HDMI - Relationship With DisplayPort

Relationship With DisplayPort

Another audio/video interface is DisplayPort, version 1.0 of which was approved in May 2006. DisplayPort is supported in several computer monitors and video cards. The DisplayPort website states that DisplayPort is expected to complement HDMI. Most of the companies producing equipment supporting DisplayPort are in the computer sector. DisplayPort uses a self-clocking micro-packet-based protocol that allows for a variable amount of differential lanes as well as flexible allocation of bandwidth between audio and video, and supports encapsulating multichannel compressed audio formats in the audio stream. DisplayPort ports can be made so that they are compatible with single-link DVI and HDMI. Compatibility is achieved with dual-mode DisplayPort ports, which are marked with the ++DP logo, using attached passive adapters; active adapters allow signal conversion to dual-link DVI and analog VGA.

For manufacturers DisplayPort has an advantage over HDMI in that it is royalty-free, while there is an annual charge and a royalty fee for HDMI. DisplayPort version 1.2 added the ability to transport multiple audio/video streams, doubled the maximum data rate from 10.8 Gbit/s to 21.6 Gbit/s, increased the "AUX" channel bandwidth from 1 Mbit/s to 720 Mbit/s, added support for multiple color spaces including xvYCC, scRGB and Adobe RGB 1998, added global time-code for audio synchronisation and the ability to transfer Ethernet, USB 2.0, DPMS, and other types of data over the "AUX" channel. HDMI has a few advantages over DisplayPort, such as support for Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) signals, and electrical compatibility with DVI (though practically limited to single-link DVI rates).