DisplayPort is a digital display interface standard put forth by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) since 2006. It defines a new royalty-free, digital audio/video interconnect, intended to be used primarily between a computer and its display monitor, or a computer and a home-theater system.
The first version was approved in May 2006, while the current version (1.1a) was approved on January 11, 2008.
The DisplayPort connector supports 1, 2, or 4 data pairs in a Main Link that also carries clock and optional audio signals, each with a symbol rate of 1.62 or 2.7 Gbit/s. The video signal path supports 6 to 16 bits per color channel. A bi-directional auxiliary channel (at a constant 1 Mbit/s) carries management and device control data for the Main Link using VESA EDID and VESA MCCS standards. The video signal is not compatible with DVI or HDMI, but a DisplayPort connector can pass these signals through. While DVI and HDMI require separate clock signals, DisplayPort embeds the clock in the data signal. The data transmission protocol in DisplayPort is based on micro packets and is extensible for future feature additions, whereas DVI/HDMI transmission protocol is a Serial Data Stream at a multiple of 10 of the pixel clock rate. Finally, unlike the separate DVI/HDMI and LVDS standards, DisplayPort supports both external (box-to-box) and internal (laptop LCD panel) display connections.
DisplayPort currently supports a maximum of 8.64 Gbit/s data rate over a 2 meter cable.
DisplayPort is a competitor to the HDMI connector (with HDCP copy-protection), the de facto digital connection for high-definition consumer electronics devices. Another competitor was Unified Display Interface, a low cost compatible alternative to HDMI and DVI. However, the main supporter of UDI, Intel Corporation, has stopped the development of the technology and now supports DisplayPort.
Newly featured in version 1.1 is support for fiber optic cables as an alternative to copper, allowing a much longer reach between source and display without image degradation,[3] as well as DPCP (see below).
Embedded DisplayPort (eDP) 1.1a standard was adopted in February 2008. It aims to define a standardized display panel interface for internal connections, i.e. graphic cards to notebook display panels.
A preview of DisplayPort 1.2 was given at WinHEC 2008 and CES 2009. One planned improvement of this version is the doubling of the bandwidth, which would allow for increased resolutions, higher refresh rates, and deeper color depth. Other improvements include multiple independent video streams, support for stereoscopic 3D, increased AUX channel bandwidth, and addition of Apple Inc.’s Mini DisplayPort connector, which is much smaller and more appropriate for laptop computers and other small devices. The DisplayPort 1.2 standard is expected to be adopted in 2009.
PAR-A-DIGM Displayport Products.
