Why does my Logitech Brio only works in 4K mode when it’s on it’s own cable?

Question

I got a Logitech Brio camera and wanted to set up for 4K video. However, somehow the 4K mode was recognized by the Windows only with the original USB-C to USB 3.0 cable sent through the box.

I tried a USB-C to USB-C cable and USB-C to usb 3.0 cable by Amazon. The windows was able to recognize it as a HD camera, but not a 4K one.

Why Logitech brio 4K mode only works on its own cable? Which kind of cable are compatible with 4k mode on a Logitech Brio?

Answer 1

So I've done some testing using a MacBook Pro 2017. All tests were performed using OBS 27.1.0 and Brio with Firmware 2.0.28, EEPROM 1.18 and Sensor 5.5

Observations:

1. Using cheap USB-C to USB-C cables limit the camera to MJPEG on 1080p/30f.
2. Using the Logitech supplied cable and an Anker USB-C to USB 3.1 adaptor (AK-848061067804) I can get 2160p/30f MJPEG and 1080p/30f NV12
3. Using good quality cables (e.g. Anker USB-c to USB3 / AK-A8169091) gives the same result as 2.
4. Using a 10Gbit certified USB-C to USB-C cable (e.g. Cable Matters 10gbit 1m ASIN:B01L0F6AJI) on both 10gbit or 5gbit USB-C ports will allow for 4k video with nv12.

Conclusion:

If you want NV12 or 4k resolution you need a quality usb3 cable that supports data rates at 480mbps.

If you need 4k and nv12 use a 5gbit/10gbit certified USB-C to USB-C cable.

Answer 2

As a very brief summary (in a nut shell) of this answer, let me quickly just recommend: Try Yottamaster.

Why Logitech brio 4K mode only works on its own cable?

I'm not so sure that it does. However, I do believe that inferior cabling solutions can lead to the Brio being undetected, or disconnecting (typically soon after being plugged in, often so soon that it doesn't get an image).

I suspect this may have to do with whether the Brio is getting sufficient power. For instance, I've had great experiences with using some powered USB hubs (not most of them!), which seems to have mattered more than the cables being used. I suspect the powered USB hub may have given more power to the USB device (the Brio) than what my computer's USB port was providing. Maybe that makes all the difference.

Which kind of cable are compatible with Logitech brio 4K mode?

I suspect the answer is that many are, as long as sufficient power is provided. To help back up those suspicions, I have provided this lengthy answer letting you know some quite specific findings.

Following is a tale of heavy investment, lots of trial and error, lots of money leaving me, and all for a bit of learning as I discovered an excellent solution.

I have wanted to connect the Logitech Brio over a dozen feet away from my Intel "Hades Canyon" NUC8i7HVK computer's sole "USB 3.1" Type A port (on the front side of the unit). To accomplish this, I used the official BRIO USB C to USB A cord along with a wide variety of USB 3 (3.0, or maybe 3.1 or 3.2) extension cables around the 15ft-16ft length.

I had a lot of problems. With some setups, the Brio wouldn't be seen at all. With other setups, the Brio would be detected, but it would disconnect very soon, before an image could be shown. In a few cases, I might even get a few seconds of video (usually working well, not miscolored terribly... usually) before a USB device disconnected from my computer. Lots and lots of problems.

Some of the cables I got were longer: the USB 3.0 Extension Cable 25Ft,USB 3.0 High Speed Extender Cord Type A Male to A Female ...(25Ft/8M) (Amazon ASIN B088ZH6KZJ), and SNANSHI USB Extension Cable 20 ft USB 3.0 Type A to Type A Extension Cable USB Extender Heavy Duty USB Extension Cord USB Male to Female (Amazon ASIN B07XYXCS1T), the latter of which is unavailable at the time of this writing). I also purchased quite a few USB USB 3+ hubs. In all my experimentation, I was only able to get one hub to work.

Then I moved quickly to another city, dis-organizing my stuff significantly. I lost track of the one good hub that worked, so I tried various others. Tragically, I was initially finding my early attempts just didn't work. (Don't worry, this story ends on a happier note.) I got desprate to get the Brio working with a desired cord so I didn't just use the Brio's shorter suspended mid-air across the walkway into a bedroom. So I purchased some more hubs and USB cables. Altogether, I estimate that I likely got slightly more than a dozen USB 3 hubs, including powered hubs (after just organizing them together yesterday, so if not this is not entirely accurate than it's rather close). With multiple hubs costing $30-$45 each, not to mention extension cords, this may well have ended up costing around $600 in USB hardware I tried to get this to work.

What I was discovering was that there were only two cables that would work (the 20 and 25 ft ones mentioned earlier), one more than the other, and none of those with a hub. That is, until I found the one good one which worked. (It still had another USB device plugged into it, so I'm pretty sure it's the same hub that worked before.)

The initial champion hub which I will mention here is a "Yottamaster 7 Port" USB 3.1 Type C Gen2 Data Hub - 10Gbps to Type A 5V/3A Powered, 3.2ft Long Cable. (It was probably Amazon ASIN B0B1CWVSX6 which has a cable that connects in straight with USB Type C on one side, and on the other side has USB Type C with an attached USB Type A adapter. Since then, I've also purchased Amazon ASIN B0BLN71NFK which comes with a right-angle cord with a USB Type C port that plugs into the device, and a USB Type A cord on the other side.)

It supports being powered, but just came with one cable. I used that cable as a data cable (although based on a different model, I believe that was meant to be the power cable), and simply used some other USB cord to provide it with power.

Oh, the beauty. It worked well with my USB cables. In fact, not only did that work well, but I took tried adding some extension cords. After that worked, I really tried to abuse things by flipping the order of things, so the USB hub was at the end of a daisy chain of USB extension cords, and it worked.

Forgetting how much I was already extending the length, I then added yet another USB 3 extension cord (I believe a 15 foot one) after the hub, and it worked.

So, what I had going was: a 20 foot USB Type A to Type A extension cord, going into another USB Type A to Type A extension cord which was about 8 feet (give or take 2 ft), going into a USB Type A to Type C extension cord which was approximately 10 feet long, going into the data port of the Yottamaster USB hub, and then having a coiled-up (just used for testing) 15 foot USB Type A to Type A extension cord, before finally getting to Logitech's USB Type A to Type C cord. That's approximately 38+15=53 feet in USB extension cords!

So impressed was I, that I checked on availability of more. When I found out that I purchased multiple copies of the one using Amazon ASIN B0BLN71NFK, but that was out of stock, I also discovered what is probably a newer model: the Yottamaster USB 3.0 Hub, 8 Ports Powered USB Hub (7 Data Transfer Ports+ 1 Charging Port 18W), USB Splitter with 12V/3A Power Adapter & 3.2ft Long Cable (which also calls itself a USB 3.2 Gen 1 device). This one has not only 7 ports, but also a charging port, and it comes with a power adapter.

(It was with this 8-port USB 3 device that I figured out that the cable USB type C cable provided with the device is meant for data. With the other model (3.1 Gen 2) Yottamaster hub I used (which I was describing more earlier), which did not come with a power adapter, that was less clear, and at least some times (probably always) I've even been using the provided cable to help provide power for the hub while using some other cable for the data transfer.)

After trying that out for days, I found it was also working well. Then I replaced the 15 ft USB cord I had after the hub with a XXONE USB 3.0 Extension Cable 20ft, Aluminum Alloy USB Cable SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Type A Male to Female Extension Cord (Amazon ASIN B07SRYMKLG) which I had lying around. And that worked. Not only was that giving me an extar 5 feet over the 15ft cord, but it is notable because when I tried using that "XXONE"-branded cord directly from my computer to the Brio's USB cord, the Brio didn't register at all. (The computer didn't play the sound it likes to when a USB device attached.) But now, behind approximately 38 feet of extension cords before the Yottamatter device, this cord is working. (The cord is still coiled up... I don't even think I have a use for that much extra length, but it was nice to test and find working.)

Notes:

• The 8 port Yottamaster I mentioned, which includes 7 USB data ports and one charging port, came with its own power adapter, which sounds nice. But keep in mind, it was only USB 3.0 (or 3.2 gen 1), so 5 Gbps. The 7 port variation I mentioned (one of which is still being sold) is USB 3.1 (or 3.2 gen 2), so those ports are faster. While the USB 3.0 variation worked fine with the Brio, the faster speed might be nicer for anyone who wants to plug anything else into the hub.
• One downside I found is that when I try to start using the camera, whether simply as a microphone or as a webcam, it does seem to take a bit longer, about a second or three, before it seems to be fully "turned on"/active/available to the software. On the plus side, once that is done, the device has been working perfectly. (At the time of this writing, I figure chances are that might not be caused by whichever Yottamaster hub I've been using, but rather the excessive length caused from the extensive use of extension cables.) (When I posted this answer, I did so without any sort of affiliate hyperlinks. I have not received, and don't expect to receive, any sort of finances for mentioning any specific product here. (If the links do get converted to use affiliation hyperlinks, which I suspect will happen based on an answer by "Bill the Lizard" on the UX Meta site, well, the affiliation there isn't mine.) That even includes this hyperlink for JJunLiM's 25 inch Heavy-Duty Flexible Enhanced Arm Webcam Stand with Desk Clamp Kits (Amazon ASIN B08PTWS87H), which led to me no longer watching in horror, yet again, as the Brio fell 3 feet onto the floor, yet again.) I mainly just took the time to write all this because I've recently become a Yottamaster fan, through these experiences described here. Since their stuff works so well with my Brio, I imagine their stuff may work well with other devices that may use USB 3.1/3.2 Gen 2 (and earlier/slower).
• I provided some Amazon ASINs for some of the stuff that worked well. I didn't provide those for one of the USB Type A to Type A extension cables I mentioned, nor the USB Type A to Type C extension cable I mentioned. That is because I lost track of which cable that was, so I didn't know how to confidently point people to the exact model for those.
• Most of what I've read indicates that the Logitech Brio maxes out at 4k @ 30 frames per second, or 60 frames per second at lower resolution. (I bought it after reading somewhere that it supports 4k @ 60 frames per second, but I currently don't believe it does that, apparently unlike Elgato's "Facecam Pro", a competitor's newer item which is said to handle 4k @ 60 frames per second. Although, the BRIO did work well for me when I got it. (It's microphone is fantastic! People can hear me very well, from any direction (including behind the camera), no matter where I stood in the living room.)
• As a reminder, in case you didn't know, USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 is 20Gbps. USB 3.2 Gen 2 has the same technical specifications as USB 3.1 Gen 2 which gets 10 Gbps. USB 3.2 Gen 1 and USB 3.1 Gen 1 both have the same technical specifications as USB 3.0 which gives 5 Gbps. It is considered legitimate (even if confusing) when manufacterers take a device operating at USB 3.0 speeds and calling it USB 3.2 Gen 1. (That simply means the device was made after the USB 3.2 specification, and so it complied with the copy of those technical details which are part of the extension USB 3.2 specification, even though those specific technical details offer no technical advantage beyond what USB 3.0 specified.)
• I didn't try using any "USB Active" cables. They may be able to get even further length, as could some USB cables that use fiber-optic technology. But those can be way more expensive (over $100), so I stayed away from those tests. (Fortunately, I found something better, sooner.)
• You may see online some references to USB 2 and/or USB 3 maxing out around 15 feet, or maybe 16 feet 5 inches. However, what I've read is that USB actually doesn't specify a maximum length. Instead, USB specifies communication details. It just so happens that if all you use is minimum-gauge copper cabling, you'll end up getting enough signal degradation after about 16 feet 5 inches to the point where devices might not connect or work reliably. But people can make some cables that communicate better, possibly using techniques like just using some different metal (like Aluminum Alloy, it seems). So, yes, it is possible that cables can work beyond 16 feet. (The ones that do may even be higher quality cables.)