Check Out Doom Running on Apple's Lightning to HDMI Adapter

Installing Doom on a range of unusual hardware devices has become a fun challenge for programmers, and we've seen the game running on everything from the Apple Watch to the MacBook Pro Touch Bar. Over the weekend, another Doom demo was uploaded to YouTube, this time showing the game running on Apple's $50 Lightning to HDMI Adapter.


The Lightning Digital AV Adapter is more than just a dongle, because it has an SoC inside and it runs a super simple version of iOS. Lightning does not have the bandwidth for transmitting HDMI, so Apple needed an adapter that would compress video from a connected Apple device, send it over the Lightning connection, and then decompress it into raw HDMI for viewing on a TV screen or display.

Since the adapter has an SoC in it, it's able to run Doom. Actually getting access to the accessory took work, because Apple has it locked down, like any of its devices. While there is a MacBook and a display shown in the video, Doom is running on the SoC in the dongle.

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Top Rated Comments

Blackstick Avatar
3 hours ago at 02:25 pm

I seriously wonder why Apple resisted moving to USB-C for so long.
The answer is a near complete pricing monopoly on all iPhone accessories and "made for iPhone" lightning connectors. With over a BILLION built-in customers buying.

If that business segment were its own company, it'd be a Fortune 1000 org in its own right. (To be fair, AirPods on their own would be larger than some of the smaller Fortune 500 sized companies)

Apple used to pocket a few cents (up to dollars for high end products) on every licensed lightning (or 30 pin) accessory sold. Today... you throw Anker (or some no-name USB-C brand) $17 on Amazon for a generic USB-C accessory and Apple sees none of it unless you buy their USB-C stuff.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
3 hours ago at 02:18 pm
>Lightning does not have the bandwidth for transmitting HDMI, so Apple needed an adapter that would compress video from a connected Apple device, send it over the Lightning connection, and then decompress it into raw HDMI for viewing on a TV screen or display.

What an incredibly clunky kludge. I seriously wonder why Apple resisted moving to USB-C for so long.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Unami Avatar
3 hours ago at 02:30 pm

Lightning does not have the bandwidth for transmitting HDMI, so Apple needed an adapter that would compress video from a connected Apple device, send it over the Lightning connection, and then decompress it into raw HDMI for viewing on a TV screen or display
not getting that - how would the adapter get the high bandwidth video over lightning in the first place and why would it send it then again over lighning? Doesn‘t the apple device‘s hardware encoder just create a slightly compressed video stream, send that over lightning at usb2 speeds and then the adapter blows that up for hdmi?)
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Anonymous Freak Avatar
2 hours ago at 02:39 pm

Mostly because they didn't invent USB-C. They could have tighter control over the connector if they owned the rights.
Except….

Apple did co-invent USB-C. They do have tighter control, but they were intimately involved with the creation of USB-C.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Naraxus Avatar
2 hours ago at 03:08 pm

Thankfully the EU forced Apple to use USB-C like every other vendor. Better throughput, better connectivity, cheaper cables.
Except that Apple was already moving to USB-C when the EU Mafia showed their hand but yeah, yay EU.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
urnotl33t Avatar
35 minutes ago at 04:25 pm

Except….

Apple did co-invent USB-C. They do have tighter control, but they were intimately involved with the creation of USB-C.
Yep. Because of Apple, and the Lightning connector before it, the USB-C plug is reversible.

Otherwise, the USB-IF WG would’ve plodded along happily with some new effectively-proprietary(*) one-way connector because “it’s easy” when you have that many disagreeable individuals-sponsored-by-corporates pretending to work together and none of them thinking about “Step 2”.

Apple showed them The Way.

So anytime someone smiles at the nicety and convenience of that two way connector, just know it’s from the company many are eager to vilify.



(*) let’s be honest here, folks.. just because many use it widely doesn’t mean it’s not proprietary. USB-A, USB-B, micro-USB, mini-USB.. seriously? Someone made cash off that. Each time a connector changes, you still gotta replace something to use the new connector. The USB-IF WG had plenty of options to not do something stupid, and they still did every time. Besides, the EU had AMPLE opportunity to pick any of these other awful choices to force a universal connector. Don’t buy into that USB-C-is-The-One garbage.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)