By Jon Martin

In the world of digital audio, there are two types of cable to choose from; optical cables which use light to transmit signal and digital coaxial cable. These audio cables will enable your home theater system to transmit digital data between components. This will provide you with superior sound quality over typical RCA audio cables.

How Digital Coaxial Cable Works

Digital coaxial cables employ the same principles as other coaxial cables. The inner conducting layer is surrounded by an outer conductor as well as the rubbery insulating layer outside the cable. The digital signal is sent through the inner conductor as it travels between components. During the course of its transmission, the signal routinely comes in contact with the outer conductor. The outer conductive layer is created with materials that act as a reflector for the signal, thereby bouncing it back off of its surface. The signal will continue to reflect within the confines of inner conductor until it reaches the receiving component.

Dedicated to Digital Audio

Digital coaxial cable has only one purpose; to deliver digital audio between components. This is in complete contrast to RF coaxial cable which transmits both video and audio along the same path. As you may suspect, dedicating the entire bandwidth of the cable to sending only digital audio has excellent ramifications for your home theater’s sound quality. This practice results in greater signal fidelity between the transmitting device and the receiving component. Greater signal fidelity means that the sound you hear from your home theater speakers will be truer to the way the sound was originally recorded.

Benefits of Digital Coaxial Cables

Digital coaxial cable also has another benefit related to its dedication to digital audio. In the manner that signal transmission usually takes place, the digital signal from the source, a DVD for example, is sent to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC). The signal is converted to analog and sent through the given cable where it reaches the receiving component on the other side. This component uses an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to reconstruct the digital signal as closely as possible. During this process, errors and variations can be introduced to the signal resulting in audible artifacts and distortions that diminish your home theater’s sound quality.

Unlike with other audio cables, digital coaxial cable can transmit digital signals along its length without the need to convert to analog. Digital coaxial cable is capable of by-passing this process and delivers a cleaner signal to your home theater receiver.

Applications of Digital Coaxial Cables

Connections for digital coaxial cables can be found on everything from DVD players to home theater receivers. If it uses digital audio, then chances are there is a manufacturer who has made that component with digital coaxial cables in mind.

by: Mark Mayo

Microsoft, on December 5, 2006, released Security Advisory (929433) warning of a limited “zero-day” attack using a vulnerability in Microsoft Word 2000, Microsoft Word 2002, Microsoft Office Word 2003, Microsoft Word Viewer 2003, Microsoft Word 2004 for Mac, and Microsoft Word v. X for Mac, as well as Microsoft Works 2004, 2005, and 2006. Personally the last M$ explorer (reported by M$ as “limited”) zero day attack made it right on to 2 my of systems that are patrolled by nothing less than an arsenal of hardware and software security. IMO: MS had plenty of time to release their patch and by the time I found out about the flaw it was too late. So, I don’t like the way M$ is handling their flaws. Put your people on the fix NOW before your vulnerable software affects the very people that make your extravagant life possible!

M$’s overview of this new flaw:

Purpose of Advisory: To provide customers with initial notification of the publicly disclosed vulnerability. For more information see the “Workarounds and Mitigations” and “Suggested Actions” section of the security advisory.

Advisory Status: Under Investigation.

Recommendation: Do not open or save Word files that you receive from un-trusted or that are received unexpected from trusted sources. This vulnerability could be exploited when a user opens a file.

I love the recommendation! Deja vu… yah buddy! How many cries and screams of horror will this one produce.

Billy Gates, please put vulnerability patching on your highest order list! You already have our money.

by: Digital Man

My Sony Hi-MD (mini disc) kicked the bucket somewhat prematurely. It chews and chews on a disc without engaging. I suppose the mechanism got mangled on one of my trans-Atlantic flights. I had to drag myself into the modern recording age and invest 300 quid in a flash recorder, AND stump up another 25 for an SD memory card. And do you know what? It was worth it.

The Edirol R-09 by Roland of seventies synthesizer fame won’t win any prizes in a beauty contest. It looks more like an electric shaver than a digital recorder – but that hasn’t stopped me falling in love with it. I’m suspicious of in-built microphones, but those silver grills on the top are pretty good – fine for journalistic notes at any rate. The plastic record and play buttons are big and chunky, but they are dead easy to use without reference to the manual. Even someone like me who is all thumbs and struggles to send a text message can use them with ease. There are buttons on the back for mono or stereo, automatic recording levels, etc. Volume controls are on the side. In other words, you can do most things without scrolling through a menu on the LCD screen. Transfer of sound onto the laptop is a doddle. You plug it into the USB and it becomes an external disc. I just open up SoundForge on my computer and start editing away. I have a 2 Gig SD card so it holds several hours of audio.

And what about the quality? It records in mp3 or WAV, the latter being uncompressed and very high quality indeed. It’s 24 bit, which is ample. You might want more bits for recoding the Boston Philharmonic, but short of that it will do for most things. I find it works best with my microphone routed into the sound mixer via the Line In. When I plugged my Sure SM58 directly into the R-09 I got a certain amount of hiss. Not much, but discernible. Perhaps the impedance does not quite match (or some such technical guff). Edirol recommend buying one of their own external condenser mics, but they would say that, wouldn’t they. I might try a transformer. I would hate to buy yet another mic for out and about interviews, but it might come to that…

About The Author

Digital Man, a sales manager of Gigasonic, has more than 10 years experience dealing with music gears.

For more information and products, go to http://www.gigasonic.com.