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Cables are a specialized market where it can be difficult for new or unfamiliar users to separate fact from fiction. Between urban legends on the Internet and all the different options out there, there is misinformation that many people think is true. To clear up these misconceptions and ensure users can make educated purchases, this article will address a few of the fictions that people commonly mistake for facts.
Only Expensive HDMI Cables are 4k – False
Once upon a time, this was true. HDMI has changed over the years as the technology has been upgraded. HDMI cables supporting 4k video became standard back in late 2013. Any HDMI cable on the market today should be more than capable of handling 4k video. If you need a cable with a stronger jacket, then there are
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“Hub” and “switch” are two terms that get thrown around a lot, oftentimes interchangeably. But while these two devices are similar, they are not quite the same. In a nutshell, switches are an upgrade to hubs. Both are used to connect multiple computers or other devices together in a network. The difference lies with how a hub or switch handles communications between devices on that network.
Ethernet Hubs
Hubs are an older technology that some el
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The term splitter gets thrown around pretty often when it comes to cables. The average splitter works by taking an input signal and dividing it into multiple output signals. For example, on a two-way splitter each output will have half the normal strength since the signal is divided by two. However, this is not how ethernet signals work.
Simply put, ethernet signals cannot be divided the way audio/video signals can. There are devices called ethernet splitters, but they work differently from other kinds of signal splitters. However, a different device called a network switch can be used with ethernet cables for the same effect.
Ethernet Splitters
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Cable switches are used to connect multiple signal inputs (computers, DVD players, video game consoles, etc.) to a single output (televisions, computer monitors, etc.). Switches all work on the same general principle and most are purely mechanical. A switch only goes from multiple inputs to one output; if you need to go from one input to multiple outputs, you will need a splitter instead.
Switches are used when you have a screen, such as a TV or computer monitor, that does not have enough ports. For example, say you have a TV with one HDMI port but you want to connect a DVD player, a laptop, and a video game console. One option would be to constantly reach behind the TV and switch the cables, but that gets old fast. The simpler solution would be using
