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 Word Clock
Although
not technically a Digital
Audio Cable format, Word
Clock is an important aspect
of digital audio cables.
Digital audio cables require
synchronization between sending
and receiving. Some formats
provide that sync along with
the signal, while others
do not. Word Clock is also
useful for synching numerous
devices together. One device
acts as a Master Clock, which
provides sync information
for numerous devices (such
as making multiple DAT duplications
simultaneously).
Word
clock is usually transmitted
on 75 ohm BNC connector cables.
 AES/EBU
AES/EBU
is a 2 channel digital audio
connection that supports most
sampling rates. AES/EBU is
one of the most typical connections
that you will see on digital
recorders like DAT decks and
other hardware devices. Few
audio cards have AES/EBU
Although
AES/EBU uses the same XLR connector
that you see on microphone
cables, the actual cable is
different. AES/EBU cables have
an impedance of 110 ohm, while
typical Mic cables are variable
somewhere between 30 to 90
ohms. AES/EBU cables can be
up to 300 feet long.
 S/P
DIF (Coaxial)
Coax
S/P DIF uses an RCA style connection,
which is the same connection
tat you would find on the back
of your home stereo or CD player.
However, a single S/P DIF cable
carries 2 channels of digital
information. S/PDIF supports
most resolutions and sampling
rates.
Although
it may look like the same cable
you would connect on your stereo,
it is not quite the same. S/P
DIF uses a special 75-ohm cable.
 S/P
DIF Optical (TOSLink)
A variation
of Coaxial S/P DIF is S/P
DIF optical, also known as
TOSLink. This is a very common
connection for home electronics,
such as DVD players, and
can also be found on many
audio cards and other musical
equipment.
S/P DIF
optical uses a special FiberOptic
cable and can transmit 2 channels
of audio at a time.
ADAT
Optical (Lightpipe)
The Alesis
corporation created ADAT Optical,
also known as Lightpipe, for
the Alesis ADAT digital recorders.
Since their introduction, Lightpipe
has also been used for many
other devices.
Although
it uses the same cable as S/P
DIF optical, the information
that it caries is not the same
so you can not just plug a
Lightpipe device into a S/P
DIF optical connection.
ADAT
machines also use a 9 Pin computer
cable for synchronization.
 TDIF
(Tascam)
Tascam
Digital Interchange Format
(TDIF) was developed for use
with the Tascam DA88 line of
recorders. TDIF uses a special
25 pin cable for transferring
digital audio. Like the ADAT,
the DA88 also uses a special
cable, in this case a 15 pin
computer cable, for synchronizing
of machines.
TDIF
is a proprietary format for
Tascam, and so, it has not
seen the widespread implementation
that Lightpipe has, although
there are several audio cards
available that use it.
Pictures
courtesy of HOSA
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