB fad has annoyed me because it made it harder to find inexpensive, _single-color,_ lit keyboards. All the cheap keyboards are just static RGB, now. Sure, the good ones have single-color options, but I don't want to pay for the option to make my keyboard act like a cheaper one. I just want my keys lit up with a nice, dim red that won't distract me but is visible even in pitch-blackness, dammit!

[@yuusegawa]

@@Bacteriophagebs www.newegg.com/tecware-phantom-outemu-brown-black/p/32N-006N-00005?Item=9SIASA0CXY3350 This is the one I got, and it does exactly that at quite a good price

[@jettguymer2125]

Love the sarcasm in your earlier videos. You are correctly capturing how the haters on forums sound in my head. Stop changing for the haters.

[@Hans-gb4mv]

Finally, someone who knows what 8P8C is :D However, that RJ11-RJ45 on the cable tester would be considered correct in my book since it can test cables with those jacks, regardless of pin configuration.

[@theblackwidower]

Is 8P8C the name of the pin configuration, or the name of the connectors? Because if it's the connectors, then bitching about someone misnaming it is pointlessly argumentative. I was always told it was RJ45. Never heard the term '8P8C' before, and I took an entire class on this stuff.

[@mario65889]

@@theblackwidower RJ-45 is refers to the connector/wire itself, while 8P8C refers to the arrangement of wires inside the connector. Basically, no one will shoot you for referring to it as RJ45 because everyone does it even though it is technically incorrect.

[@bizzzzzzle]

mario65889 but it’s not incorrect to call a cable CATx.

[@mario65889]

@@bizzzzzzle The wiring inside the cable, not the cable overall.

[@mario65889]

RJ-45 is the wiring, 8CPC is the plug itself and only the plug for future clarity.

[@cragonaut]

When you summarised by saying "we simply have different connectors for different applications" this is totally true however it also fails to recognise the commercial element that goes into many of these decisions. Companies enjoy controlling standards and licensing them to others thereby being able to attract royalties and also lock their customers into 'ecosystems' and product lines. Unfortunately much of the tech decisions we see around us had as much to do with the marketing department and corporate strategists as it did the boffins in the lab. Thanks for another great video.

[@tr3vk4m]

I agree. The vast array of irritatingly specific cables is a suitable metaphor for what capitalism does to humans...

[@antiisocial]

Yep.

[@nickwallette6201]

Ain't that the truth. Codecs, too. We grew past the need for audio compression formats on optical discs after DVD, but here we are with Dolby TrueHD and DTS-MA. Royalty enablers and not much else.

[@gavinathling]

@@tr3vk4m And that's why the EU regulated cellphone charging cables.

[@alvallac2171]

*extract royalties

[@williamreid6255]

This is why I love looking at the connections between very similar and different specific technologies through a historical lens.

[@LangstoniusRex]

I really love how you addressed the pedantic feedback. Hats off

[@Tall_Order]

Fiber digest better than Copper. Gotta have my 2 scoops of raisins. I heard it through the grape vine.

[@Yotanido]

Fun fact: I was designing a piece of custom hardware the other day and pondered putting a USB Type C connector on it. I decided not to, since I would only be supporting USB 1.0 and put a USB Type B socket instead. Thinking about it again, I might change that to mini USB... (not to be confused with micro USB, because USB has way too many connectors)

[@JavierAlbinarrate]

definitely.. use a mini USB, it is the best way to piss off the user forcing to search through the old cables box...

[@Yotanido]

@@JavierAlbinarrate Well, I'm going to be the only one using it, so... I don't really care. USB Type B seems bit too big and bulky to me, but micro USB is too flimsy. mini USB sits neatly in the middle. Seriously, though... USB has too many different connectors. It's a pain.

[@Yotanido]

@windows_x_seven Yes, but it's not universal if one USB cable can't make all USB connections, is it... Even if you limit yourself to one version of the standard. USB 1.0 has USB Type A and USB Type B. Add mini and micro USB and it gets confusing. (And let's not forget USB OTG, which means you can't even say that one type is for USB Hosts and the other for USB Slaves...)

[@Trainguyrom]

I've specifically seen MiniUSB used on products as a way to try to sidestep idiots plugging things in that shouldn't be plugged into eachother

[@Trainguyrom]

To add to that, Type C connectors are apperently incredibly expensive to manufacture, so Mini or Micro USB should be noticably cheaper

[@kruleworld]

Consumers don't want quality "I'd rather listen to that music on my phone" -Lenny, The Simpsons **plays 8 bit version of Beethoven on his phone**

[@BillAnt]

Unfortunately yes, one can have the greatest tech idea in the real world, but it all comes down to ease of usability, and most importantly COST. Sure, fiber is fast and wonderful, but special connectors are required along with relatively expensive light transceivers, oh and it lacks power delivery. Well, that's for that. lol

[@hectorj.romanp.]

Yes. That is why people stream AAA games and movies on their handheld devices, phones or tablets. After years of using a Home Theater setup I cannot withstand small screens and tiny speakers. Anything below HD and surround sound is crap for me.

[@11D4V1D]

to be fair 8-bit Beethoven is a fuckin banger

[@TheHadMatters]

@Hector, When you call it crap, you've lost track of the purpose of whatever you are watching/listening to/playing, though. It's important to be able to enjoy the abstract ideal of what the movie/music/image/game is supposed to trigger in you; much like a story in a book, where the medium is more obviously secondary. If you are no longer capable of doing that, you aren't actually consuming the medium/art; you're just consuming your hardware - which is pretty reductive. I think it's great to enjoy detail. But don't let it make you lose touch for the original value of what you are consuming. It's just "better" - that doesn't mean the other way shouldn't be "good enough". Edit: Replied to the wrong guy, I think.

[@LordRenegrade]

@@BillAnt - Fiber isn't that expensive. Multi-mode LC fiber spans actually cost less than the equivalent in copper. The SFP transceivers for fiber are also like half the cost of a copper one - ex, a knock-off Cisco GLC-SX-MM is $9, and the equivalent copper one is $18. Heck, you can upgrade to a 10G fiber SFP+ for only $24 from that same vendor. Real Cisco gear follows the exact same pattern, just multiply the price by like 50 :P Source: my home network is actually fiber-based. My main switches are connected via a pair of gigabit multimode runs. The fiber is actually a bit easier to run as it's quite thin and light. The bulk of my order for cabling was the small copper runs that go from switch to end device...

[@llmwall7]

I like your sense of humor. Plus there's an absolutely incredible amount of information in these videos. Thanks for your effort. I’d probably watch you talk about almost anything.

[@Ironclad17]

There's also how complicated terminating fiber is while anyone with a crimping tool can terminate copper.

[@kaitlyn__L]

@Klaa2 Still needs a kit rather than one crimping tool though. I don't think some of the guys I've seen installing networking cable in hospitals and offices would do fibre well enough. There's a big margin for error in crimping copper, so it can be basically sort of fine if no double checking of the work occurs.

[@Valery0p5]

Also even if the connector is perfectly clean there's a lot of attenuation so... Think about that -USB drive- fiber mass storage device in your pocket

[@FieroFats]

I've also never had copper splinters in my hand for a week because I accidentally bumped the cuttings pile. (Used to install the stuff.)

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@FieroFats Yep, those cuttings are nasty. Even just tidying up a tiny few from making a one-off cable at home sucks.

[@mungewell]

Actually the 'termination of HDMI' is getting really hard... from a PCB point of view. There are a lot of requirements and testing needed for such high bandwidth.

[@coreyoilar6260]

Props to you my man, you make very informative videos. I've been an a/v engineer all my life and I learn something new each time I watch one of your videos! :)

[@Tech-Nobby]

Apricot computers ( in the 80s ) used to have light based connections to the main unit - "light pipes" iirc but of course, they required batteries

[@timmeier4136]

Mark Barratt how old is your pic i saw it the first time somewhere in 1999

[@ballsrgrossnugly]

So does ya missus's boyfriend! Sorry, I saw the joke and went for it, I can't back that up in any way...

[@cncshrops]

And my memory is that the keyboard could connect 'wirelessly' ie without the fibre. But that was unreliable and the rather short, stiff fibre had to be used. It wasn't a big success i think.

[@Tech-Nobby]

@@timmeier4136 I've been using it since I first ever got online, in the mid 90s, think I found it on a BBS somewhere

[@edgeeffect]

Oh god, yeah I remember those. LEDs were very power greedy in those days and one set of batteries would last about 9.67 seconds and then yer mouse pointer would start to jitter like a badly behaved photon in an optical cable.... what the hell, these mouse things will never catch on anyway you get a much more powerful interface by typing commands.

[@mewmew32]

I've done some work with commercial AV installations and rather than HDMI over fiber for long runs we usually used HDMI over CAT6 - cheaper I believe, but another advantage is that the far end converter can use PoE.

[@danielbull6709]

Yes power over optical fibres exists in terms of academic research. It was something we were considering with powering microcontrollers and sensors without copper cables. You can retrieve the light power using a photocell. There are safety aspects however which is why it will not see use in consumer applications. If we're pumping 30-100W of power via a laser through the fibre, you simply don't want to be looking down the fibre.

[@ianr.1225]

"Do not look into laser with remaining eye."

[@DBZHGWgamer]

For consumer you could include all that in the wire and have it converted to difital and electricity at the plug instead of having light stream out directly. Or just have a safety feature preventing cable use unless it's comnected at both ends.

[@DoubleMonoLR]

Until you break the cable...

[@ethanlamoureux5306]

So don’t look down the cable. Okay, if we must pretend that everyone is an idiot... Make it necessary to have a continuous return data connection for the power laser to be enabled. If the fiber gets unplugged or broken, the data feedback fails and the power laser shuts down.

[@someonesomewhere1240]

@@ethanlamoureux5306 Electrician here. We don't have to *pretend* that everyone is an idiot. I've lost count of the number of cords I've seen still in use with exposed copper showing.

[@becauseimafan]

9:05 "what we in the business call 'itty bitty'" 😂 I love this, got sent here by Steve Mould, and you got my subscription to your channel! The education and entertainment are excellent, looking forward to bingeing your videos 👍

[@michaelgates991]

Was expecting dietary advice from the title. I suppose I'll just substitute my daily fiber supplement with a similar amount of copper for a week and see how that goes.

[@RaminRnn]

Sitting through this video is even harder than watching Fight Club. You are explaining something technical with a lot of trick questions and weird stuff that makes it 10 times harder for random person who watches this during a leisure time.

[@MatthewWalster]

Having spent a huge chunk of the last 15 years dealing with fiber connections, and data centres continuously getting them dirty and having to clean the connectors, I would love it if everything was USB-C.

[@Kiyoshi_9606]

Apple called. Nope. Sigh.

[@ElNeroDiablo]

Kiyoshi Matsutsuyu eh, even Apple is ditching USB Type-A and their Lightning connector for USB Type-C in newer devices. iPhone X series already is Type-C, I’m pretty sure.

[@MinoTheShow]

Yeah, Apple has been embracing USB C in a much more head-first way than they typically do with standards they didn’t come up with - iPhones don’t have it yet (though it’s strongly rumored) but the iPad Pros do and the current MBP has 4 C ports, a headphone jack and nothing else. Blaming them for lack of adoption makes zero sense, only reason it hasn’t totally taken over is just that it needs time. Heck I don’t own anything with the port yet but that’s just because I haven’t needed to replace any hardware since it became common

[@nullpointer1284]

@@ElNeroDiablo iPhone X and XS are still lightning

[@MatthewWalster]

@@MinoTheShow I'll be honest, with the USB OTG spec available, I'll be surprised if some cunning person doesn't just create some kind of USB switch (in networking terms) and use have some super-dense port layout. Considering USB 3 is 5Gb/s, and there are 10Gb/s and 20Gb/s modes for some, I'm wondering what the problem is. Surely it makes more sense than TwinAx for runs of less than 10m?

[@dandeeteeyem2170]

PoE comment at the end 🤣 awesome video as usual. I've been working with fibre for 20 years and your explanation of single vs multi mode, showing the "smearing" of the optical signal, was a better way to illustrate the phenomenon than I've ever seen. Great job ❤️

[@dvdv7777]

1:12 "Audio forums are worse than Twitter" Truer words were never spoken.

[@skyclaw]

There’s also the physical portion of the MIDI standard. Since a MIDI connection is asymmetric, you can just put an opto-isolator at one end (iirc the receiving end) and use copper for the actual connection. Galvanic isolation without the need for expensive optical fibre.

[@welchianachi7707]

Once I have found optical connection between two logic boards inside laser printer. It was quite odd. The printer was rather old or prehistoric.

[@orlandotorres4078]

I am very late to the party but maybe it helps: Optical Amplifiers are in general no different than lasers, where you essentially have a cavity (a specially designed fixture which allows light to be trapped) an active medium (think of it as special materials that lend their energy to light to be multiplied ) and light (typically a laser or a very spectrally narrow (i.e. "single wavelength") source of light). The optical amplifier essentially is a box that allows copies of photons (being special particled they can be "cloned" and be indistinguishable from each other a.k.a. bosons). Thus, an optical amplifier is essentially a laser structure in the path that copies incoming photons and multiplies them.

[@Kapin05]

The acting at 2:56 is just brilliant, half-expected a third interruption myself lmao

[@richardfellows5041]

At 5:27 this is incorrect. You can also send information both directions on a single fiber and single wavelength, by separating their frequency content. Reference US patent 5,459,607.

[@thomasw178]

Is that duplexing, more or less?

[@dak1st]

18:00: That's the inherent problem of "One cable to rule them all": Either you can have a specific connector for a specific purpose and then there is no confusion about what it does, or you can have one common connector that can/might/could possibly do it all, and then you cannot be sure that any two devices and a random cable in between will actually do what you want. That's why in earlier generations of computers there were dedicated connectors for all sorts of different devices, so that it would be clear what to connect there.

[@Wolficefang]

In my experience, the issue is heavily compounded when the creators of a cable cheap out and only allow some of the functionality. USB-C is my favorite example of this: what it CAN do is easy enough to understand: plug it into a monitor and get an image. Plug it into a storage device to transfer files. Plug it into a phone to charge it. But some genius blokes thought it would be a fine idea to have, essentially, a build-your-own standard framework. So official usb-c cables and connectors can be missing pieces on the inside and lower the cost! There isn't a label system, either. HDMI was smart enough back in the day to say "every cable has to have all the little prongs on the inside." Imagine if we could buy official HDMI cables that only supported 480p or lower resolutions. That's what the USB-C cable standard is like, and I think that's the real issue. If you have any counter evidence, though, I'd love to hear it!

[@erlendse]

@@Wolficefang You will get a USB 2.0/1.1 link over USB C. Evrything else is a bonus, but if you just need to link two devices it would do the job. (not including monitors) For captive (stuck to device) cables that is totally ok, for USB-C to USB-C cables you may want more supported features. A USB C keyboard/mouse limited to 2.0 speeds is generally a non-problem.

[@cmdrbudman1ao580]

LOL... people HATE loading drivers, or having to "configure things", or even understanding the things they expect. "I guess" windows has gone a bit further with their "what do you want this to do?" interaction.... but still. I have dealt with "users" (rarely, and I HATE it)... for some reason they think it should just work the way THEY think it will work... In the real world... a VGA to HDMI adapter, is actually different to a HDMI to VGA adapter, but hey... what do I know? the "best buy guy said this is what I needed".

[@dave1812]

Man, I just Love your Videos! Your Presentation and Humour are just excellent!

[@Guldaar]

I'll be waiting here for part 3 when he discovers Phase-Shift Keying and QAM. The theoretical bandwidth limit of fibre is infinite, only limited by the accuracy and sensitivity of the receiver/transmitter. Honestly tho, great video(s) :)

[@ooHotcooleRoo]

Might as well dive into Wi-Fi QAM, should also be quite interesting.

[@MostlyPennyCat]

Well, seeing as both WiFi and fibre both have QAM and PSK. Because they are.... _....both the exact same thing_ 😎😎😎 Then it doesn't really matter.

[@allkorn93]

STOP IT GUISE I'M GOING TO HAVE A TECHSTENTIAL CRISIS

[@joshuafoster23]

The best part is your personality sir. Thanks for continuing to make videos. Ill keep watching. 0h and thanks for not advertising for a minute and a half at the beginning or anywhere in your presentations. Because you don't advertise like a jerk im seriously considering checking your merch or maybe patreon.

[@HellaNorCal916]

100% agree! Audiophiles are some of the worst snobs to talk/deal with. Doesn’t make a difference if it’s Headphones, Car audio or Home....😕

[@CaveyMoth]

Hey, bro, I'm an audiophile.

[@rich1051414]

Audiophiles are just poor losers who can't afford beats. Who cares how they sound, I want people to ENVY ME! /s

[@CaveyMoth]

@@rich1051414 Hey, Bose are the best, man.

[@AnonymousUser77254]

Cavey Möth those are fighting words

[@SkateSka]

@@rich1051414 To be fair, if you see a high-end set of headphones they look/are more expensive and would therefor inspire envy in even more people.

[@MrSmitheroons]

I'm sorry the angry IT people yelled at you. If someone says people can't call it Ethernet cabling and RJ45 jacks then they are being a jerk. I wonder if those folks refer to an IEEE standard specification to determine how to correctly use the bathroom, because I think they may have a cable up their -

[@BigDaddyWes]

The best part was when dude bro said RJ45 isn't the name of the connector. 8P2C is the pin configuration, not the connector.

[@tonyman1106]

@@SF-tb4kb when your dealing with phone you have make sure you state if it cat 3 or cat 5 and not Ethernet

[@nthn-]

@@BigDaddyWes I might be wrong, but isn't it 8p8c (or sometimes 8p4c) not 8p2c in modern rj45 ethernet?

[@BigDaddyWes]

@@nthn- I'm not sure which is which tbh.

[@SurmaSampo]

@@nthn- The P stands for the pins and the C stands for how many of the pins are connected to a wire. If you use an RJ45 meant for ethernet to connect a magnetic security door sensor and alarm then it will only need 6 wires but you can still use the 8P RJ45 connector giving you 8p6c. The same can be done for some land line phones that use RJ45 instead of RJ15 giving you 8p4c or even 8p2c. Why do this? For 2 pin phones you can run an 8p8c trunk to the phone switch or multiplexer from a splitter so you can have 4 phones in an office with short cables run to a splitter and use the better shielded Cat5 to run the long distance to the VPABX without more expensive IP phones or commanders etc. No one does this these days because the IP based stuff is much more feature rich and easier to manage. Plus the cable layout becomes easier since it is all bundled CAT and you can reassign at the patch panel

[@bismuthcrystal9658]

*You fool!* The "speed of light" is not, in fact constant! Light travels through different mediums at different speeds! When one is referring to the "speed of light" generally one is likely referring to - or *should* be referring to - the "speed of light in a vacuum", or, perhaps more accurately, "the maximum speed of information!" P.S. You're not a fool. But this is fun.

[@millomweb]

The plural of medium is media. The max speed of info is only in your head - it doesn't exist in real life. #bandwidth

[@differentlyabledmuslimjewi4475]

but even in a vacuum, the gravitational force of celestial bodies can warp that light. In fact, due to this, you can see behind a black hole or white dwarf star due to the density(if you could witness them in person which until recently we never had). So truly nothing is perfect. But in a person's house, light data transmission seems like it could have some pretty spiffy uses.

[@millomweb]

@@differentlyabledmuslimjewi4475 Well it certainly stops me from bumping into things.

[@millomweb]

@@LucasFerreira-gx9yh Nope, you'll have to come up with a better explanation than that. If what you say was true, we wouldn't have clear vision and optics wouldn't work. Optics work on the basis that light travels in a straight line, not bouncing around off everything !

[@BillAnt]

@Lucas Ferreira < Finally someone who actually gets it. :) While most light photons travel in a straight line inside fiber, some will bounce off the edges of the fiber creating a "blur" effect, by affecting the output on the other side (basically interfering with the next bit being sent), thus imposing a practical data transfer speed limit in a given fiber length. In order to minimize the blur effect, they use super thin single mode fiber for very longs runs (thousand Km +).

[@patrickchen2878]

Another fun fact, we have seen toslink equivalent widely used in consumer space. If you have any mid-range or above car, likely the car’s infotainment system is connected to the amplifier and many other components using fiber optics, called MOST. Recently we started moving back to copper cable and now they are called eMOST, same protocol but with copper.