It is nigh on impossible to keep up with technology these days, due to the sheer speed at which it advances at. if you are a enthusiastic fan of technology you can expect to appreciate this guide to the top 5 multimedia cables, to help you keep up-to-date.

This is a curent list the top 5 most popular leads in the home entertainment world. Hopefully this will not only inform you which are the most popular leads, but also a little insight as to what each of them is for.

HDMI Cable – This cable is currently the number one selling lead. This is mainly down to the extreme popularity of HD TV’s. It is primarily used for connecting high definition devices such as games consoles and Blu-Ray players to HD displays. Higher bandwidth and faster data transfer is acheived through the latest HDMI 1.4 cables. HDMI leads are one of the most versatile of the digital cable family.

Optical Cable – The main purpose of optical cables is to carry digital audio signals between devices. Whilst HDMI Cables can carry both Audio and Video Signals, Optical cables can only carry sound. Invented by Toshiba, they were originaly called Toshiba Link cables, which was then shoertened to Toslink cables. Optical cables are in fact fibre Optic cables and transfer their data by digital light signals down the cable.

Component Cables – Component cables or RGB cables, like HDMI Cables are mainly used for connecting high definition devices. Component cables are only able to carry audio signals, unlike it’s HDMI counterpart, which can handle audio and video signals. There is a misconception that because component cables are high definition, that are are digital cables, this is not true. Don’t let this fool you, Component cables can still produce 1080i resolutions.

SCART to USB – For those of you holding on to favourite films or old camcorder videos. SCART to USB Cables offer a cheap way to put all of these old videos onto a digital format. This means you no longer have to hold on to that dated VHS player. SCART to USB kits are very simple to use and come complete with the software needed. Always check your hard drive space as video files can take up a lot of disk space.

iPod/iPhone Cables – The versatility of the iPhone, and the popularity of the iPod has meant that accessories, including cables are extremely popular. There are 2 cables in particular that seem to be catching on. The cable used to connect iPods/iPhones to your computer. The second is 3.5mm stereo cables, these are used, for plugging iPods into your hi-fi or car stereo.

We hope this guide has helped you. That is of course provided the latest revolution in home and personal entertainment is not launched tomorrow.