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• USB features
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HDMI 1.4
USB features
The Universal Serial Bus, or well known as USB was introduced to the PC world in 1996 which dramatically simplified the
connection between host computer and peripheral devices such as mice and keyboards, external hard drive or optical devices,
Bluetooth and many more peripheral devices in the market.
Let's take a quick look on the USB evolution referencing to the table below.
Table 4. USB evolution
Type Data Transfer Rate Category Introduction Year
USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen
1
5 Gbps Super Speed 2010
USB 2.0 480 Mbps High Speed 2000
USB 1.1 12 Mbps Full Speed 1998
USB 1.0 1.5 Mbps Low Speed 1996
USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 (SuperSpeed USB)
For years, the USB 2.0 has been firmly entrenched as the de facto interface standard in the PC world with about 6 billion
devices sold, and yet the need for more speed grows by ever faster computing hardware and ever greater bandwidth demands.
The USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 finally has the answer to the consumers' demands with a theoretically 10 times faster than its
predecessor. In a nutshell, USB 3.1 Gen 1 features are as follows:
● Higher transfer rates (up to 5 Gbps)
● Increased maximum bus power and increased device current draw to better accommodate power-hungry devices
● New power management features
● Full-duplex data transfers and support for new transfer types
● Backward USB 2.0 compatibility
● New connectors and cable
The topics below cover some of the most commonly asked questions regarding USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1.
Speed
Currently, there are 3 speed modes defined by the latest USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen 1 specification. They are Super-Speed, Hi-Speed
and Full-Speed. The new SuperSpeed mode has a transfer rate of 4.8Gbps. While the specification retains Hi-Speed, and
Full-Speed USB mode, commonly known as USB 2.0 and 1.1 respectively, the slower modes still operate at 480Mbps and 12Mbps
respectively and are kept to maintain backward compatibility.
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32 Technology and components