WHAT WILL THE USB4 BE LIKE? FASTER AND WITH 8K AND 16K SUPPORT
The specifications of the next USB4 are official since last year but the news is not over yet. In fact , support for the 8K standard has only recently been announced , a feature that makes USB4 even more ready for the future.
This was not enough, thanks to the enormous bandwidth
granted it will also be possible to carry 16K signals. This is possible thank
to the introduction of the DisplayPort Alt Mode 2.0 specifications, which allow
a finer management of the available bandwidth.

Much more bandwidth
The new USB4 incorporate almost all the features of
Thunderbolt 3, it is no coincidence that there is full compatibility with this
standard. The difference is that USB4s can be used without paying royalties ,
which is a great advantage for manufacturers. Compatibility is also guaranteed
with previous USBs, after all, the connector is the same Type C, increasingly
popular on smartphones and PCs, but obviously with reduced transfer speeds.
The most important novelty obviously concerns the bandwidth,
which can reach 40 Gbps , against the 20 Gbps of USB 3.2 Gen 2. The 40 Gbps are
only available in the presence of certified cables to reach this speed,
therefore it will be necessary to pay more attention to the type of connector
that you purchase.
But what to do with this whole gang? The USB, although not
very common in this area, also carry the video signal and are a candidate to
become a real alternative to HDMI and DisplayPort . In this regard, just
recently the USB4 have integrated within them the DisplayPort Alt Mode 2.0
specifications , which allow it to transmit video signals up to 8K with active
HDR without compression, while 16K in HDR are possible but only by activating
the compression of the color . In fact, USB4s are also DisplayPort 2.0 but with
a different connector .
The implementation of this new function was possible thanks
to the exploitation of the double communication channel of the USB4, which can
carry 40 Gbps in and out. Using the band in a single direction this is doubled,
reaching about 80 Gbps, in fact a speed similar to that of DisplayPort 2.0 .
It remains to understand where all this bandwidth will be
exploited, certainly not in the consumer sphere, because 8K displays are little
used and televisions, as far as they are available, cannot rely on sources
external to this resolution.
Beyond the speed of data transfer, therefore, the new
possibilities offered by DisplayPort Alt Mode 2.0 are aimed at a professional
audience . For all the others, however, the current 20 Gbps USB Type C 3.2 Gen
2 are more than enough for any type of use.