Top 10 Most Important Cables

Nearly every gadget in your home has to be connected to something else via a cable to carry the audio, video, data or Internet information. Which cable connects which devices can be confusing, however. Here's a primer on the 10 most important cables you should be familiar with.

By: Stewart Wolpin

March 21, 2012

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Source: Stewart Wolpin

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10 Most Important Cables: 2. USB

Essentially the HDMI for computers, USB (Universal Serial Bus) also carries digital audio, video and data signals and connects all devices – printers, smartphones, camcorders, external hard or solid state drives, external Blu-ray and DVD players flash/thumb drives – to a computer. USB can be daisy-chained – one USB input jack on your PC can recognize up to 127 separate USB connections at a time. Some low-powered devices can be powered by their USB connection, but others – such as a USB hub, which provides multiple USB input jacks into a single USB connection on your PC – often require separate AC power. For low-power devices, data can travel over a USB cable effectively for around 15 feet; for USB devices requiring AC power, keep the cable shorter than 10 feet.

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