Advancements of DisplayPort Technology   What is DisplayPort? DisplayPort Versions DisplayPort 2.0 :Thunderbolt 3, UHBR, etc.  DisplayPort, Mini DP and USB-C Connectors In detail But what of cables? DisplayPort 2.0 Features: Mandatory DSC, Branch Devices, & Panel Replay DisplayPort 2.1

 Advancements of DisplayPort Technology  

What is DisplayPort?

 In late 2003, major PC, graphics, and chip companies joined together to design a new digital display interface. They wanted something that could handle future demands, make displays cheaper and simpler, and be ready for use by 2006.

This work was done under the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA), an international non-profit group that creates shared technology standards for PCs, workstations, and consumer electronics.

The new standard was made to replace the older DVI (Digital Visual Interface), which was limited, could not be updated, and was too costly for future needs.

The result was DisplayPort — a high-bandwidth, two-way connection that works for both internal and external displays. It can also carry audio. Unlike other display interfaces, DisplayPort is open, royalty-free, and flexible, making it a better choice for the long-term needs of the PC industry.

DisplayPort offers 

  • High bandwidth for better video quality

  • Two-way communication between PC and display

  • Audio support

  • Works for both inside (laptops) and outside (monitors/TVs) connections

  • Open, royalty-free, and future-ready

Compared to HDMI:

  • HDMI is common in TVs and home entertainment, but it is controlled and requires licensing fees.

  • DisplayPort is open and royalty-free, making it cheaper for PC makers.

  • DisplayPort is also designed to work better with computer monitors and high-resolution displays.

 

DisplayPort Versions



DisplayPort 2.0 :Thunderbolt 3, UHBR, etc.

Building DisplayPort 2.0 was challenging because every new generation of high-bandwidth connections gets harder and more expensive to design. The original DisplayPort wasn’t built to handle the huge speeds that 2.0 now delivers.

So, engineers had to find a compromise:

  • Much higher bandwidth (up to 77.4 Gbps)

  • While still keeping backwards compatibility with older DisplayPort devices

How it works:

  • The connector stays the same: standard DisplayPort and USB-C (with DP Alt Mode) are both official ports for DP 2.0.

  • It still uses 4 data lanes (no extra pins added).

  • Data is sent in packets across the link (like network data), not tied to a pixel-by-pixel clock like HDMI or DVI.

Why this matters:

This design makes DisplayPort 2.0:

  • Faster, without breaking old compatibility

  • Flexible for both standard DP ports and USB-C

  • Scalable for future display tech (8K, 16K, VR, HDR, multi-display setups)


 

 DisplayPort, Mini DP and USB-C Connectors


DisplayPort isn’t just a standard for sending video and audio—it comes with different  connectors  to suit a variety of devices.

1.  Standard DisplayPort (DP)

  • This is the full-size connector you often see on desktops, monitors, and some laptops.

  • Shaped like a slightly asymmetrical rectangle with one corner cut off.

  • Supports all DisplayPort features, including high bandwidth, multi-monitor setups, and audio.

  • Can use latches to lock the connector in place, so it doesn’t accidentally unplug.

2.  Mini DisplayPort (mDP)

  • Smaller version, about the size of a USB plug.

  • Commonly used on older Macs, laptops, and some graphics cards.

  • Fully compatible with standard DP through adapters or cables.

  • Supports the same high-resolution video and audio as full-size DP.

3.  DisplayPort over USB-C (DP Alt Mode)

  • Uses the USB-C connector to carry DisplayPort signals.

  • Popular on modern laptops, tablets, and smartphones that have only USB-C ports.

  • Works with adapters to connect to regular DisplayPort or HDMI monitors.

  • Can simultaneously carry power, data, and video, making it extremely versatile.

Why different connectors exist

  • Standard DP → best for desktops and monitors.

  • Mini DP → saves space on small laptops.

  • USB-C DP Alt Mode → modern, slim devices get video without needing a separate port.

In detail

While the DisplayPort connector stayed the same, most of the physical layer underneath was replaced using Thunderbolt 3 technology.

Instead of building everything from scratch, VESA used Intel’s Thunderbolt 3, which already had the high speeds needed for DisplayPort 2.0. Originally proprietary, Intel made Thunderbolt 3 royalty-free in early 2019, letting other companies use it freely.

This allowed:

  • Creation of Thunderbolt 3 devices

  • Using Thunderbolt 3 tech for other standards, like DisplayPort 2.0

Key Difference:

  • USB4 is basically a rebranded Thunderbolt 3

  • DisplayPort 2.0 uses Thunderbolt 3 differently — it’s like a one-way Thunderbolt 3 connection, keeping DisplayPort’s compatibility while gaining extreme bandwidth.

But what of cables?

Here’s where things get a bit trickier, both for VESA and for users. Thunderbolt 3 pushed the limits of copper cabling, and as a result for all but the shortest runs it requires active cabling, with transceivers at each end of a cable. While effective, this drove up the cost of Thunderbolt 3 cables versus relatively lowcost all-copper commodity USB 3 and DisplayPort 1.x cables. By using Thunderbolt 3 as the basis of their new standard, VESA has inherited the cable technology limits of the standard as well.

The answer to the cable question then is that VESA hasn’t really answered it. Instead, they’re focusing on what they can do now with passive cables

 

DisplayPort 2.0 introduces three Ultra High Bit Rate (UHBR) data rates per lane, designed to deliver incredible bandwidth for modern displays:

  1. UHBR 10 (10 Gbps per lane)

    • Total bandwidth across four lanes: 40 Gbps

    • Focused on standard monitors and most practical setups

    • Works reliably over passive copper cables up to 2–3 meters

    • Aligns with VESA 8K cable certification program — certified cables meet signal requirements

    • Provides high performance for 8K displays at 60Hz without needing expensive active cables

  2. UHBR 13.5 (13.5 Gbps per lane)

    • Total bandwidth across four lanes: 54 Gbps

    • Designed for higher-end monitors and multi-monitor setups

    • Requires higher-quality or shorter passive cables, or active cables for longer distances

    • Supports higher refresh rates at 4K or 5K resolutions, and HDR at ultra-high resolutions

  3. UHBR 20 (20 Gbps per lane)

    • Total bandwidth across four lanes: 80 Gbps

    • Full-speed DisplayPort 2.0 / Thunderbolt 3 equivalent

    • Best suited for extremely demanding setups, like 16K displays, multiple 8K monitors, or high-frame-rate VR

    • Typically requires active cables due to the extreme speeds

    • Enables future-proof performance for displays that need massive bandwidth

Why UHBR matters:

  • Each level provides a trade-off between speed and cable flexibility

  • Lower speeds (UHBR 10) are easier to use with existing cables

  • Higher speeds (UHBR 13.5 & 20) unlock extreme resolutions, refresh rates, and multi-display setups

  • All UHBR levels benefit from Forward Error Correction (FEC) to keep signals clean and error-free

DisplayPort 2.0 Features: Mandatory DSC, Branch Devices, & Panel Replay

Display Stream Compression (DSC) is now mandatory for all DisplayPort 2.0 devices.

  • DSC was first introduced in DisplayPort 1.4 and became fully standardized a few years later.

  • It’s a form of “visually lossless” image compression.

    • Compresses images just enough to save bandwidth and power

    • Keeps the image looking practically identical to the original

    • Adds very little latency, so video and games still look smooth

How it works in DP 2.0

  • DP 2.0 devices don’t have to always use DSC — if the link has enough bandwidth, uncompressed video can be sent.

  • But all DP 2.0 devices must be able to encode, send, and decode DSC data.

  • This ensures future monitors that rely on DSC will work with any DP 2.0 device.

Why this matters

  • Enables ultra-high-resolution displays (like 8K and beyond) without requiring impossibly high raw bandwidth.

  • Helps reduce power consumption in laptops and monitors.

  • Prepares the ecosystem for new monitors that rely on DSC, knowing all DP 2.0 devices can handle it.

 Panel Replay

1. Panel Replay (Power Efficiency)

  • Panel Replay is a vendor-optional feature that saves power, especially for laptops and mobile devices.

  • Inspired by Panel Self Refresh (PSR) in embedded DisplayPort (eDP).

  • Instead of sending the whole frame every time, only the parts of the screen that changed are updated.

  • Benefits:

    • Reduces energy usage by sending less data

    • Reduces processing work in the display controller

    • Extends battery life for mobile devices

2. Branch Devices (Multi-Stream Transport / MST)

  • Branch devices are basically splitters that allow multiple monitors to connect to a single DisplayPort output.

  • In DisplayPort 1.x, branch devices had to decode the video stream, which is hard at high speeds (20+ Gbps).

  • In DP 2.0, branch devices are simplified: they just forward data instead of decoding it.

  • This makes daisy-chaining and multi-monitor setups easier to implement and cheaper to produce.

3. Variable Refresh Rate (Adaptive Sync)

  • VESA Adaptive Sync, which allows monitors to adjust refresh rate dynamically to reduce screen tearing, remains optional in DP 2.0.

  • Manufacturers can continue including it, but it’s not required.

4. Overall Impact of DisplayPort 2.0

  • The biggest update to the PC display standard since 2007.

  • By using Thunderbolt 3 technology, DP 2.0 massively increases bandwidth potential.

  • Lays the foundation for 8K displays, ultra-high refresh rates, and multi-monitor setups.

  • Brings features like UHBR, DSC, FEC, Panel Replay, and simplified MST together to make video faster, more efficient, and more reliable.

 


DisplayPort 2.1

 DisplayPort 2.1, announced in October 2022, is an incremental update to DisplayPort 2.0, introducing refinements to enhance performance, compatibility, and cable reliability.

Key Enhancements in DisplayPort 2.1:

Improved Cable Certification: The introduction of the DP54 cable certification ensures that cables can reliably support higher data rates, such as UHBR13.5 (54 Gbps), over longer passive cable lengths. 


Enhanced USB4 Integration: DisplayPort 2.1 introduces bandwidth management features that allow DisplayPort tunneling to coexist more efficiently with other data traffic over USB4 links, facilitating better integration with USB Type-C and USB4 specifications. 


Updated DSC Version: The standard updates the Display Stream Compression (DSC) implementation from DSC 1.2 to 1.2a, improving compression efficiency and visual quality. 


While DisplayPort 2.1 maintains the same maximum bandwidth of 80 Gbps as DisplayPort 2.0, these enhancements contribute to a more robust and future-proof display interface, ensuring better performance and compatibility with emerging technologies