Connecting two Win 64 PCs with USB2 cable

I don't want to try this before I ask here. If I connected my 64-bit
Win7 and Win10 laptops with a male-male USB2 cable, would I be able to
see the files of each laptop on a the file explorers on both PCs? If so,
would they act in a master-slave manner? How about moving files from one
laptop to the other through the USB2 cable or a software like Allway Sync?

Thanks.

cameo wrote:

I don't want to try this before I ask here. If I connected my 64-bit
Win7 and Win10 laptops with a male-male USB2 cable, would I be able
to see the files of each laptop on a the file explorers on both PCs?
If so, would they act in a master-slave manner? How about moving
files from one laptop to the other through the USB2 cable or a
software like Allway Sync?

https://www.easeus.com/pc-transfer/f...to-pc-usb.html

As noted, "Insert the installation disk that was packaged with the USB
cable". The physical link is just that and only that. You still need
software on both computers to use that physical link. Sometimes the
device provides that, like when plugging in a smartphone into a USB port
on a PC.

However, you don't just grab some general-use USB cable sitting in a
storage drawer. That could burn out the USB controllers in one or both
of your computers. You need a *bridged* USB cable.

https://www.hardwaresecrets.com/conn...usb-usb-cable/

Example:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...9SIAA0C5301504
(ships from China, so expect a 45-day delay to get through Customs)
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...9SIABMK5CF7803
(ships from USA)
What you find depends on your search criteria.

At 1000 Mbps for a network connection (versus 480 Mbps for USB2), you
sure your computers aren't connected to a network where you could use
file sharing in both?

On 12/9/2018 3:59 PM, cameo wrote:
I don't want to try this before I ask here. If I connected my 64-bit
Win7 and Win10 laptops with a male-male USB2 cable, would I be able to
see the files of each laptop on a the file explorers on both PCs? If so,
would they act in a master-slave manner? How about moving files from one
laptop to the other through the USB2 cable or a software like Allway Sync?

Thanks.


I connected a Windows 7 PC to a Windows XP PC using an ethernet cable
from each to a router, creating a local-area network (LAN). I then had
to give permissions on each for the other to see files across the LAN.
To prevent conflicts when both PC might try to update the same file, the
permissions were limited to specific folders or files; and many of the
permissions were read-only to the other PC.

This is a common way to link computers that are relatively close in
physical location. In my case, I have a 4-bedroom house; but the
children are grown and gone. Now, one bedroom is my office; and another
is my wife's office. Between us, is our guest room. The ethernet
cables run through our attic.

A description of our LAN is at http://www.rossde.com/computer/LAN.html.

--

David E. Ross
http://www.rossde.com/.

The only reason we have so many laws is that not enough people will do
the right thing. (© 1997 by David Ross)

cameo wrote:
I don't want to try this before I ask here. If I connected my 64-bit
Win7 and Win10 laptops with a male-male USB2 cable, would I be able to
see the files of each laptop on a the file explorers on both PCs? If so,
would they act in a master-slave manner? How about moving files from one
laptop to the other through the USB2 cable or a software like Allway Sync?

Thanks.

That's called a Laplink (USB transfer) cable.

Prolific makes one of the chips for that.

Drivers for the device, at one time supported networking
(IP addresses and so on), as well as an FTP-like GUI for
transferring.

Then the USB.org standardized this custom design, and
there should be a Class driver in Windows for it. The
minus side is, maybe you don't get the same usage options.

http://prolificusa.com/news/prolific...e-transfer-ic/

"The PL2701 is a single-chip SuperSpeed USB 3.0
Host-to-Host bridge controller IC. specially designed to
connect two USB Host devices such as Desktop/Laptop PC"

If it supports networking with IP addresses and so on,
and ICS (internet connection sharing) assigned 192.168.1.1,
then you can probably do regular File Sharing, set up a
Share on one PC, and do normal Share transfers. The device
comes with software (which you may or may not like).

The USB3 version does around 40MB/sec.

A GbE Ethernet cable does 112MB/sec.

The USB2 version does pretty well considering the 30MB/sec limit.

USB3 puts the "blob" on one end of the cable.

https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-.../dp/B00ZR1AD4A

USB2 has the "blob" in the middle of the cable.

https://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Tran.../dp/B005OTPVMY

******

The USB2 cable will work, as long as it has the "blob" in the center.
If you find a cable with no "blob", it could be a non-compliant
passive cable of some sort (which won't work).

The cable works like this. Each USB computer "thinks" it is
talking to a mailbox peripheral. The "blob" is like two
back-to-back peripherals. USB2 does polled transfers
and checks for something in the mailbox, regularly.

+--------------+
USB2 computer ---+----| Mailbox -- |----+-------USB2 computer
| +--------------+ |
| |
| +--------------+ |
+----| -- Mailbox |----+
+--------------+

This flavor of USB device, may violate the grounding principles
of USB. Normally, a lot of peripherals would be electrically
floating. Since two desktops with hard grounds are
involved sometimes, there could be a problem if the
ground potential of the two desktop PCs is different.
If a laptop is involved, you can run it on battery
while doing the transfer. With the two desktop
PCs, you could run them off the same power strip
to keep the ground potentials the same.

The day the USB3 one does more than 112MB/sec,
is the day I will be buying one... :-)

Paul

On 09/12/2018 23:59, cameo wrote:

I don't want to try this before I ask here. If I connected my 64-bit
Win7 and Win10 laptops with a male-male USB2 cable, would I be able to
see the files of each laptop on a the file explorers on both PCs? If so,
would they act in a master-slave manner? How about moving files from one
laptop to the other through the USB2 cable or a software like Allway Sync?

Presumably you have access to the internet via a router with LAN Ports
&/or WiFi, in which case the best, and probably the easiest also, way of
connecting them is via ethernet cables, one to each PC from the router,
or failing that via WiFi.

If you aren't using such a router and do not have one lying around
unused, then you may just be able to connect the PCs directly via an
ethernet cable, which, unless the LAN ports on both (or perhaps only
one) PCs are auto-sensing, which these days many are, may have to be a
cross-over ethernet cable. Once connected by such a cable, each PC
should assign itself a random IP address in the link local address
range: 169.254.*.*
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link-local_address

Whichever of the above ways you choose to link the PCs, you will then
have to set up Windows to share *securely* one or more folders, and,
although the following is not what you asked, I make no apologies for
going through it, because the procedure seems to be generally
insufficiently known and understood:

1) Ensure that at least one common user account exists on each PC -
in other words, same username, same password.

2) Go into Control Panel, Network and sharing centre, Advanced Sharing
settings, and Turn on password protected sharing.

3) Create shared folders on each PC. My advice to someone not well
versed in this would be to not to use any existing folder, but create
one off the root directory specifically for sharing files, and then only
files deliberately moved or copied into that folder will be visible by
the common username logged into other PCs. Once you have a suitable
folder, rt-click it, and choose Share with, Advanced sharing (twice),
and enable Share this folder. Click Permissions, remove all the default
permissions, which are too lax, and replace them as follows:

Administrators and System Full Control
common username(s) Either Change or Read

4) Depending on what folder you are sharing, you may also have to set
the file and folder permissions to those above, which is why it's a good
idea to use a special folder of your own creation if you are
inexperienced at this sort of thing. Again, rt-click the folder that
you wish to share, choose Properties, and then Security, and set the
same permissions as above.

On 12/9/2018 4:26 PM, VanguardLH wrote:
cameo wrote:

I don't want to try this before I ask here. If I connected my 64-bit
Win7 and Win10 laptops with a male-male USB2 cable, would I be able
to see the files of each laptop on a the file explorers on both PCs?
If so, would they act in a master-slave manner? How about moving
files from one laptop to the other through the USB2 cable or a
software like Allway Sync?

https://www.easeus.com/pc-transfer/f...to-pc-usb.html

As noted, "Insert the installation disk that was packaged with the USB
cable". The physical link is just that and only that. You still need
software on both computers to use that physical link. Sometimes the
device provides that, like when plugging in a smartphone into a USB port
on a PC.

However, you don't just grab some general-use USB cable sitting in a
storage drawer. That could burn out the USB controllers in one or both
of your computers. You need a *bridged* USB cable.

https://www.hardwaresecrets.com/conn...usb-usb-cable/

Example:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...9SIAA0C5301504
(ships from China, so expect a 45-day delay to get through Customs)
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...9SIABMK5CF7803
(ships from USA)
What you find depends on your search criteria.

At 1000 Mbps for a network connection (versus 480 Mbps for USB2), you
sure your computers aren't connected to a network where you could use
file sharing in both?

Thanks for the tip on cable sources. I also found one on Amazon
(Plugable) and as a Prime customer, I can get it fast.

As my PCs are indeed networked as you guessed and I used to copy files
over that network until the Ethernet connector stopped working on my
older laptop. I can still network it via WiFi, but it's just much slower
than the direct Ethernet connection was. So that's why I want to try
USB2-to-USB2 connection now.

On 12/9/2018 6:54 PM, Paul wrote:
cameo wrote:
I don't want to try this before I ask here. If I connected my 64-bit
Win7 and Win10 laptops with a male-male USB2 cable, would I be able to
see the files of each laptop on a the file explorers on both PCs? If
so, would they act in a master-slave manner? How about moving files
from one laptop to the other through the USB2 cable or a software like
Allway Sync?

Thanks.

That's called a Laplink (USB transfer) cable.

Prolific makes one of the chips for that.

Drivers for the device, at one time supported networking
(IP addresses and so on), as well as an FTP-like GUI for
transferring.

Then the USB.org standardized this custom design, and
there should be a Class driver in Windows for it. The
minus side is, maybe you don't get the same usage options.

http://prolificusa.com/news/prolific...e-transfer-ic/


** "The PL2701 is a single-chip SuperSpeed USB 3.0
*** Host-to-Host bridge controller IC. specially designed to
*** connect two USB Host devices such as Desktop/Laptop PC"

If it supports networking with IP addresses and so on,
and ICS (internet connection sharing) assigned 192.168.1.1,
then you can probably do regular File Sharing, set up a
Share on one PC, and do normal Share transfers. The device
comes with software (which you may or may not like).

The USB3 version does around 40MB/sec.

A GbE Ethernet cable does 112MB/sec.

The USB2 version does pretty well considering the 30MB/sec limit.

USB3 puts the "blob" on one end of the cable.

https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-.../dp/B00ZR1AD4A


USB2 has the "blob" in the middle of the cable.

https://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Tran.../dp/B005OTPVMY


******

The USB2 cable will work, as long as it has the "blob" in the center.
If you find a cable with no "blob", it could be a non-compliant
passive cable of some sort (which won't work).

The cable works like this. Each USB computer "thinks" it is
talking to a mailbox peripheral. The "blob" is like two
back-to-back peripherals. USB2 does polled transfers
and checks for something in the mailbox, regularly.

************************ +--------------+
** USB2 computer ---+----|* Mailbox -- |----+-------USB2 computer
******************* |*** +--------------+*** |
******************* |*********************** |
******************* |*** +--------------+*** |
******************* +----| -- Mailbox* |----+
************************ +--------------+

This flavor of USB device, may violate the grounding principles
of USB. Normally, a lot of peripherals would be electrically
floating. Since two desktops with hard grounds are
involved sometimes, there could be a problem if the
ground potential of the two desktop PCs is different.
If a laptop is involved, you can run it on battery
while doing the transfer. With the two desktop
PCs, you could run them off the same power strip
to keep the ground potentials the same.

The day the USB3 one does more than 112MB/sec,
is the day I will be buying one... :-)

** Paul

That Plugable cable does not look USB2 when you look into its connector:
it's white, not blue. The only bridge cables I see with blue connectors
are all USB3. I wonder how they would work between two USB2 ports.

On 12/10/2018 3:58 AM, Java Jive wrote:
On 09/12/2018 23:59, cameo wrote:

I don't want to try this before I ask here. If I connected my 64-bit
Win7 and Win10 laptops with a male-male USB2 cable, would I be able to
see the files of each laptop on a the file explorers on both PCs? If
so, would they act in a master-slave manner? How about moving files
from one laptop to the other through the USB2 cable or a software like
Allway Sync?

Presumably you have access to the internet via a router with LAN Ports
&/or WiFi, in which case the best, and probably the easiest also, way of
connecting them is via ethernet cables, one to each PC from the router,
or failing that via WiFi.

If you aren't using such a router and do not have one lying around
unused, then you may just be able to connect the PCs directly via an
ethernet cable, which, unless the LAN ports on both (or perhaps only
one) PCs are auto-sensing, which these days many are, may have to be a
cross-over ethernet cable.* Once connected by such a cable, each PC
should assign itself a random IP address in the link local address
range: 169.254.*.*
****https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link-local_address

Whichever of the above ways you choose to link the PCs, you will then
have to set up Windows to share *securely* one or more folders, and,
although the following is not what you asked, I make no apologies for
going through it, because the procedure seems to be generally
insufficiently known and understood:

****1)*** Ensure that at least one common user account exists on each
PC* - in other words, same username, same password.

****2)*** Go into Control Panel, Network and sharing centre, Advanced
Sharing settings, and Turn on password protected sharing.

****3)*** Create shared folders on each PC.* My advice to someone not
well versed in this would be to not to use any existing folder, but
create one off the root directory specifically for sharing files, and
then only files deliberately moved or copied into that folder will be
visible by the common username logged into other PCs.* Once you have a
suitable folder, rt-click it, and choose Share with, Advanced sharing
(twice), and enable Share this folder.* Click Permissions, remove all
the default permissions, which are too lax, and replace them as follows:

****Administrators and System*** Full Control
****common username(s)******* Either Change or Read

****4)*** Depending on what folder you are sharing, you may also have
to set the file and folder permissions to those above, which is why it's
a good idea to use a special folder of your own creation if you are
inexperienced at this sort of thing.* Again, rt-click the folder that
you wish to share, choose Properties, and then Security, and set the
same permissions as above.


Those last steps are complicated indeed. Even if I learn them I would
probably forget the procedure next time I would need them. It's then
easier to get a large capacity thumb drive and use that as a transfer
medium.

BTW, I used to be able to use Allway Sync software easily without any
permission issues until some MS update which must have tightened up the
permissions, and I was no longer able to transfer some files from Win7
to Win10. I tried various permission changes but they were just not
intuitive enough for me and gave up on it. I just don't want to spend a
significant time of my life to read user instructions any more after
spending decades in software development. So I know what intuitive user
interface is.

cameo wrote:


That Plugable cable does not look USB2 when you look into its connector:
it's white, not blue. The only bridge cables I see with blue connectors
are all USB3. I wonder how they would work between two USB2 ports.

Check the reviews and see if you see any failing to
work on USB2. The existing customers should already
have noticed, if there is a problem.

On this sample datasheet, it says "USB3/USB2 PHY", which
implies all nine pins are functional on the blue ones.

http://www.prolific.com.tw/ShowProductPDF.aspx?p_id=247

Paul

cameo wrote:

On 12/9/2018 4:26 PM, VanguardLH wrote:
cameo wrote:

I don't want to try this before I ask here. If I connected my 64-bit
Win7 and Win10 laptops with a male-male USB2 cable, would I be able
to see the files of each laptop on a the file explorers on both PCs?
If so, would they act in a master-slave manner? How about moving
files from one laptop to the other through the USB2 cable or a
software like Allway Sync?

https://www.easeus.com/pc-transfer/f...to-pc-usb.html

As noted, "Insert the installation disk that was packaged with the USB
cable". The physical link is just that and only that. You still need
software on both computers to use that physical link. Sometimes the
device provides that, like when plugging in a smartphone into a USB port
on a PC.

However, you don't just grab some general-use USB cable sitting in a
storage drawer. That could burn out the USB controllers in one or both
of your computers. You need a *bridged* USB cable.

https://www.hardwaresecrets.com/conn...usb-usb-cable/

Example:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...9SIAA0C5301504
(ships from China, so expect a 45-day delay to get through Customs)
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...9SIABMK5CF7803
(ships from USA)
What you find depends on your search criteria.

At 1000 Mbps for a network connection (versus 480 Mbps for USB2), you
sure your computers aren't connected to a network where you could use
file sharing in both?

Thanks for the tip on cable sources. I also found one on Amazon
(Plugable) and as a Prime customer, I can get it fast.

As my PCs are indeed networked as you guessed and I used to copy files
over that network until the Ethernet connector stopped working on my
older laptop. I can still network it via WiFi, but it's just much slower
than the direct Ethernet connection was. So that's why I want to try
USB2-to-USB2 connection now.

I still remember the old joke that a truckload of tapes could have
higher bandwidth than any network. A truckload (say about 500
cartridges) of a palm-sized 330 TB tape cartridge would be 165,000 TB or
161 PB delivered from the archive value to the computer room in an hour
has a bandwidth of 46 TBps, or 367 Tbps, or 375,467 Gbps -- but that's
just for delivery since reading any tape will be slow.

At home, I preferred wired networking. Easier to setup at each host
(after you're done wiring your home - which, for me, was easy with an
unfinished basement room and suspended ceilings in the other rooms).
Didn't know you were stuck using wi-fi.

Does your laptop's wi-fi support the 5 GHz range? That would faster
than using the 2.4 GHz band in the wi-fi router.

cameo wrote:

That Plugable cable does not look USB2 when you look into its connector:
it's white, not blue. The only bridge cables I see with blue connectors
are all USB3. I wonder how they would work between two USB2 ports.

Seems conflicting. "Does not look USB2" because it has a white spacer
inside the USB connector. "Blue connectors are all USB3." Okay, so the
one candidate cable is not blue (USB3), but white (USB2), so it "should
look USB2".

Typically, USB2 connectors have a white-colored spacer and USB3
connectors have a blue-colored spacer. I have seen a black-colored
spacer in USB2 connectors. You can see the space in the type-A
connectors. Actually white was supposed to identify USB1 connectors, so
the color scheme should be:

- USB-1: white.
- USB-2: black.
- USB-3: blue.
- Orange: The connector does not power off during standby and may have a
higher current output, like 2.1A, to charge phones faster that will
take the higher load.

The small ones don't have spacer, so hopefully they put some color on
the cord, strain relief, connector shell, or printing on the shell or
cable sheath, like "USB3), to help identify the USB type.

Because the type-A USB connector is square and the connection PCB is in
the middle, I've seen unpolarized USB type-A connectors that simply left
out the spacer that fills one-half of the recess inside the connector.
there's only 4 signals: 5V, sig+, sig-, and ground. You'd think using a
non-spacer'ed connector would result in sending 5V to the device's
ground and ground the device's 5V line; however, the circuitry inside
the non-polarized connector detects which line should have 5V and
ground. Doesn't matter if the differential sig+ and sig- lines are
reversed as they present a differential signal between them (used to
cancel any induced RF). If that reversible connector's logic fails, you
could burn up your USB device.

cameo wrote:

The only bridge cables I see with blue connectors are all USB3. I
wonder how they would work between two USB2 ports.

USB3 cables work in USB2 ports.

https://www.techspot.com/guides/235-...-about-usb-30/
"Dubbed SuperSpeed USB, this new version promises a tenfold leap forward
in transfer speeds as well as improved capabilities, all while
maintaining compatibility with USB 2.0 devices."
"It's backwards compatible. Your existing USB 2.0 gear will work on
version 3.0 ports and vice versa."

There are different versions of each type of USB connector which
confuses the issue. See the chart at:

https://www.lifewire.com/usb-physica...-chart-2624585

My guess for your unidentified candidate for an active USB cable is that
it has USB type-A connectors at each end, and the chart is blue in all
squares for USB speed support.

VanguardLH wrote:
cameo wrote:

That Plugable cable does not look USB2 when you look into its connector:
it's white, not blue. The only bridge cables I see with blue connectors
are all USB3. I wonder how they would work between two USB2 ports.

Seems conflicting. "Does not look USB2" because it has a white spacer
inside the USB connector. "Blue connectors are all USB3." Okay, so the
one candidate cable is not blue (USB3), but white (USB2), so it "should
look USB2".

Typically, USB2 connectors have a white-colored spacer and USB3
connectors have a blue-colored spacer. I have seen a black-colored
spacer in USB2 connectors. You can see the space in the type-A
connectors. Actually white was supposed to identify USB1 connectors, so
the color scheme should be:

- USB-1: white.
- USB-2: black.
- USB-3: blue.
- Orange: The connector does not power off during standby and may have a
higher current output, like 2.1A, to charge phones faster that will
take the higher load.

The small ones don't have spacer, so hopefully they put some color on
the cord, strain relief, connector shell, or printing on the shell or
cable sheath, like "USB3), to help identify the USB type.

Because the type-A USB connector is square and the connection PCB is in
the middle, I've seen unpolarized USB type-A connectors that simply left
out the spacer that fills one-half of the recess inside the connector.
there's only 4 signals: 5V, sig+, sig-, and ground. You'd think using a
non-spacer'ed connector would result in sending 5V to the device's
ground and ground the device's 5V line; however, the circuitry inside
the non-polarized connector detects which line should have 5V and
ground. Doesn't matter if the differential sig+ and sig- lines are
reversed as they present a differential signal between them (used to
cancel any induced RF). If that reversible connector's logic fails, you
could burn up your USB device.

Some care should be exercised, as some USB transfer
cables are *USB 1.1*. They made a ton of those! Watch out!
They are, of course, crap!

Much care must be exercised, like finding a customer
comment on transfer rate, to make sure the cable does
not contain one of the crappy chips.

One maker of the USB 1.1 chips was kicked from the
market because of a patent violation. But the remaining
companies likely made a ton of those chips at the time,
and you know how a chip which is a couple bucks cheaper,
will attract vermin in manufacturing plants.

That's why I have to keep my hands in my pockets
at the computer store, because so many "impulse buys"
contain stinko chips. They always put stinko
products in easy reach.

The transfer cables have a sordid history. Many many
unhappy suckers, buying the wrong cable.

It's like the video adapter cable that made Composite
video, directly from a pin on a VGA connector. People
used to buy those, they'd post in and ask "why doesn't
this work?". Well, of course it doesn't work, because
there is no official option to do it, and perhaps only
one model of computer could use such a cable. Yet, the
market was flooded with that cable, it was cheap,
suckers would buy it, it would be "too bad, so sad"
and into the landfill the cable would go. Virtually
all of those cables shipped, went straight into the
landfill. And that's the kind of manufacturing vermin
I'm referring to - they know damn well the cable has
no useful function whatsoever. And the manufacturer
would have to make a thousand cables, to get enough
money to buy a pack of smokes as profit.

Paul

In message , Paul
writes:
[]
Some care should be exercised, as some USB transfer
cables are *USB 1.1*. They made a ton of those! Watch out!
They are, of course, crap!

Well, crap _speed_ - they probably work fine _as_ USB 1.1 (-:

(Didn't even USB1 have two speeds - 12M and 1.5M come to mind?)
[]
It's like the video adapter cable that made Composite
video, directly from a pin on a VGA connector. People
used to buy those, they'd post in and ask "why doesn't
this work?". Well, of course it doesn't work, because
there is no official option to do it, and perhaps only
one model of computer could use such a cable. Yet, the

Yes, maybe one computer did composite on one of the pins.

Even if it did work, you'd have to be running the computer in VGA with a
50 or 60 (to suit whatever you were feeding the composite in to) refresh

market was flooded with that cable, it was cheap,
suckers would buy it, it would be "too bad, so sad"
and into the landfill the cable would go. Virtually
all of those cables shipped, went straight into the
landfill. And that's the kind of manufacturing vermin
I'm referring to - they know damn well the cable has
no useful function whatsoever. And the manufacturer
would have to make a thousand cables, to get enough
money to buy a pack of smokes as profit.

Paul

I once bought an HDMI to VGA cable - being puzzled even at the time, as
AIUI one is digital and the other analogue! It didn't work, of course. I
haven't thrown it out!
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

There's not an app for that.

J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:


I once bought an HDMI to VGA cable - being puzzled even at the time, as
AIUI one is digital and the other analogue! It didn't work, of course. I
haven't thrown it out!

Well, this could be interesting.

Did you pay $100 (active) or $10 (surely not passive) ?

Those would be old pricing.

The active ones have dropped considerably in price.

https://www.amazon.com/Moread-Gold-P.../dp/B00SW9JI9A

They can run off the +5V pin on the HDMI connector.
I don't know what the current flow limit is on that
pin, as it's probably intended for powering the
SDA/SCL/CEC plane.

http://unitedtechnologies.com.pk/Nti/image/10ci.png

Since the output is unprotected, the dongle is not
allowed to "support" HDCP. If the OS has an issue with
lack of proper HDCP support at 1920x1080 or higher,
it has the option of "making the image fuzzy" during
Hollywood movie playback. (The player program likely
requests protection.)

This is also why HDMI capture cards aren't supposed
to support HDCP, and the front end chip is not
supposed to have HDCP keys installed in it to make
encrypted content capture possible.

Paul