In reply to:
I always thought that they weren't bent, but rather passed through their amplifiers and they would change the angle of the light and increase the signal; but keeping the actual cables themselves straight. It may be different now, though, as I havn't checked up on my information in the last few years.
DJ, there are routing points along the line that can receive and redirect or reamplify the signal, but these are a good distance apart.
There is a nifty article
here from the Howstuffworks site about the story of fiber optics for those that are more curious.
Specifically
this page describes the total internal reflection theory on which the principle of light transmission in the cable works and also briefly discusses the signal degradation that occurs. Note the distances and keep in mind that these signals are ones and zeroes hence degradation is a moot point as long as the receiving end can still recognize the incoming values. The strength of those values is not of any consequence unlike an analog signal.
Lastly,
this page in that article gives a short list of advantage of fiber optics which includes a higher carrying capacity and less signal degradation compared to copper as well as a note on its physical flexibility. Something many also have not considered....the dreaded corrosion of coppper vs. glass!
The follow up links are quite good for more specific and detailed information.
In reply to:
I have an AR optical cable that I can't use anymore unless I like the occasional noise session then.
EDIT: now that I think about it; it is probably that because before I decided on placement, wires were all over the place and I tripped over the cable on several occasions.
That is never a good thing, tripping over wires that is.
I was rather annoyed at having to buy a new optical cable but the one i had originally was the one that came with the unit which always seems to be of poor build quality. I've had the jackets crack and expose wire over time, ends come loose and soldering come apart.
Rarely do i use the cables bundled with an electronic unit anymore. They are just too feebly built.
The relatively inexpensive AR or Ultralink interconnects i've bought on ebay have been excellent. The Ultralink optical cable fits nice and snug as it should. No movement.
