Fibre-optic DP 1.4 video cable prices coming down

[Quartz]

Earlier this year I paid £180 for each of three 10m fibre-optic Displayport 1.4 cables. I now find that they're now available for £80. This is competitive with high-end copper cables. (OCUK don't sell these, so not competitor links.)

I can thoroughly recommend fibre-optic cables, and hope they come down in price even further.

 

[Quartz]

What is the advantage other than being able to be longer?

None. Okay, the cables are slimmer. The thing is, I've found anything over 3m in copper to be twitchy for 4k+. Length is the real winner. Rather than my likely unique home issues, consider a conference room with a projector. With a 10m or 20m cable you can have a 4k projector in the ceiling with the controlling PC placed more conveniently.

 

[Quartz]

Paging @OcUK - PREDATOR for info.

 

[Quartz]

Is something like this necessary for a 10 meter range

I've not tried it over 10m for basic 1080p, but I had real problems running at 4K at anything over 3m. And the 5m Lindy copper cables I tried were more expensive than 10m fibre-optic ones are now!

Where fibre-optic cables really come in is conference rooms and trade stands. In conference rooms the projector is often in the ceiling whereas the controlling PC is often in a cupboard, so you need 10-20m (maybe more) of video cable to link the two. On trade stands the PC is often secured out of sight with only the monitor, keyboard, and mouse in stealable locations. It's the security of the company data that's at issue; the cost of the PC is relatively trivial.

For the home enthusiast, you've spent hundreds of pounds (maybe a thousand!) on your super-duper GPU. You've spent hundreds of pounds (maybe a thousand!) on your super-duper monitor. Why baulk at spending under a hundred on the the thing that lets the two work together in that super-duper way?

 

[Quartz]

I use an active 5m USB 3 cable and run that and a normal USB 2 cable to hubs on my desk.

 

[Quartz]

Is it just displayport cables that don't work well over long distances? Do you run a USB cable to a desktop HUB, for example? Any issues there?

You might find this video interesting if you're willing to spend four figures

Skip to about 10 mins.

 

[Quartz]

I have fibre-optic cables running 4k @ 60 and 120 Hz and 3440x1440 @ 100 Hz.

I'll echo @tyler_jrb's comments about the lack of noise. It really is good.

Corning and Lindy make fibre-optic USB 3 cables but they are fantastically expensive. Active USB 3 cables work just fine at a fraction of the cost. If you go to Ali Express you'll find a 10m fibre USB 3.0 (5 Gbps) cable available from Anmck for US$100.