Good news for Apple MacBook users: HDMI Licensing, LLC is releasing the HDMI Alternate Mode (“Alt Mode”) developed by the HDMI founders for the USB Type-C Specification.
This will allow HDMI-enabled source devices to utilize a USB Type-C connector as found on the 12-inch Mac laptop (and almost certainly on new Macs to be introduced before year’s end) to directly connect to HDMI-enabled displays, and deliver native HDMI signals over a simple cable without the need for adapters or dongles.
Rob Tobias, president of HDMI Licensing says HDMI Alt Mode will support the full range of HDMI 1.4b features such as: resolutions up to 4K, Audio Return Channel (ARC), 3D, HDMI Ethernet Channel, and Consumer Electronic Control (CEC). The HDMI cable will utilize the USB Type-C connector on the source side and any HDMI connector on the display side.
Unlike the other Alt Mode display technologies which require various adapters or dongles to connect to HDMI displays, HDMI Alt Mode enables a connection via a USB Type-C to HDMI cable. Connecting an HDMI-enabled 4K display or TV to a 12-inch MacBook currently requires using Apple’s $79 USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter. The HDMI 1.4b Alt-Mode on USB Type-C Specification is available to all HDMI Adopters at www.hdmi.org.
