Hooking up dual monitors issue

Dickory wrote:

I have a Mac mini 1 from 2020 and I'm trying to hook up duo monitors. Both monitors are identical they are LG made for a Mac. The only connections on the back of the monitors are Thunderbolt and USB-C. The back of my Mac mini the only available port is HDMI.

I need a cable that is hdmi to thunderbolt or an adapter to convert my existing thunderbolt cable to accommodate the HDMI port in the back of the Mac mini.

If you have two monitors that require USB-C (DP) or Thunderbolt input, you can't drive both with a M1 Mac mini. The M1 Mac mini supports two monitors, but only if one is attached via USB-C (DP) or Thunderbolt 3, while the other is attached via HDMI.

There is no such thing as a HDMI to Thunderbolt adapter. Nor, I believe, a HDMI to USB-C (DP) one. There are USB-C (DP) to HDMI adapters, meant to have the USB-C side plugged into a computer. If you use one backwards, the plugs may fit, but that doesn't mean that you will get useful signal.

The problem I'm having I've only been a MAC user since 2020 but I'm fairly familiar with most connectors. The thing I don't understand is every cable I search for says their USB-C/thunderbolt compatible. My understanding is that USB-C in thunderbolt are not the same cable. Any help would be appreciated.

USB-C is a "Swiss Army knife" connector over which several protocols can run. The capabilities of any particular USB-C port may vary. For connecting monitors, those that matter are DisplayPort and Thunderbolt.

DisplayPort is good for connecting monitors with resolutions of up to 4K @ 60 Hz. Some monitors take USB-C (DisplayPort) input directly (and can hook up downstream USB ports on the monitor over the same cable). For others, you can use adapters and adapter cables that go from USB-C to {DisplayPort, Mini DisplayPort, HDMI, single-link DVI, dual-link DVI, VGA} and maybe others. Amazon carries many such adapters and adapter cables.

Thunderbolt is good for connecting monitors with very high resolutions, like the Apple 5K Studio Display and the Apple 6K Pro Display XDR. A few lower-resolution monitors (like the Apple Thunderbolt Display, and some of the 24" LG 4K displays) also use Thunderbolt.

Dickory wrote:

I have a Mac mini 1 from 2020 and I'm trying to hook up duo monitors. Both monitors are identical they are LG made for a Mac. The only connections on the back of the monitors are Thunderbolt and USB-C. The back of my Mac mini the only available port is HDMI.

I need a cable that is hdmi to thunderbolt or an adapter to convert my existing thunderbolt cable to accommodate the HDMI port in the back of the Mac mini.

The problem I'm having I've only been a MAC user since 2020 but I'm fairly familiar with most connectors. The thing I don't understand is every cable I search for says their USB-C/thunderbolt compatible. My understanding is that USB-C in thunderbolt are not the same cable. Any help would be appreciated.

thank you

Every Thunderbolt 3 or 4 port, is, by definition, a USB-C port. (Thunderbolt 3 and 4 require the use of the USB-C connector.). Most Mac USB-C ports support Thunderbolt – even though these ports have other capabilities (USB, DisplayPort, sometimes charging) that people may use more often.

The converse is not true. You can have USB-C ports that do not support Thunderbolt. (Like the USB-C ports that are on the 12" Retina MacBooks.)

Apple likes to refer to its USB-C ports as Thunderbolt ports (advertising their highest capability).

A lot of third-party vendors want to emphasis that their USB-C peripherals (which don't actually use Thunderbolt) will work with "Thunderbolt" ports on a Mac. The reason they work is that every Thunderbolt 3 or 4 port on a Mac has a USB-C connector, and also has the other protocols (USB and/or DisplayPort) that the third-party accessory actually uses. So the vendors say that their products are "Thunderbolt-compatible" or some such.

It would be nice if vendors would put more effort into making their product descriptions clear and non-confusing, but unfortunately, things do not always work out that way.