I wish they would have also discussed how this relates to Thunderbolt 3, which I believe would add at least two cable types: "7 (TB3 passive)" and "8 (TB3 activ

I wish they would have also discussed how this relates to Thunderbolt 3, which I believe would add at least two cable types: "7 (TB3 passive)" and "8 (TB3 active)"... of course I'm probably completely misunderstanding this crazy labyrinth of lookalikes. Here's a lovely statement regarding TB3 from an online FAQ: Are all Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) cables created equal? No, in fact, there are two types of Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) cables, passive and active. Passive cables cost less and can reach up to 40 Gb/s data transfer if the length is 0.5m or less and 20 Gb/s if over 0.5m. Active cables can reach up to 40 Gb/s data transfer with a length of up to 2m.