“The Video Electronics Standard Association officially issued its Mini DisplayPort standard Tuesday, based on the technology licensed from Apple. VESA said that all devices using the Mini DisplayPort connector must meet the specifications required by the DisplayPort 1.1a standard, and cables that support the standard must also meet specific electrical specifications. It’s a formal confirmation of the news from earlier this year, when VESA announced the Mini DisplayPort connector would be included in the forthcoming DisplayPort 1.2 specification.”
I was indirectly involved with the development of DPVL, Digital Packet Video Link. The idea behind DPVL was to make use of various transmission media (ethernet, DVI, etc.) to transmit not whole frames but only those parts of the screen that had been changed. This reduced the bandwidth for any one monitor, allowing for very large displays (consisting of any number of monitors daisychained) to be driven by one computer.
DPVL was ratified as a VESA standard, but it wasn’t entirely successful, although it has ended up embedded in quite a number of niches. However, its legacy has hung around, and if I’m not mistaken, DisplayPort borrows some key ideas from DPVL.
My laptop did offer med 3 ways to connect my screen, VGA, DVI, HDMIx2.
Is there a monitor with HDMI input available? I’ve seen some televisions that will work with a computer but generally, not the other way.
I can’t imagine why your computer needed the VGA and HDMI outputs with a DVI port. Even more, why should any computer offer VGA at this time? How many people buy CRT monitors these days? LCD monitors should have a digital interface.
The real trouble with all this is needing adapters for everything. DVI<–>HDMI, MiniDisplayPort->DVI, MiniDisplayPort->HDMI, DVI->VGA, etc.
I suppose there is hope since the unrelated 1 charger connection for all mobile phones agreement.
VGA, DVI as opposed to HDMI – the line between “home computer” and “home entertainment system” is blurring all the time, so HDMI, which delivers audio via the same cable, is a much nicer option for the cable spaghetti. There’s also a lot of low cost true HD 1080p 17″ and 19″ TV’s around – perfect for students or kids rooms – dual purpose, two birds with one stone…
For business oriented computers, the VGA connector is a must, as the older but perfectly working projectors use VGA connectors. As you know, business nowadays is all about meetings and presentations
You might find this article worth a read:
http://www.bit-tech.net/bits/2007/10/22/displayport_a_look_inside/1
It does a good job explaining why Displayport is necessary moving forward. Page 1 explains why HDMI doesn’t cut it for many higher-end applications.
Remember HDMI is a replacement for s-video, component cables, old style A/V cables, etc.
DP is different than HDMI, so it’s like comparing apples to oranges. HDMI has licensing costs and contractual restrictions, DP is royalty-free and open to all. HDMI has 15% higher bandwidth, but isn’t bi-directional whereas DP is fully bi-directional and the standard not only permits audio and video to go over DP, but also USB, etc. (so you can have a monitor with a USB hub connected using just the single DP cable). DP has a spec for internal connections between graphics engines, etc. There’s more, but you get the idea.
HDMI is intended for high-end A/V, and DP is designed for computer components.
FWIW – neither is a good spec for video production.
The thing is, in the most popular use case–simply getting video from point A to point B–it really is apples to Apples (pun intented
). Most users will never see the benefits of DP–but there’s not question they will notice when the connectors don’t line up.
Still, I am a DP supporter, because I like the full-size connector
. It’s easy to plug in like HDMI but more obvious which side is which, and it has a very simple, excellent push-button locking mechanism 
. OK, I’m a cable fetishist…
Only thing I wonder about is whether the ‘royalty free’ stipulation actually applies when it comes to Mini-DP. From the article summary it sounds like manufacturers will still need to pay Apple licensing fees to use it…. :/
actually consumers will physically benefit from DP or MDP over HDMI simply because of the connector.
Ignoring all the technical differences, HDMI is too flimsy for a laptop and DVI is honestly a bit painful with the screws.
And for those who think VGA should still ship on video cards or laptop, no. They make $10 adapters for a reason.
Edited 2009-11-11 21:33 UTC
I was wondering, does the Mini-DisplayPort support all of the features current and future that the “normal” or “full-size” DisplayPort connector does? If it does fully support all features, then why is the standard port so much larger?