Toslink vs Adat Lightpipe: What's the difference?

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Fingerz88 wrote:

> I'm looking into getting an Adat Lightpipe switching (hub)
solution
> for my project studio (Digi 001).

> I'm exploring the possibility of using a consumer Toslink
switcher.

> Could this work?

Yes.

> What's the difference between Toslink and Adat Lightpipe?

At the optical transport (fiber) level, not a heck of a lot.
This Toslink switcher works at the optical transport level.

>Is it multi channels as opposed to 2 channels?

Yes, therefore the bitrate of ADAT optical is generally
quite a bit higher than consumer Toslink. However, this
matters very little to the optics. The ADAT data rate
remains very low compared to the frequency of the carrier
signal (light).

The hardware demands related to the the higher bitrate
primarily show up in the specs for the optical transmitter.
Basically, its usually brighter.

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

In article <11b34evldst21bd@corp.supernews.com> rcrowley7@xprt.net writes:

> Physically they appear to be identical.
> I would bet that a consumer Toslink switcher would work
> fine for switching Adat lightpipe.

The Radio Shack one has been reported to work fine with ADAT
Lightpipe, but within the ADAT rules. It may not handle 96 kHz
even at half the number of channels. Or maybe it will.


--
I'm really Mike Rivers (mrivers@d-and-d.com)
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me here: double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

In article <1119015259.048521.50660@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com> fingerz88d@aol.com writes:

> Well folks, I'll tell ya; This is seriously good news!
>
> A consumer optical switcher can be had for as little as $10.00 (saw one
> on ebay).
>
> Basic retail is in the area of $20.00!

Yeay, but you'll probably pay $9.95 for shipping on that eBay deal,
and if it doesn't work, you'll have a hard time returning it for a
refund. Spend the $20, try it, and if it doesn't work, take it back.

> Beats the heck out of the "Pro" studio solutions (Z-SYS, FriendChip,
> etc...)....all in the $500.00 or better (worse?) range.

One difference, which may not matter in your situation, is that the
switchers like the ones from Z-Systems have a receiver, a transmitter,
and can re-clock the data if desired. The $10 ones are just a moving
prism that directs the light from one port to another.

Try a cheap one first. Radio Shack used to have one, but I couldn't
find it in a quick site search.

--
I'm really Mike Rivers (mrivers@d-and-d.com)
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me here: double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo