Gizmodo
Come with us into the world of fantasy, where there's just one kind of plug and its associated cable that will work for every electronic device. What we would like to see is one cable that carries audio, video and power to or from whatever device you need to use. It needs to be small, it needs to have tremendous bandwidth (perhaps using fiber optics), and it needs to be smart enough not to ruin anything you plug it into. It sure would beat the alphabet soup we have to deal with now.
Think about it: you need an HDMI cable for your home theater equipment that carries audio as well as video, but now there's a new cable on the way called DisplayPort specifically made for computer displays. Or maybe you'd like to hook up your TV to your computer via VGA. Then there's the old-timey composite, component, and S-video connections.
Not digital enough for you? Let's use DVI, or if you want higher resolution, you'll need dual-link DVI. Then there's digital audio, connecting via fiber optic that can't even decide whether it's called Toslink or the eloquent S/PDIF. Or maybe choose a coaxial connector for your digital audio, the same as an RCA plug used to connect analog audio, not that cable TV variety of coaxial.
Want to connect hard drives? You could use USB 2.0, or FireWire 400 is just about as fast. Want FireWire 800? Oops, you'll need a different cable for that. What about the new FireWire 3200? Yep, it'll need new cable, too. Connecting faster SATA hard drives isn't simple, either, because if you want to hook them up internally, you'll need an "L" connector, but if you want to use the external SATA drives (eSATA), well, those use in an "I" connector, to keep you from using unshielded wires inside a PC. The confusion goes on and on.
Oh, and by the way, while you're dealing with this Tower of Babel, you'll have to sidestep all the ripoff artists trying to charge you ten times as much for a cable that does exactly the same thing as its cheapest counterpart.
It's a mess. Please, someone round up all the consumer electronics manufacturers, and somehow make them all use the same connectors. But that's like herding cats. We told you we were going into the world of fantasy, but anyway, that's All Giz Wants.
Comments
you are right! except for the power...that needs to be different, could you imagine grandma accidentally plugging in her power cord into the audio/video in slot...boom
Amen Brother. the devices on the end shouldn't really make that much of a difference. I can understand distance issues, but one cable spec for up to 50', another one for up to 500', and then another for up to a mile. that should be plenty.
it's not fantasy. you've got the major cell phone makers deciding on one plug for phones so that's a start.
you're scaring all the noobz away...wtf? Toslink?L-connector? Ahhhhh.....
HDMI rules. 1 cable from dvd player to reciever, 1 cable from reciever to TV = High definition with the best surround sound I've ever heard.
Yeah, but if they do that, how are they going to force us to buy everything all over again every 5 years
good idea - will never happen in real life. and the reason is economics. too many cords would be produced with MORE functionality than needed for most uses. this would drive the per unit cost far above what would be acceptable for the consumer. imagine paying $150 for a wire simply to connect your music player to your computer or hook up the speakers to your stereo, just because it has power, hdmi etc capacity in it (that isnt needed).
GREENPLUG FOR PRESIDENT!
@EMoShunz: You missed this part of the article "and it needs to be smart enough not to ruin anything you plug it into."
It wouldn't be that hard to do. If the audio receiver doesn't need power, don't include the designated power pins in that port.
@mtopper: I don't think power would necessarily have to be an issue, because that would require a central power bank, a la GreenPlug.
And standardizing the connection wouldn't necessarily mean that all functions would have to be included.
You could just not have the functionality in that particular plug. For example: Plug #1 Has audio, video, power. Plug #2 Has Audio, video. Plug #3 Has just audio. HOWEVER, they all use the same connector. What goes between the connectors doesn't have to be the same, but the connecting ends could be, just eliminating the need to hook up all pins.
@luckypictures: good start for sure!
I say take it a step further: No. Wires.
I'd be happy to plug in the biggest, meanest looking, ugliest power cable if it were the only plug I had to deal with. Everything else should communicate wirelessly. Wireless video, wireless USB, wireless audio, etc.
Wireless!!! Stop dreaming about wires !
@luckypictures: Please ignore the first sentence in my last post. I was forgetting that the power source could be something like a receiver or computer, not just a powerbank.
And to continue on, there would be a fortune to be made in power banks.
The market would not necessarily be smaller, and require one to lose profits. There's always going to be Joe Schmoe that thinks that he'll notice the difference with his oxygen free gold plated triple shielded blah blah blah Monster Cable is better.
(To note, I do understand the benefits of some of the above, but the point is that your average consumer has no clue about shielding, or why gold plating is better, or even why HDMI is better than composite)
"Don't blame me. I'm an interpreter. I'm not supposed to know a power socket from a computer terminal."
Beware of buying these cables though, I saw this Monster HDMI cable scam on another blog
Why cables at all?
We should communicate via the aether at quantum speed through the space-time continuum...
@MikeSWelch: good point. which gives me an idea, a power passthrough would be nice. one plug to the wall, and the rest is powered from one chain link up, like a better usb.
@Wayde: Please tell me you were being facetious, pleeeeeeaaaasseeee.
@WorkingOnYourInvoice: That would be an absolute mess of the airwaves. Besides, lower quality, more interference, issues with pairing devices... Wireless has its place but not in streaming HD content to your TV or sending music to your amps.
@Luckypictures: I might be misreading, but are you suggesting using the same connectors in the cable, just not including the specific features of that cable such as power, etc.? That would make the world of cables just as complicated, only you wouldn't have connector shape to differentiate between what cable is what. More confusing.
I think they could just standardize each field. Audio? Coax. TV/Video? HDMI. Simple. All of the cables on your computer are color coded and easy as heck to deal with - and that area of the world changes so much we shouldn't even try to make just one connector for it anyway.
@luckypictures: Well, fuck me for not clicking on the link first. I assumed you were referring to the general scam that is Monster.
Apparently a business has chosen to take it to a whole new level of scumbaggery.
@WorkingOnYourInvoice: @PDSM: now your talking. again, still need some kind of daisy chaining power passthrough to clean it up a bit.
i saw an article somewhere they were working on wireless power too...but who knows if that'll be feasible in the next 20 years. but all wireless signal...cool!
@Tommasta: Ah, good point about cable confusion. However, that is easily solved with standardized colors, a la PS/2 cables, compostie, component, et cetra.
If it does all of that at the same time, it will need to somehow send and receive data at the same time- is that possible? Like breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth at the same time (impossible).
@mtopper: I would make all the cables the same, but they would be cheap because of economies of scale. Think about it: BILLIONS of cables
@EMoShunz: If the AV in slot is not ready for power, the power pin should not be present. The connector and cable can stay the same.
@mtopper: [en.wikipedia.org]
@Tommasta: good point about the airwaves.
@auroragb: ya, that's what MikeSWelch said. i agreed with him, it is a good point. thanks.
@luckypictures: But how is color-coding a "one plug for everything" solution? you still need different cables. It's actually more confusing because the pin-out fit, but the functionality is not there. traditionally, pin-out, rather than color, defined functionality. Composite cables still work even if you don't match the color, as long as the same mismatch is done on the other side.
@charlie...
minor correction: I think the new firewire 3200 will use the same cable as firewire 800.
@auroragb: One PLUG for everything, not one cable.
"Want to connect hard drives? You could use USB 2.0, or FireWire 400 is just about as fast. Want FireWire 800? Oops, you'll need a different cable for that."
Actually the new firewire standard uses the same cable as the old standard... just my two cents :-)
@auroragb: Also, not necessarily. Go all the way back to speaker wiring/audio. Red/black. Color had to match up. And yes, it does work if you switch it around on both ends, but that's entirely besides the point of the article, and my comments. For your AVERAGE CONSUMER, color coding is the answer. The average consumer doesn't know that you can use any RCA cable to complete any connection that uses the RCA standard. Composite on component, component on composite, et cetera.
This whole concept is ridiculous...
You want one cable for consumer goods? So what that my HDD uses the same cable as my toster? How about my dryer? So what every device has to have a transformer in cable of handling the load that my dryer normal takes?
You know those power bricks and wall warts, you want those embedded inside everything?
Now lets think about the concept of that still doesn't make your life easier. How the hell would you plug in devices into a mother board. Your HDD, DVD, Blu-ray, and floppy all have the same connector device...
With one cable type you could plug your Toster into your motherboard floppy disk connector, but that doesn't mean its going to work. (or your PS3 controler into your Xbox360, but still no go)
And what kind of magical super cable could handle all that AND all future improvements and bandwidth increases? Oops now we have extra-superHD (101080p with 50.2 sound, you need to get Magical super cable 2.0 (MSC 2.0), which will either be a whole new type of connector...)
Blah blah blah. Gizmodo wants. Too damn bad, Gizmodo. Belkin and its aftermarket ilk are far too interested in a legion of different plugs to allow one universal cable, plug or connector.
There's money to be made in chaos.
@omg-ponies: The first 3 sentences, priceless.
@DocGratis: Dude, please read all comments before posting, and they never said all consumer goods.
To touch on the Monster debacle, there are many points to consider that may not at first seem relevant. I had once bought a long pair of M1000 interconnects which sounded great. I had to store them for over a year and when I used them again, they didn't sound as good as I remembered. I blamed my rose-colored memory but upon insection I had found that the copper in the strands had visibly oxidized over time! The PVC covering they were using allowed air molecules to permeate into the copper. I later found out that better companies used Teflon to cover their wires to combat this specific reason. So, I guess the point here is that something can be really good new, but how many tests have there been which rate performance over time? Especially with in-wall installations, this may be a very serious issue.
I think what the article was trying to get at wasn't to still have separate cables for each type of signal, but they all look the same. I think the point was to have one cable that carried every type of data, at the same time.
Plug 1 cable from your game console/computer/cable system to the reciever, plug 1 cable from the reciever into the tv, plug the tv into the wall. Done. Power, A/V, Data, etc, all flowing over 1 cable chain.
Personally I wonder why recievers don't have hard drives built in, especially the newfangled Home Theater ones. (maybe they do, and I'm just ignorant of them). Once your reciever becomes your central media hub, it's easy to centralize the throughput.
As long as Sony exists, there will never be one thing for anything.
I would settle for a few cables.
1. AV cable TV, monitor, Digital or analog audio
2. Data cable Connect to mp3 players, hard drive, phone. Delivers both data and power.
3. Power cable a cable that is universal for power bricks, PCs, recievers.
4. Possibly a portable power adapter for cell phones mp3 player. Or a lower voltage outlet for the home with a usb connector on it. with optional wiring to hook the thing into your network for data transfer.
If manufacturers would stick with what is available things would get ideal. Hdmi for av. usb for data and the atx for power things would be great.
If I forget a cable on a trip at home I'm not spending 30 bicks on an ipod or zune specific cable.
One Plug to fit them all, One Plug to find them, One Plug to connect them all and in the darkness bind them
I don't buy any gadget that doesn't use a standard USB cable (normal, mini or micro).
I don't get how people still buying music players lacking standard cables (and lacking supporting standards like UMS/MSC).
I don't expect hi-rez video in USB right now... but you see, USB3 is in the corner, and if wasn't for stupid lack of costumer care, hi-def video signal could be used via USB3 (but nooooo, they have to lock you with HDCP and cia!)
Imagine using a simple UWB gateway to make USB signal wireless, including hi-def video signals... but noooo, they don't want you dreaming about that... instead, they tell you to dreaming about buying their video stream in each one of your devices and buy devices that are compatible with their services... (not the other way around!) including cables and chargers for each one of them.
well, awaking...
@Tommasta:
I agree with you there.. color coded and a standard cable for each function or group of functions:
Audio - Red
Video - Green
Audio & Video - Black
etc,etc,etc
imagine the price monster would charge for this cable!
@greysky: Forget Monster - how much would Pear Audio charge?
Um, don't know where you heard otherwise, but the 3200 spec for firewire is going to use the same cables as 800.
Personally I like having different cables for different things, leads to less confusion when your connecting different devices. Video is one type, audio is another, my high speed peripherals are firewire, while my low-speed ones are USB. Pretty simple to me.