Display Port

 DisplayPort?

DisplayPort has seen widespread usage in the past decade, especially in consumer commodities such as high-end desktop monitors and graphics cards. It is an asymmetric connector that features an L-shaped header. While DisplayPort does not quite enjoy the universal presence that HDMI sees today, it is a critical hardware standard featuring several capabilities as a connector and cable technology.

At its core, DisplayPort functions just like other data connection standards. The user must plug each end of the DisplayPort cable into the relevant devices with supporting slots. Once the physical connection is established, most modern-day devices automatically detect each other and complete configuration procedures automatically. For older devices, users might have to use the control panel of the display device to choose the DisplayPort input manually and set the compatible resolution and refresh rate.

However, when we dive into the functioning of DisplayPort at a more technical level, we find that it leverages packetized data transmission in a manner similar to motherboard PCI-Express ports and Ethernet cables. This means DisplayPort transmits micro packets of data with an embedded clock signal. Such transmissions are highly efficient and capable of supporting higher resolutions and refresh rates.

Apart from this, DisplayPort features an open and expandable design that enables this standard to receive improvements and see newer iterations over time. When combined, these factors make DisplayPort one of the most important display standards of the past decade.