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New HDMI Mode Will Allow USB-C Connections (techhive.com)
An anonymous Slashdot reader quotes a report from TechHive:
On Friday, HDMI Licensing announced a new cable standard that connects USB-C and HDMI devices... The idea, naturally enough, is to to develop an HDMI-to-USB Type-C cable that ties together the most common cabling protocols in both the PC and consumer electronics industries, eliminating the need for an adapter or special silicon. Source devices like PCs, tablets, and smartphones will be able to output HDMI video and multi-channel audio from a USB-C port, just as they can now with DisplayPort.
"The USB Type-C connector is gaining traction in the mobile and PC markets," said HDMI Licensing, LLC president Rob Tobias. "Consumers expect to easily connect these devices to displays with a USB Type-C to HDMI cable and utilize the capabilities and features of native HDMI. This specification will also result in more source devices incorporating HDMI," which already total about 6 billion, he said.
HDMI Licensing expects to see products launching with this new technology "early next year".
"The USB Type-C connector is gaining traction in the mobile and PC markets," said HDMI Licensing, LLC president Rob Tobias. "Consumers expect to easily connect these devices to displays with a USB Type-C to HDMI cable and utilize the capabilities and features of native HDMI. This specification will also result in more source devices incorporating HDMI," which already total about 6 billion, he said.
HDMI Licensing expects to see products launching with this new technology "early next year".
and has abusive licensing fees. My company has been talking about adding this to future products, and they want more money for this than it costs us to add an HDMI port and our profit, combined.
Honestly the USB-IF should have come up with their own official display profile at this stage, this is becoming ridiculous. We now have Displayport, MHL and HDMI as Alt-modes as well as displayport over thunderbolt carried by type-c. Ugh.
Connector is great and all but the current implementation is trash.
My guess is only one gets used while rest will be ignored, most likely Displayport due to existing implementations as well as Thunderbolt requirements and more up-to-date versions (DP 1.3 vs HDMI 1.4 only). No manufacturer will want to pay additional money in order for all of them to be supported (increased licensing costs as well as more expensive chipsets).
Source devices like PCs, tablets, and smartphones will be able to output HDMI video and multi-channel audio from a USB-C port, just as they can now with DisplayPort.
Yes, and they can do 4K @ 120Hz over DisplayPort's USB-C implementation, or 4K @ 30Hz over ours! Just the same!
How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
HDMI has nothing to do with IP. It does support HDCP - but HDCP is a separate standard. It's not a horrible idea because studios offering UHD movies are not going to magically stop caring about content protection/DRM - all HDMI over USB-C will do is make it easier to create devices that support the existing required protections.
And yet, HDMI is on hundreds of millions of HD televisions that aren't going anywhere soon.
Which is readily solved with an inexpensive DP to HDMI adapter cable. The passive DP++ to HDMI cables are less than $10, and active DP to HDMI cables are less than $20. It seems rare to find a new computer that lacks a mini or full sized DP output. Assuming a USB-C connector has a DisplayPort alternate mode then a DP/USB-C to HDMI cable is trivial to produce, and produce cheaply.
Assuming the USB-C connector has a Thunderbolt alternate mode then one can connect any of a number of PCIe compatible video chips, allowing for HDMI or any other output to match whatever input that display might have. Price will vary based on desired output quality, of course. Given the many cheaper options I expect this to be used rarely, especially to connect to a 1080p or less TV that has nothing better than HDMI to drive it.
Assuming that the USB-C connector has a MHL alternate mode then HDMI support is included, if I'm reading the spec correctly. I found an adapter that has a micro-USB male connector on one side and female HDMI on the other and claims to use the MHL protocol for less than $10.
Assuming the USB-C connector has a, quite likely, USB mode then one can find a USB to HDMI adapter already for reasonable price. A quick search shows I can get one for less than $30, which also happens to be a USB-C to HDMI adapter. Adapters with USB-A connectors look to be almost double that but it may just be a matter of not finding the cheapest ones in my search.
I'm quite certain that the HDMI people are getting paid for the privilege of us using their connector and/or protocol on anything we buy. What they seem to be doing here is wanting us to pay for the privilege of the HDMI protocol on future USB-C devices even if we have no intention of ever using that capability.
Looks to me like a sneaky way to add a HDMI tax on a device for all for the benefit of the few that would actually use it. As they seem to tax per port then if I have a device that can output HDMI on DP and USB-C then I'm paying double for something I am unlikely to use. As the cost to me is likely less than the $10 I'd expect for an adapter that lacks this feature I can't complain much. What I do see though is a flood of money potentially going their way from the sale of devices with this feature.
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