Optical cables for consumer electronics

A cable for bidirectional communication between a first digital consumer electronic device and a second digital consumer electronic device, the cable comprising:

• an optical fiber having a first end and a second end;
• a first interface coupled to the first end of the optical fiber, the first interface comprising:
• first electrical connections configured to receive electrical TMDS signals from a receptacle of the first digital consumer electronic device;
• and
• means for converting at least one of the TMDS signals to an outgoing optical signal and for transmitting the outgoing optical signal onto the first end of the optical fiber;
• and
• a second interface comprising:
• means for receiving the outgoing optical signal and for converting the outgoing optical signal back into the at least one of the TMDS signals;
• and
• second electrical connections configured to transmit the electrical TMDS signals to a receptacle of the second digital electronic consumer device.

A method for communication across a digital optical cable, the digital optical cable including an optical fiber, a first interface coupled to a first end of the optical fiber, and a second interface coupled to a second end of the optical fiber, the method comprising the following acts:

• receiving electrical transition minimized differential signaling (“TMDS”) signals from a digital source device;
• converting the TMDS signals into optical serialized signals;
• transmitting the optical serialized signal to the first end of the optical fiber;
• receiving the optical serialized signals from the second end of the optical fiber;
• converting the optical signals into electrical TMDS signals;
• and
• transmitting the electrical TDMS signals to a digital sink device.