HDMI or DisplayPort

[Thinowns]

I had always wondered what the difference was between DisplayPort and HDMI. I'm really excited to see the daisy chain features of DisplayPort - does that mean that multiple monitors are able to display different images using only one connection?

Can you tell us what the industry support is for DisplayPort - is this something that most video card manufacturers will be adding in the near future, or is this just going to be mainly prevelant on Dell systems?

What works best HDMI or Display Port for a connection? It seams my text displays best with "Display Port".

 

[karpich1]

I personally like DisplayPort a bit more, if it comes to a computer. But the differences to a casual user shouldn't matter... just whichever ports your device+display have.

There is ONE CAVEAT... some high-res monitors (2560 x 1440) don't support the high-res over HDMI even though the cable can technically handle it. BUT they do support those high res modes over DisplayPort and "some" DVI cables. So check what your monitor supports before making a decision.



From what little I know... DisplayPort was made as a license-free replacement to VGA and DVI. It's made to be a common IT port, like the Ethernet port, the old VGA, the less-old DVI, etc. It's an upgrade to DVI, besides the smaller "plug"

HDMI was mostly made for TV's and such. And I believe there's a LICENSE for HDMI... manufacturers have to pay some company / group $X for every cable/adapter/etc they sell. For obvious reasons, PCs started adopting it because it was a nice all-in-one cable that was smaller, didn't need to get screwed in, and let people hook up their LCD TVs. And DisplayPort wasn't really out yet.

From a tech standpoint, I hear HDMI is based on older tech.



Really though, both will perform the same for the average Joe. However most might prefer HDMI since they may already have some cables from the TV or CableBox. And because all/most modern TV's have HDMI so they can hook it up there.

As far as daisy chaining, no idea. The only "noticeable" thing I've encountered was the 2560x1440 resolution thing on some monitors.

 

[Leonavice]

Here's my personal experience. I have my rMBP with HDMI and mini display port. I have my Dell U2713HM monitor that accepts HDMI and display port.

I hook up the HDMI and all I get is 1920 x 1080. I hooked up mini display port to display port, and I get the full 2560 x 1440.

Maybe my HDMI cable ain't that good though.