Some people have weird passions

I have been fascinated by cables, connectors, and how devices talk to each other since the 1980s. Back then, getting two pieces of hardware to actually work together was a genuine puzzle — and somehow, that never stopped being interesting.

Decades later, the connectors have changed. USB-C replaced the rat’s nest of adapters we used to carry. HDMI replaced the tangle of component cables behind every TV. DisplayPort arrived and confused everyone. And yet the fundamental problem is exactly the same as it was in 1985: plug A does not fit port B, or it fits but does not work, and nobody gives you a straight answer about why.

WhatCableWorks exists because I got tired of watching people waste money on cables that were never going to work, or spend an hour on forums trying to get a simple yes or no answer about whether their USB-C port actually supports video output.

Who I Am

My name is Isaac Jacobi. I am not a manufacturer, not a retailer, and not affiliated with any cable brand. I am just someone who genuinely enjoys understanding how connectivity standards work — DisplayPort Alt Mode, Thunderbolt specifications, USB Power Delivery, HDMI ARC, all of it — and who believes that information should be clear and direct rather than buried in spec sheets and forum arguments.

I built this site to be the resource I always wished existed: a place where you can get a plain-English answer to a specific compatibility question without wading through ten pages of generic background information.

What This Site Does

WhatCableWorks covers compatibility questions across the full range of modern and legacy connectors — USB-C, HDMI, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt, VGA, DVI, RCA, Lightning, optical audio, Ethernet, chargers, docks, hubs, and more.

Every guide answers a specific question: will this work, under what conditions, and why does it fail when it does. No padding. No vague answers. No “it depends” without explaining exactly what it depends on.

Editorial Standards

Every article is written to be technically accurate. Compatibility claims are checked against official standards documentation from USB-IF, VESA, HDMI Forum, and manufacturer specifications. When something is device-dependent or uncertain, the article says so clearly rather than giving a falsely confident answer.

If you find a technical error anywhere on this site, I want to know. Corrections are always taken seriously.

Contact

You can reach me at hello@whatcableworks.com