Review on 💻 Enhanced Microsoft Surface USB-C to HDMI Adapter - HFM-00001 by Michael Sharp

Ok. Time for a bandwidth lesson. This little guy is great at what he does. This is a USB-C HDMI 2.0 device that allows you to connect your MS Surface to your display/TV. HOWEVER - my Surface Book 2 USB-C port is ONLY a USB3.1 Gen1 port with a maximum speed of 5Gbps (less if you count the USB overhead). What about HDMI? HDMI 1.4 = 10.8Gbps (1080p 120Hz / 4K 30Hz) HDMI 2.0 = 18.2Gbps (1080p 240Hz / 4k 60Hz) With Surface Book 2. That's 50% LESS than even the OLD ONE HDMI specification. Long story short, it maxes out at 1080p 60Hz on my Surface Book 2, and renders that limited resolution on a 4K display—all because of the USB-C 3.1 gen1 port. on my device. The Surface Book might use better interfaces later, but even the Surface Book 3's USB-C port is USB 3.1 Gen 2 = 10Gbps (1080p 120Hz / 4K 30Hz). IF you want 4k 60hz it won't happen on a Surface Book 2 or 3 --> look for a Thunderbolt 3 / USB4 device - it's either 20Gbps or 40Gbps depending on the controller and they are better suited for 4K 60hz and higher . That's why Microsoft has marked this item as "HDMI 2.0 Compatible" and "4K Ready" --> certain it will work due to backwards compatibility and will not deliver the expected results in any way. Again, if you want 4K 60Hz, you need a non-Surface device with HDMI 2.0, Displayport 1.3, or Thunderbolt 3/USB4. Microsoft Surface proprietary power interface, which can provide better 4K 60Hz display. Finally, another manufacturer's USB to HDMI adapter doesn't offer the best performance. The bottleneck is the Surface's USB-C port.