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Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
The Xbox Series X will be missing the optical S/PDIF audio output that was present on the Xbox One and Xbox 360 hardware lines.
[...] The removal will mainly impact players who use a small subset of high-end gaming headsets and audio systems that rely on the optical audio connection instead of audio sent over HDMI or Microsoft's wireless standard. Some users will be able to use S/PDIF passthrough output from their TV-set as a replacement, though. And Windows Central reports that wireless headset makers like Astro are already working on solutions to make existing Xbox One-compatible S/PDIF products work on the Series X.
Microsoft has also confirmed that the Series X will be missing the IR extension port that was present on the back of the Xbox One and the IR blaster that was present on the Xbox One S. Those features were only really useful in extremely limited circumstances, such as for Xbox users who wanted to use the system's TV remote control functions without plugging in a Kinect sensor.
(Score: 1) by VacuumTube on Saturday March 21 2020, @07:32PM
"Well, not strictly true - it just takes a lot more noise to disrupt a digital signal."
I was speaking in the context of a digital audio signal used in consumer equipment to connect a peripheral to an amplifier. At audio frequencies fiber optic equipment makes no sense as even antiquated technology is capable of carrying the signal without error for the few feet required. If the digital signal can be deciphered it transmits the information perfectly, within the limits of the technology used to encode it in the first place. So it either works or it doesn't. There's no noise added on account of the transmission medium, whatever it may be.