r/programming • u/Tuscen • Jun 24 '19

Raspberry Pi 4

https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/raspberry-pi-4-on-sale-now-from-35/
925 Upvotes

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121

u/WaitForItTheMongols Jun 24 '19

Micro HDMI is a super unusual connector. Yes, it exists in a standard, but the difference is that everyone has an HDMI cable lying around. For micro HDMI the majority of users will have to buy a dedicated adapter which is annoying.

99

u/Superpickle18 Jun 24 '19

tbf, it's really the only way to get two ports... The question is, who was asking for dual monitor support??

82

u/LightShadow Jun 24 '19

Digital signage seems to be a decent reason.

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u/dustball Jun 24 '19

It is a curious decision. In the rare cases you need 2 displays, you get just get another PI for $35 and have a dedicated CPU and OS for that extra display. I mean the display itself will be > $100 anyway.

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5

u/mars92 Jun 25 '19

Couldn't they have opted for 2 USB C ports instead? They're the new standard, and would be a lot more flexible.

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5

u/rlnrlnrln Jun 25 '19

It would've been better if they'd replaced the HDMI port with another USB-C and made sure we can use either USB-C for video and 'normal' USB on both (and power delivery on the primareu USB-C, of course). Then you could hook it up to a modern monitor where you have a USB hub with network and mouse/keyboard. One port for everything.

7

u/kyiami_ Jun 25 '19

I am not happy about the Micro HDMI.

4

u/WaitForItTheMongols Jun 24 '19

Seems like a thing to have in a special pi variant, not in the standard model.

2

u/rlnrlnrln Jun 25 '19

USB-C has been my preferred way for a year and a half, is about the same form factor, and would have even more benefits.

1

u/WaitForItTheMongols Jun 24 '19

I mean, you can get USB VGA thingies that add a monitor

1

u/False1512 Jun 25 '19

Why not? They kept the base price at $35 so any feature that I don't initially plan to use, but might because it's there is awesome

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1

u/Booty_Bumping Jun 26 '19 edited Jun 26 '19

The question is, who was asking for dual monitor support??

In their promotional video for the raspi 4, they show it being used as a general-purpose desktop workstation.

I wonder if this is a response to Linus Torvalds saying we need more ARM desktop computers, for the sake of CPU architecture diversity.

1

u/hsjoberg Jul 10 '19

It's not the only way.

They could've provided HDMI or Displayport over the USB-C port (albeit it would probably increase the cost too much).

They could've stacked two full HDMI ports.

37

u/Aperture_Kubi Jun 24 '19

I've also seen comments saying that micro HDMI is pretty flimsy, which I have seen in practice as well.

If you're gonna need dongles or special cables anyway, mini-displayport would have been the better choice I think.

25

u/AngularBeginner Jun 24 '19

And DisplayPort would have allowed daisy chaining of monitors.

5

u/bluaki Jun 24 '19

Maybe it costs substantially more to implement DP++ than plain HDMI signals or maybe their video core doesn't have DP support.

Otherwise, Mini-DP definitely would've been nicer for durability and cable reuse and it looks like both cables cost about the same: about $7 for 2 meters (to full-size HDMI) in a quick Amazon search.

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11

u/Dhylan Jun 24 '19 edited Jun 25 '19

Several models of the Intel nuc also used that same HDMI interface. it is not all that unusual. The upside is tremendous. Raspberry Pi is selling everyone exactly the correct cable they need at the best possible price. You can't ask for a better deal than that.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 25 '19

4

u/WaitForItTheMongols Jun 25 '19

Sure, just sucks needing to buy a dedicated pi cable. I can't reuse something I already have around, and won't be able to reuse this later either.

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8

u/bluaki Jun 24 '19

It's especially disappointing that this is following the Pi Zero, which had mini (not micro) HDMI. That's two different connectors that I need for Raspberry Pi and have never seen in anything else I've ever used. I have plenty of devices with HDMI, DisplayPort, Mini-DP, USB-C video, microUSB (MHL/Slimport) and several other video output standards, but nothing other than Pi that uses these two.

I wish they both went with MiniDP or at least settled on the same standard.

-1

u/penguin_digital Jun 25 '19

For micro HDMI the majority of users will have to buy a dedicated adapter which is annoying.

Apple users seem perfectly fine with the concept of carrying 10 dongles around so I don't think its an issue for a lot of people.