The article describes picture refresh rates of TV sets and monitors, but forgets to mention the Mac/adapter side: Many USB-C-to-HDMI adapters or USB-C hubs mit HDMI port provide only 30Hz (!) in 4K mode. USB-C-to-HDMI adapters with 4K@60Hz are around, but one needs to be aware of that and look for that spec.
When it comes to USB-C docks/hubs, it's hard or impossible to find one which does more than 4K@30Hz, which is due to the fact that the USB 3.1 10Gbit/s bandwidth underlaying is shared for all the ports/services on that hub (USB, Ethernet, sound & display connections). The solution in this case is to buy a Thunderbolt 3 hub, which at first look might be similar to USB-C hub – as it connects to the Mac using the very same USB-C plug – but with 40 Gbits/s has a much higher bandwidth, allowing 60 Hz refresh rates at 4K or 5K, and on some models even dual display support with those specs. The price tag of Thunderbolt 3 hubs is unfortunately much higher than those of simple USB-C hubs.
“the fact is that TV sets today are a lot closer to computer monitors than they have ever been.”
I’m gonna guess that the author is just too young to remember the days when computers didn’t ship with monitors, and instead had video ports designed specifically for connecting to a TV. I spent the first 10 years of my computing life in the 80’s and early 90’s using a CRT TV as my only computer monitor.
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http://phrogz.net/tmp/ScreenDensityCalculator.html#find:density,pxW:1920,pxH:1080,size:24,sizeUnit:in,axis:diag,distance:50,distUnit:in
When it comes to USB-C docks/hubs, it's hard or impossible to find one which does more than 4K@30Hz, which is due to the fact that the USB 3.1 10Gbit/s bandwidth underlaying is shared for all the ports/services on that hub (USB, Ethernet, sound & display connections). The solution in this case is to buy a Thunderbolt 3 hub, which at first look might be similar to USB-C hub – as it connects to the Mac using the very same USB-C plug – but with 40 Gbits/s has a much higher bandwidth, allowing 60 Hz refresh rates at 4K or 5K, and on some models even dual display support with those specs. The price tag of Thunderbolt 3 hubs is unfortunately much higher than those of simple USB-C hubs.
I’m gonna guess that the author is just too young to remember the days when computers didn’t ship with monitors, and instead had video ports designed specifically for connecting to a TV. I spent the first 10 years of my computing life in the 80’s and early 90’s using a CRT TV as my only computer monitor.