TOSLINK
standardized optical fiber connector system
TOSLINK (Toshiba Link) is a standardized optical fiber connector system. Generically known as optical audio, the most common use of the TOSLINK optical fiber connector is in consumer audio equipment in which the digital optical socket carries (transmits) a stream of digital audio signals from audio equipment (CD player, DVD player, Digital Audio Tape recorder, computer, video game console) to an AV receiver that can decode two channels of uncompressed, pulse-code modulated (PCM) audio; or decode compressed 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound audio signals, such as Dolby Digital and DTS. Unlike an HDMI connector cable, a TOSLINK optical fiber connector does not possess the bandwidth capacity to carry the uncompressed audio signals of Dolby TrueHD and of DTS-HD Master Audio, but it can carry up to 8 channels of PCM audio when used to connect two devices that use the ADAT Lightpipe standard.
Although the TOSLINK connector supports several media formats and physical standards, the most common digital audio connectors are the rectangular EIAJ/JEITA RC-5720 (also CP-1201 and JIS C5974-1993 F05). In a TOSLINK connector, the optical signal appears as a red light, with a peak wavelength of 650 nm. Depending on the type of modulated signal being carried, other optical wavelengths can be present.
History
Toshiba originally created TOSLINK to connect their CD players to the receivers they manufactured, for PCM audio streams. The data-link layer is based on the Sony/Philips Digital Interface (S/PDIF), while the hardware layer utilizes a fiber optic transmission system, rather than the electrical (copper) hardware layer of S/PDIF. TOSLINK was soon adopted by manufacturers of most CD players. It can often be found on video sources (DVD and Blu-ray players, cable boxes and game consoles) to connect the digital audio stream to Dolby Digital/DTS decoders.
Although the generic name for the connector is the EIAJ optical, the trade name TOSLINK is a registered trademark of the Toshiba electronics company, derived from TOShiba-LINK; other etymological variations include TOSlink, TosLink, and Tos-link.
The ADAT Lightpipe (ADAT Optical) uses an optical transmission system similar to that of the TOSLINK connector used in the professional recording of music and in the audio component industry.
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