Difference between Cable and Wire

Difference between Cable and Wire

I found many eSecurity Professional - sales manager confused about cables & Wires. Fundamentally a wire is a single conductor while cable is a group of two or more conductors.

A cable is usually two or more wires running together or bonded, twisted or braided together. They are usually insulated rather than not, which gives them a better protection than just wires. Cables are mainly used to carry electrical and telecommunications signals.

There are various types of cables, including twisted pair cable, coaxial cable, multi conductor cable and fiber optic cable. A twisted pair cable has two cables twisted around each other and is mainly used to carrying signals. A multi conductor cable is made up of many conductors insulated from each other, and is best suited for control. In a coaxial cable, the signal on the two conductors is not same. This is called an unbalanced line and performance on this cable is more stable than on a twisted pair cable. There are three types of fiber optic cables: 

plastic fiber – used for sending audio, 

multi-mode fiber – used for sending data, and 

single mode fiber – seen only under a microscope and has the best performance. 

There are two main types of wires: solid or stranded. A solid wire is usually a long length of single conductor. A stranded wire is many thin strands of wires twisted together. Solid wires offer low resistance and are perfect for use in higher frequencies, whereas a stranded wire has a longer life, due to its flexibility and can be used for a longer period than a single conductor. Wires are mainly used to carry electrical and telecommunications signals, but can also be used in various other forms, from bearing mechanical loads, to heating, to even in jewelry and clothing. The easiest way to distinguish between the two is that the wire is usually visible, whereas a cable is most usually insulated.

A detailed comparison between wire and cable:-

	Wire	Cable
Definition	Single conductor	Two or more conductors
Uses	To bear mechanical loads, to carry electricity and telecommunications signals, heating, jewelry, clothing, mesh, automotive or industrial manufactured parts, pins, needles, fish hooks, bulbs.	Power transmission, to carry electricity and telecommunications signals.
Types	Solid wire, and stranded wires	Twisted pair cable, coaxial cable, multi conductor cable and fiber optic cable.
Advantages	Solid wires are perfect for use in higher frequencies, offer low resistance. Stranded wire shows higher resistance to metal fatigue.	Higher strength, heavy duty, insulated.

Choose an HDMI Cable

How to Choose an HDMI Cable

Choosing an HDMI cable can be a complex task. There are several factors that must be considered in order to select the best HDMI cable to meet the user’s requirements:

·         HDMI standards compliance

·         HDMI Cable Categories

·         Cable length

·         Cable quality

·         Active cables

·         HDMI devices

·         Price

HDMI Standards Compliance

Each HDMI cable is rated to comply with a specific revision of the HDMI standards. A cable rated for HDMI 1.2a should meet the requirements of HDMI 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2, but is not guaranteed to meet the standards for HDMI 1.3.

HDMI Cable Categories

The HDMI standards define two cable categories. Category 1 HDMI cables support HDTV resolutions and frame rates. Category 2 cables are required for higher resolutions or higher frame rates.

Cable Length

The HDMI specification does not define a maximum cable length. HDMI cables are commonly available in 3′ to 50′ lengths.

Purchasing a cable longer than necessary will cost more money, but it will also increase signal loss due to attenuation.

Cable Quality

All other factors being equal, a cable that is built to higher tolerances using better materials will outperform a cable that is built merely to meet a standards specification. In addition, these premium cables will often provide longer service lives.

An HDMI cable can be made using 28 AWG wire, but a 24 AWG wire will create a sturdier cable that is more resistant to attenuation.

As with traditional analog stereo cables, premium HDMI cables are often furnished with gold plated connectors to ensure the best possible signal quality.

Active Cables

For specialized high end applications, some manufacturers are selling active HDMI cables. These cables use a variety of technologies that involve boosting the transmission distance or quality through the addition of electrical power to the cable connection.

Some of these active cables run over fiber optics or Cat-5 cable.

HDMI Devices

Another approach to supporting extremely long cable runs is to chain multiple HDMI cables together with amplifiers, repeaters, or equalizers.