How many kinds of USB-C to USB-C cables are there?

Post by cobbzilla » Tue, Jul 16, 2019, 3:47 AM UTC

krick wrote: post #88

falcolas wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice." I don't have an attribution, but it's an apt quote.

> I don't have an attribution This is called "Hanlon's razor" and, by the way, it is probably a silliest, baseless, most overused saying on the Internet...

Post by isatty » Tue, Jul 16, 2019, 4:04 AM UTC

Causality1 wrote: post #32

msbarnett wrote: post #7

This only seems to be counting USB-C to USB-C USB 3 cables The actual situation is much worse when you add in passive and active C-to-C Thunderbolt, MHL, DP, and HDMI cables, some but not all combinations of which may or may not optionally support some but not all combinations of other signals as well — eg) a passive TB3 C-to-C cable will support DP and USB3 (but not MHL or HDMI), but an active TB3 C-to-C cable will…

It's a bloody goddamned nightmare. For example, a brief review of my devices: >Phone A. Type-C port limited to USB 2 data speeds but supports HDMI out via DisplayLink. >Phone B. Type-C port that supports USB 3.1 speeds but doesn't do video out. >Tablet A. Type-C port that supports USB 3 speeds but only charges through a MicroUSB port. >Tablet B. Type-C port that supports USB 3 speeds and charging, but only charges at…

Post by onemoresoop » Tue, Jul 16, 2019, 4:28 AM UTC

taneq wrote: post #151

Godel_unicode wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They did, kind of. USB2, USB3.1 gen 1, and USB 3.1 gen 2 are 480mbps, 5gbps/DP-alt-mode and 10gbps/DP-alt-mode, respectively. The problem is really that people won't remember that distinction unless they need to know it regularly, and unless you know to Google "difference between USB 3.1 gen 1 gen 2" you won't be able to figure it out.

All they need to do now is to drop the name USB in favour of SPC/OSB - Single Purpose Cable w/ Optional Serial Bus. The whole thing makes a mockery of the core reason for USB to exist, which was so we wouldn't need a unique cable for each device. And so here we are...

Post by Mirioron » Tue, Jul 16, 2019, 4:48 AM UTC

ajross wrote: post #89

jrochkind1 wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why don't they give NAMES to these different types of cables? They seem to have either no names or too many names where it's unclear what is intended for the consumer. Just giving the cable a clear name (in words, not icons), so you could know what you were buying, and a device could say "you need this kind of cable", and a person could write a blog saying "to support DP-Alt-Mode you need X kind of cable" and all use…

> Why don't they give NAMES to these different types of cables? Exactly! We can call the one for small peripherals "USB", the one for monitors "VGA", the one for networking "ethernet", the one for power "AC"... I suspect most users can figure out how to manage that. Snark aside, I actually agree with you. The market powers that be completely messed this up. Basically, phones have limited port space. And for their ben…

Post by fyfy18 » Tue, Jul 16, 2019, 4:54 AM UTC

rcthompson wrote: post #138

starsinspace wrote: post #42

After buying a screen which has only a USB-C DP-Alt-Mode input, I was recently in the market for a matching cable. My only requirements were “it should be as long as possible, at least 2 meters” and “it needs to support DP-Alt-Mode”. Now I thought this would be easy, just ask Google what kind of cable I need, right...? Well... no. Not at all. I wasn’t able to find any information whatsoever what kind of USB-C cable i…

Wait a minute, USB-C Thunderbolt 3 cables are also USB-C to USB-C cables, aren't they? Why aren't they included in this article? I guess there's 6 kinds of USB-C to USB-C cables, except for all the other kinds of USB-C to USB-C cables. How many are there really ?