meuge Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 So I was reading some articles about the specifications of the SPDIF standard earlier this afternoon, and I found out something I did not know before: It's a one-way bitstream. There is no parity data, and no error correction circuitry whatsoever. The only error correction to be done is the extrapolation on the client-side, which is by definition not precise. I was thinking about it for a few minutes, and talking to my friend, because I couldn't understand why this obviously arcane standard was still being used, when simple USB or Firewire or Ethernet for that matter (cheap as toilet paper) are bidirectional connections that use parity, checksums, etc... and are literally bit-perfect. What I couldn't figure out, is why digital audio is still done via using coax or optical SPDIF, when a $5 USB cable would work perfectly well, given the electronics would be there. And then I came to a realization (after my friend told me) - SPDIF is still used for one reason - TO SELL MONSTERCABLE!!! ... and other equivalents. You see, if the quality of the transmission depends on the quality of the cables, then you can do 2 things: sell high quality cables for a lot of money... and sell electronics that incrementally upgrade audio quality. With parity data and bidirectional digital connections, the quality of the cable doesn't matter -> if the processor detects an incorrect checksum, it will simply re-request the packets, the same way data is handled in computer hardware. But that's not all, then I started thinking about component video vs. DVI. Even a $4000 Denon 4806 doesn't have a DVI out, even though my friends 42" Sony CRT HDTV has a DVI in. For CRTs, the conversion to analog has to take place somewhere, but for LCDs it's not necessary altogether, yet for most of us who're not using HDMI, the video data has to be converted from digital to analog and back. Furthermore, I thought of my old CRT monitor... and realized that I had no idea why component cables have to cost so much money... or why they're used in the first place. If a $5 15-pin Sub-D VGA cable can easily transmit 2048 horizontal pixels (or more), why couldn't it be used to transmit a 720p, 1080i, or even 1080p (doesn't really exist yet) image to a large format TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenratboy Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 Do you hear the black helicopters? They are hovering above your house, and any minuite, Noel Lee will roll up on his Segway with a legion of lawyers behind in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meuge Posted January 11, 2005 Author Share Posted January 11, 2005 I'm not saying there is an industry-wide conspiracy. I am saying that it's a business strategy. It's not really as far-fetched as it may seem. Just think - it's the same reason why many cars will start falling apart long before they should. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodger Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 That's why I like Apature. When I talk, I get no B.S.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 ---------------- On 1/11/2005 2:15:21 AM meuge wrote: I'm not saying there is an industry-wide conspiracy. I am saying that it's a business strategy. It's not really as far-fetched as it may seem. Just think - it's the same reason why many cars will start falling apart long before they should. ---------------- The real reason is cost. The cost-to-manufacture a player with a USB, Firewire, or Ethernet connection is substantially higher than one with a SPDIF connection. The manufacturer doesn't give a rip about whether you use quality cabling or not, they're more interested in reducing their costs so they can still make a profit off the player while selling it at the rock-bottom prices the average consumer demands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tglahn17 Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 How does this affect turntables and tonearms? Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meuge Posted January 11, 2005 Author Share Posted January 11, 2005 ---------------- On 1/11/2005 9:58:52 AM Griffinator wrote: The real reason is cost. The cost-to-manufacture a player with a USB, Firewire, or Ethernet connection is substantially higher than one with a SPDIF connection. The manufacturer doesn't give a rip about whether you use quality cabling or not, they're more interested in reducing their costs so they can still make a profit off the player while selling it at the rock-bottom prices the average consumer demands. ---------------- That's the thing, it's not really true. Electronics for USB are ridiculously cheap - you can buy a memory key for under $20 right now, and it can be plugged into a USB port - how much do you think the actual circuit costs in that thing. I'd be surprised if a USB client costs more than $1. Firewire might be slightly more because it's not a host/client, but a peer-to-peer connection, but it's still in the low double digits at most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscarsear Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 This stuff is way out of my league but it lends me to wonder. SACD signals don't uplink as I understand because of some of these requirements. Was advised somewhere that the technology definitely exists but the application to audio was legally limited. So the question is could this conundrum be patent or otherwise legally hogtide? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ifrag Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 Ive often wondered this as well.. it cant cost that much to implement something like ethernet to transfer data.. im sure 100bt is more than adequate for any of todays current audio needs. I can buy a 100bt card for my computer for 5 bux.. it cant be that expensive. Id love to be able to run cat 5e or 6 as my interconnects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 From a company point of view its obvious,they need something to sell you in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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