The best USB explainer video I've seen

Have you sometimes wished you could understand modern USB? Not just the Full Speed / High Speed USB 1.0-2.0 crap, but all the fancy stuff added ever since? Like Thunderbolt, DisplayPort encapsulation, and PCIe over USB? Have you ever wondered why docks like CalDigit's TS4 and TS5 cost 400 euro and above?

I recently hit a jackpot while surfing the web, let me share it with you.

Required context

The video focuses on USB 3 and 4, so I recommend taking a quick look at:

It's also worth knowing that USB communication begins with sending advertisements and negotiating common values for speed, supported features, and (in case of USB-PD) voltage and power draw.

Also, nowadays, the cable is often more than just some wires. It has its own microcontroller that sends its own advertisement.

The subject in question

Without further ado, here's the video. Enjoy!

The key surprises

Bonus

Since the video was published, we got USB4 2.0 and TB5. At first glance seem like same things as before, just faster. But! They now support asymmetric speeds! So you can sacrifice some hub->host speed for faster host->hub (i.e. more displays). That's pretty cool. See:

Bonus 2

If you want to spend your money on TB5 cables, it seems like you have options between CalDigit, StarTech, UGreen, Anker, Belkin, Cabble Matters, OWC, Plugable, or Apple. LinusTechTips' cables are TB4 only.