![\"\"](\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/brian-levin-cable-interface-connections.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nWe\u2019re going to be taking a look at four main cable interface connections:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n- USB 3.0<\/li>
- USB-C<\/li>
- Thunderbolt<\/li>
- Firewire<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s hop right in with\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n1. USB 3.0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
This is the cable we all know and (mostly) love. Many mobile devices still use USB 3.0. Most of your old hard drives probably use USB 3.0. I still use USB 3.0 daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
USB 3.0 is the next generation of USB after version 2.0 and often looks like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/usb3-cable-connections.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nUSB is a data transfer protocol used to connect many different types of devices. Things such as mobile devices for data transfer, webcams, hard drives, external USB sticks, and some extension interfaces for adding more ports to your computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
USB 3.0 is typically marketed as having roughly 5 Gbps of speed. This means you can transfer a 500 gigabyte (GB) file in roughly 14 minutes. However, that can vary based on a myriad of factors like hard drive speed and what else is being transferred. It can also send power to devices, such as an external hard drive. The typical shuttle drives that are easily purchasable at any electronics store typically do not require an additional external power source.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a video editor, I still use USB 3.0 quite often. I\u2019m either provided with hard drives with that protocol on them, or I am constantly going back to older hard drives to source data from them that use that protocol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While USB 3.0 is great and will continue to be around for a long time to come, it has since been replaced with a newer USB protocol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n2. USB-C<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
This newer USB protocol has several technical benefits and one major benefit \u2013 there is no top or bottom. You just plug it in, and it works! Big step up from those clumsy older USB cables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It looks like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/usbc-cable-connections.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nThis cable boasts a speed marketed as 10Gbps, meaning that it\u2019s technically twice as fast as your older USB 3.0 cables. Using my file transfer calculator, it would only take 7 minutes and 9 seconds to transfer that same 500GB file. Again, this is entirely dependent on many factors with your hard drives and computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One thing to note<\/strong> here is that USB, in general, is a complicated connection. USB-C is a type of connection, but it can mean that any number of underlying connections are being used on that cable, whether that\u2019s USB 3.2 Gen 1 or USB 3.2 Gen 2×2. Not all USB-C cables are alike, and different cables can provide different speeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHowever, most of these specifications won\u2019t matter for the average user so long as you can plug in your USB-C cable to your computer and your external device and get it working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As someone who is regularly concerned about transfer times of large files, I have my cables and hard drives very organized and labeled and take great care to make sure I\u2019m using the right cable. USB-C speeds are fast no matter what, and if you aren\u2019t transferring huge amounts of data (we\u2019re talking terabytes upon terabytes), you likely won\u2019t know the difference between transfer times that take 3 minutes vs. 5 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But if you are looking for the next generation of speed, look no further than\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n3. Thunderbolt<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Thunderbolt is a type of cable that has gone through many iterations. You might recognize the Thunderbolt 2 cable<\/strong> here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/thunderbolt-2-cable-connection.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nOr you might have seen the newer Thunderbolt 3 cable<\/strong> here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/thunderbolt-3-cable-connection.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nBack when Thunderbolt 2<\/a> was announced, it was very exciting. With marketed speeds of 20Gbps (meaning it would only take 3.5 minutes to transfer that same 500GB file), it was nearly four times faster than standard USB 3.0 cables. But you could also use it to expand the ports on your computer with up to six peripherals, including USB and FireWire.<\/p>\n\n\n\nBut more than that, Thunderbolt 2 also doubled as a display cable known as Mini DisplayPort, meaning it would allow you to connect more monitors to your computer with this cable, something USB cannot do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s where Thunderbolt was most exciting \u2013 you could daisy-chain devices. This meant you could connect one hard drive to your computer with one cable and then connect another hard drive to that first hard drive with another Thunderbolt cable. Both hard drives would then be connected to your computer, only taking up a single port on the back of your machine. Video editors will know what I\u2019m talking about here, as the limited number of ports available to use can limit what additional resources we need to have plugged into our computers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thunderbolt 3<\/a> is the next generation of that same technology, taking the speeds up to 40Gbps \u2013 meaning it would only take 1 minute and 47 seconds to transfer that same 500GB file.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAnd just like its predecessor, Thunderbolt 3 is daisy-chainable, can power external devices, can be used as a display cable and a data cable at the same time, and can be used to add more peripherals to your computer with a dock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n4. FireWire<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
I mentioned FireWire earlier, and here\u2019s a photo of my FireWire cables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/empty-hand-284x284.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nYeah, so I actually don\u2019t have any here. FireWire is a very old type of cable connection, and despite my drawers and drawers full of cables, I no longer have any of this type of cable sitting around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FireWire came in two flavors, FireWire 400<\/strong> and FireWire 800<\/strong>. The FireWire 400 cable was later replaced by its newer counterpart, the FireWire 800 cable.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFireWire was the original video editing cable. It was used to connect camcorders to your computer, use them as a control deck, and had an impressive transfer speed of 800Mbps. Unfortunately, that\u2019s in M\u2019s and not G\u2019s, so that would make it 0.8Gbps, meaning it would take 89 minutes to transfer that same 500GB file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You are unlikely to come into contact with a FireWire cable anytime soon, however, I do still have my 27\u201d Apple Cinema Display, which prominently features the FireWire 800 port on it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/apple-cinema-display-ports.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n5. 10GbE and beyond<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Not as common, but worth an honorable mention on our list of cable interface connections is 10GbE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the world of video editing, I\u2019d be remiss not to talk about direct connection options, especially if you\u2019re starting to dive into the world of shared storage with something like a Jellyfish<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPreviously something you\u2019d only find in a large post-production facility, the cost of NAS storage is coming down considerably, and smaller post-production companies are now using shared storage like this. That connection to the shared storage is over fiber wires, otherwise known as 10GbE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Apple has started to include 10GbE as a connection type to some of its more pro-level devices, where the fastest connection speeds are necessary. Even though the cable looks a lot like your standard home wifi ethernet cable, that doesn\u2019t mean it will immediately work on your computer. Not all devices will have an ethernet port that supports this connection, so check the specs on your machine before assuming you have this type of connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead of using a fiber connection, you will still want to use one of the connection types from above, such as Thunderbolt 2 or 3, via an adapter like the OWC Thunderbolt 3 adapter<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nOne important note about USB-C and Thunderbolt cables<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Although the USB-C and Thunderbolt cable connections look identical and fit into the same slot on your external hard drive and on your computer, they are very much not the same<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIf you use a USB-C cable on a Thunderbolt port, you\u2019ll get this error message on your computer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s hop right in with\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
1. USB 3.0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
This is the cable we all know and (mostly) love. Many mobile devices still use USB 3.0. Most of your old hard drives probably use USB 3.0. I still use USB 3.0 daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
USB 3.0 is the next generation of USB after version 2.0 and often looks like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nUSB is a data transfer protocol used to connect many different types of devices. Things such as mobile devices for data transfer, webcams, hard drives, external USB sticks, and some extension interfaces for adding more ports to your computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
USB 3.0 is typically marketed as having roughly 5 Gbps of speed. This means you can transfer a 500 gigabyte (GB) file in roughly 14 minutes. However, that can vary based on a myriad of factors like hard drive speed and what else is being transferred. It can also send power to devices, such as an external hard drive. The typical shuttle drives that are easily purchasable at any electronics store typically do not require an additional external power source.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a video editor, I still use USB 3.0 quite often. I\u2019m either provided with hard drives with that protocol on them, or I am constantly going back to older hard drives to source data from them that use that protocol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While USB 3.0 is great and will continue to be around for a long time to come, it has since been replaced with a newer USB protocol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
2. USB-C<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
This newer USB protocol has several technical benefits and one major benefit \u2013 there is no top or bottom. You just plug it in, and it works! Big step up from those clumsy older USB cables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It looks like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nThis cable boasts a speed marketed as 10Gbps, meaning that it\u2019s technically twice as fast as your older USB 3.0 cables. Using my file transfer calculator, it would only take 7 minutes and 9 seconds to transfer that same 500GB file. Again, this is entirely dependent on many factors with your hard drives and computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One thing to note<\/strong> here is that USB, in general, is a complicated connection. USB-C is a type of connection, but it can mean that any number of underlying connections are being used on that cable, whether that\u2019s USB 3.2 Gen 1 or USB 3.2 Gen 2×2. Not all USB-C cables are alike, and different cables can provide different speeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, most of these specifications won\u2019t matter for the average user so long as you can plug in your USB-C cable to your computer and your external device and get it working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As someone who is regularly concerned about transfer times of large files, I have my cables and hard drives very organized and labeled and take great care to make sure I\u2019m using the right cable. USB-C speeds are fast no matter what, and if you aren\u2019t transferring huge amounts of data (we\u2019re talking terabytes upon terabytes), you likely won\u2019t know the difference between transfer times that take 3 minutes vs. 5 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But if you are looking for the next generation of speed, look no further than\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thunderbolt is a type of cable that has gone through many iterations. You might recognize the Thunderbolt 2 cable<\/strong> here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Or you might have seen the newer Thunderbolt 3 cable<\/strong> here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Back when Thunderbolt 2<\/a> was announced, it was very exciting. With marketed speeds of 20Gbps (meaning it would only take 3.5 minutes to transfer that same 500GB file), it was nearly four times faster than standard USB 3.0 cables. But you could also use it to expand the ports on your computer with up to six peripherals, including USB and FireWire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But more than that, Thunderbolt 2 also doubled as a display cable known as Mini DisplayPort, meaning it would allow you to connect more monitors to your computer with this cable, something USB cannot do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s where Thunderbolt was most exciting \u2013 you could daisy-chain devices. This meant you could connect one hard drive to your computer with one cable and then connect another hard drive to that first hard drive with another Thunderbolt cable. Both hard drives would then be connected to your computer, only taking up a single port on the back of your machine. Video editors will know what I\u2019m talking about here, as the limited number of ports available to use can limit what additional resources we need to have plugged into our computers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thunderbolt 3<\/a> is the next generation of that same technology, taking the speeds up to 40Gbps \u2013 meaning it would only take 1 minute and 47 seconds to transfer that same 500GB file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And just like its predecessor, Thunderbolt 3 is daisy-chainable, can power external devices, can be used as a display cable and a data cable at the same time, and can be used to add more peripherals to your computer with a dock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I mentioned FireWire earlier, and here\u2019s a photo of my FireWire cables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yeah, so I actually don\u2019t have any here. FireWire is a very old type of cable connection, and despite my drawers and drawers full of cables, I no longer have any of this type of cable sitting around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n FireWire came in two flavors, FireWire 400<\/strong> and FireWire 800<\/strong>. The FireWire 400 cable was later replaced by its newer counterpart, the FireWire 800 cable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n FireWire was the original video editing cable. It was used to connect camcorders to your computer, use them as a control deck, and had an impressive transfer speed of 800Mbps. Unfortunately, that\u2019s in M\u2019s and not G\u2019s, so that would make it 0.8Gbps, meaning it would take 89 minutes to transfer that same 500GB file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You are unlikely to come into contact with a FireWire cable anytime soon, however, I do still have my 27\u201d Apple Cinema Display, which prominently features the FireWire 800 port on it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not as common, but worth an honorable mention on our list of cable interface connections is 10GbE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the world of video editing, I\u2019d be remiss not to talk about direct connection options, especially if you\u2019re starting to dive into the world of shared storage with something like a Jellyfish<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Previously something you\u2019d only find in a large post-production facility, the cost of NAS storage is coming down considerably, and smaller post-production companies are now using shared storage like this. That connection to the shared storage is over fiber wires, otherwise known as 10GbE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Apple has started to include 10GbE as a connection type to some of its more pro-level devices, where the fastest connection speeds are necessary. Even though the cable looks a lot like your standard home wifi ethernet cable, that doesn\u2019t mean it will immediately work on your computer. Not all devices will have an ethernet port that supports this connection, so check the specs on your machine before assuming you have this type of connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of using a fiber connection, you will still want to use one of the connection types from above, such as Thunderbolt 2 or 3, via an adapter like the OWC Thunderbolt 3 adapter<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although the USB-C and Thunderbolt cable connections look identical and fit into the same slot on your external hard drive and on your computer, they are very much not the same<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you use a USB-C cable on a Thunderbolt port, you\u2019ll get this error message on your computer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n3. Thunderbolt<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n4. FireWire<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n5. 10GbE and beyond<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nOne important note about USB-C and Thunderbolt cables<\/h2>\n\n\n\n