What is DisplayPort: Origins, Features, and Benefits

Table of Contents:

1. Origins of DisplayPort
2. Features and Benefits
3. DisplayPort Comparison
4. DisplayPort Dongles

Figure 1: DisplayPort logo

Origins of DisplayPort

In late 2003, Dell brought together a group of leading personal computer, graphics, and semiconductor companies to plan a new digital display interface standard. The standard had to meet future demands on the interface and had to reduce display cost and complexity. Dell's goal was to develop an open standard based, royalty-free, and extensible interface suited for both external desktop monitor and internal display interfaces. The result of the effort was the open standards-based DisplayPort digital display interface.

This new interface is designed to work alongside of the proprietary digital visual interface (DVI) used between the personal computer and an external display. And the legacy low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS) interface used inside laptops, monitors, and TVs to connect to LCD panels. As DisplayPort becomes more readily available, eventually it replaces VGA, DVI, and LVDS as the display interface standard.

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Features and Benefits

DisplayPort has capabilities to provide a scalable digital display interface with optional audio and high-definition content protection (HDCP) capability for broad usage within business, enterprise, and consumer applications. The DisplayPort interface is designed to support both internal and external digital display connections. Examples of external applications for DisplayPort include display connections between PCs, monitors, and projectors.

DisplayPort is also suitable for connectivity between high-definition content applications such as optical drive players, mobile devices, personal video recorders, and TVs.

Advantages of DisplayPort over DVI, VGA, and FPD-Link:

• High-resolution displays and multiple displays with a single cable
• Self-latching connector
• Multiple video streams over single physical connection
• Scalability, reduced wire count, and embedded clocking (reduced power, reduced Electromagnetic interference)

DisplayPort Comparison

The DisplayPort interface accommodates both personal computer and home entertainment applications and does so at a lower manufacturing cost. The table below shows a comparison of display interface connectivity. This table compares DisplayPort with VGA, DVI, composite, component, S-video, and HDMI cables.

Figure 2: Display cable comparison

* H.E. stands for Home Entertainment. These devices can include TVs, DVD players, set-top boxes (cable, satellite, and so on) and video game consoles.

DisplayPort Dongles

Figure 3: DisplayPort dongle cables

Figure 4: DisplayPort dongle examples