This invention is an active cable or cables with a female micro USB or other connector recessed at the rear end of the HDMI plug for connecting external power when needed. The recessed connector is connected to an internal circuitry that combines this external power with the power from the source or sink device via a straight or “OR” circuits. This design is clean when no external power is needed because there're no dangling pigtails with USB plugs. When external power is needed because the source or sink devices can't provide enough current, the user can use for example widely available male micro USB to male USB cable (the standard charging cable for most Android phones and many other computer or phone accessories) or other cable to get external power, and the cable length can be selected to fit the application.