Translations:ALSA/55/en
From Gentoo Wiki
HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) cable can carry compressed Dolby/DTS and uncompressed (i.e. Blu-ray) Dolby/DTS signals. The audio market has favored this connection, but still preserves S/PDIF connections. One concern being, HDMI cables are copper wire, still susceptible to electrical cross talk or interference, similar to S/PDIF Digital Coaxial connections.