Fiber connectors or cables are necessary for operating the latest home theater equipment. Finding the right fiber cable for you comes down to three factors: what ports do you have available, how long do you need your cable to be and what is your budget? Some audio and optical digital cables get pricey because of the materials used or because the connector uses HDMI technology.

A fiber optic cable with a TOSLINK fiber connector, also called an optical audio cable, is used in many home theatre or sound systems to carry high-quality sound from the transmitting device, like a Blu-ray player, to the system’s speakers.

Another option is to use an HDMI connector. This is more common in some newer systems or for cables that carry visuals as well as sound. Fiber optic HDMI cables can support greater speeds and data loads than many other HDMI cables, meaning you will benefit if you want to play movies at the highest quality on a 4K TV.

Did you know that a fiber optic cable carries light through its wire? Light is an extremely high-speed method of getting information from one place to another. Fiber optic cables are used for both long-distance telecommunications and for high-speed data connections within your home. Just like digital audio cables, fiber optic cables carry binary signals that will communicate with digital systems.

Ideally, when you connect a fiber optic cable, you will want to avoid pairing it with an extender, repeater or cable adapter. That’s because all of these can slow down the speed at which information travels from one device to another, so you won’t be benefiting fully from fiber optic technology.

Additionally, you will want to ensure you do not get kinks in the optical digital cables or compress it significantly beneath or behind furniture when setting up an audio system or home theater. Both issues can interfere with the optical audio cable’s functionality in the present and the long term.