Connecting a fiber optic cable to a coaxial cable is there a noticeable difference in the picture quality and what about data speed with hooking up to the Internet would it be best to have all fibe?

Answer 1

There are several questions here so there is more than one answer:

Connecting fiber to coaxial cable

Fiber optic cable transmits light and not electricity so there is no way to connect the two together directly. Interfaces can be used to take data in an electrical form, convert it to light and send it along a fiber. Similar interfaces do the opposite and receive light to convert it back to an electrical signal. The type of data carried is independent of the fiber or the cable.

Picture quality

In the world of television, data means pictures (and audio and other data). Television transmission is now almost fully digital in most countries so both copper cable and fiber doth carry digital information. As the data is independent of the transmission method, there will be absolutely no difference in picture quality if it is transmitted over fiber or copper.

Data speed

Few of us have the luxury of specifying the type of connection we have to the internet. A service provider will supply copper cable or fiber to suit their own systems and then provide a suitable interface in the home. Fiber is often used for long distance connections with a short copper link from the street into homes or fiber can be taken directly into a home. Either way, the data rate is specified and controlled by the service provider. Fiber has a reputation for offering better maximum data rates than copper cable but this is dependent on the length of the line being used. In general terms, copper cable can transmit data as fast as fiber optics over very short distances. Above certain lengths, fiber optic cables become very attractive compared to copper because the signal losses are far lower in fiber than copper. It is safe to say that for long runs, fiber can offer a higher data rate than copper in many situations.