DS125BR800 Limitation of differential inputs

The differential inputs themselves have equalization behind them, and are therefore able to recover a wide variety of different types of signals of different qualities.  The device however is a very high speed device, and transmission line characteristics must be considered in any design which uses signals of this speed, so things like Return Loss should always be taken into consideration.   If there is an impedance mismatch, this will generate a reflection, and if the reflection is large enough, then this will result in the device mistaking a reflection for the signal itself, leading to bit errors or at best, increased jitter.