2013 Valve Steam Box prototype merges HDMI with DisplayPort

The forgotten Xi3, which was first revealed in 2013 and was one of the very first prototypes of Valve Steam Box, was tested by a YouTube named Bringus Studios. While the gaming console is dated, it did pretty well in a good number of classic titles. The mini PC even had an interesting modular design, which promised to offer easy upgrades.

However, it seems that those were not the only interesting bits about the Xi3 gaming mini PC (GEEKOM A7 curr. $699 on Amazon). After the first video went up, an ex-employee from the company joined Bringus Studio's Discord and shed light on the DisplayPort/HDMI port on the gaming console.

At first, the hybrid port was thought to be a pin-compatible DisplayPort (DP) that could also send HDMI signals, allowing the use of passive converters. However, as the ex-Xi3 employee pointed out, you can just plug both HDMI and DP into the port because it's designed to accommodate both.

But that's not all. The BIOS has an option that lets the Valve Steam Box prototype auto-detect which cable is plugged into the port. You can also adjust the BIOS of the mini PC to make it act like a DP-only or HDMI-only port.

On that note, you can't just plug an HDMI cable into a regular DisplayPort port, which is why the hybrid port on the Xi3 gaming console needed some physical modifications. Compared to the standard DP ports, the hybrid port on the Steam Box prototype doesn't have a U-shaped pin configuration. Instead, the pins have a linear config with no key guides, allowing the hybrid port to accept both plugs.

What's even more interesting is that the HDMI plug sits firmly on the hybrid display output port of the Steam Box gaming console prototype. All this means users wouldn't need to worry about which cable goes in which port. Unfortunately, the same hybrid port is not present in modern machines, likely due to HDMI's strict licensing policy. You can check the images and video attached below to learn more about the port.