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: 5. Ethernet

Essentially a wide telephone cable, an Ethernet cable (technically referred to as RJ45; a regular telephone cable is RJ11) connects devices to the Internet. For instance, while a coaxial cable connects your cable modem to your broadband Internet service provider (ISP), such as your cable or phone company, you use an Ethernet cable to connect your cable modem to a Wi-Fi router or directly to your computer, laptop, smart TV, Blu-ray player, videogame console or media streamer. Like USB, Ethernet cables can be daisy-chained. But, unlike USB, there is theoretically no limitation on how many Ethernet devices a single modem connection can serve via splitters or switches. For instance, I've got nearly two dozen devices being fed by my cable modem.

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