MHL today said it has developed an HDMI cable that is compatible with with the forthcoming Type-C USB port.
Using what it calls MHL Alt Mode, a USB Type-C connector and cable can support the MHL 3 specification, which includes 4K video and multi-channel surround sound audio. The Type-C connector specifications were finalized earlier this year. Type-C will replace the Type-B connector (microUSB) found in most modern mobile devices.
“MHL, LLC has developed an MHL Alternate Mode (‘Alt Mode’) for the USB Type-C specification. Using the MHL Alt Mode, a USB Type-C connector and cable can support the MHL 3 specification, which includes 4K video, multi-channel surround sound audio, HDCP 2.2 and is backward compatible with existing versions of the MHL specification. The MHL Consortium continues to advance the MHL specification to support additional capabilities and connectors, such as USB Type-C, ahead of industry demand”, says MHL, LLC.
One of the key aspects of the Type-C connector is that it is reversible and can be inserted either way (much like Apple’s Lightning connector). The Type-C connector supports the USB 3.1 spec for delivering quick data transfer and power.
The new MHL Alt Mode cable will make it easy for smartphones and tablets of the future to push content though a wired connection to devices such as HDTVs.
