How complicated are USB-C to HDMI adapters inside? Intermittent display detect fail on wake

What is actually going on inside these display adapters? My new iMac and extra displays occasionally fail to detect on waking, leaving an extra display black and in power-save mode. Could it be an adapter issue?

I’m curious whether there is much active electronic activity, power consumed, and so forth inside these things. For example, is there a constantly growing range of modes that some don’t support?

I have the same problem, and the short answer is yes to both (could be an adapter issue, and there is a growing range of modes that some don’t support). Just switching to a new HDMI cable solved my problem in one case.