Differentiate DisplayPort and HDMI

HDMI is an interface commonly known in consumer electronics and is used in everything from PCs to game consoles and of course TVs. DisplayPort is less popular, but there are still a lot of devices equipped with DisplayPort and standard 2.0 that make it more attractive.

These two video / audio standards are similar but there are some differences, so TipsMake.com made the following article to help you distinguish DisplayPort and HDMI.

Types of connectors

When it comes to cables as well as DisplayPort and HDMI connectors, there are many different types and sizes.

HDMI connector

When it comes to HDMI connectors, you'll find 3 main variants, each with 19 pins. The standard size (Type A) is commonly found on TVs, projectors, set-top boxes and laptops, while the smaller version is called mini-HDMI (Type B), mostly found on machines. laptops and tablets. The smallest of these is the micro-HDMI (Type C) found on mobile devices like tablets, but has become less popular since USB-C launched.

Picture 1 of Differentiate DisplayPort and HDMI

DisplayPort connector

Meanwhile, DisplayPort is only available in two sizes and has 20 pins. Like HDMI, you can choose the full size version and a smaller alternative called Mini DisplayPort (made by Apple), suitable for Thunderbolt port on Apple machines.

It is worth noting that some devices come with both DisplayPort and HDMI ports instead of just providing a single port.

Picture 2 of Differentiate DisplayPort and HDMI

Resolution, image quality and bandwidth

DisplayPort 1.4a, despite a few years of launch, is still the most popular version of DisplayPort. It has a bandwidth of 25.92Gbps and can support 8K UHD (7680 × 4320) at 60Hz or 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) at 120Hz with HDR support.

DisplayPort 2.0 is an official version but not yet available on devices. It represents a leap from 1.4a, offering a maximum bandwidth of 77.4Gbps (up from 25.92Gbps), 4K HDR resolution at up to 144Hz and a maximum resolution of 16K (15360 x 8460). pixels) at 60Hz for one monitor. It is also backward compatible, as you would expect.

A minor drawback of DisplayPort is that it doesn't support Ethernet data and the standard doesn't have an ARC (Audio Return Channel). However, it is designed for video and is capable of outputting multiple video outputs to multiple monitors.

Meanwhile, HDMI version 2.0b is the most popular at the moment and supports 4K resolution similar to the old DisplayPort 1.2 standard, but limited to only 60Hz. HDMI 2.1 is the latest version and increases the 4K refresh rate to 120Hz, while increasing the bandwidth from 18 to 48Gbps. The latest standard also supports up to 10K, but this is not yet common in the market.

Unlike DisplayPort, all HDMI versions support the ARC feature and you can buy versions including Ethernet up to 100Mbps. This means you can upstream audio to a device such as an AV receiver if you don't want to listen to audio from the TV's built-in speakers, for example.

The HDMI standard also supports Consumer Electronics Control (CEC), a feature that allows users to control the device activated by a remote control, but this also requires the device to support CEC.

Sound

In terms of sound, there's really no difference, as both the latest versions of HDMI and DisplayPort support digital audio up to 24 bit and 192kHz.

Length

Most HDMI cables are short (only 1 or 2 meters) and if you want to go a long way, you may need to use a signal booster (booster) or active (active) cable to amplify the signal yourself. effect. The HDMI standard does not specify maximum length, but is about 30 meters longer than DisplayPort.

For DisplayPort, you can stream 4K video at distances up to 2m with a passive (passive) cable. You can run passive cables up to 15m but will be limited to 1080p (Full HD) resolution, as defined by the standard. In fact, DisplayPort can handle resolutions up to 2560 x 1600 pixels over a distance of 5 meters without problems.