Posted to Video Cards Articles 2009-03-04
With every advance in technology, the means by which various devices interface with one another seems to change. HDMI-which stands for High Definition Multimedia Interface-and Display Port both offer advantages and disadvantages for PC technology. Whether or not there really is a controversy or even much legitimate debate over which will become the standard is somewhat in the eye of the beholder. The real question is which type best fits the needs of any given consumer.
HDMI
HDMI is rapidly being adopted as the industry standard for transmitting high definition video and high quality audio between consumer electronics devices. The connections are completely digital and an HDMI port can be found on just about every piece of consumer electronics manufactured in recent years.
HDMI can transmit uncompressed video at 1080p, the current top-end resolution for high-definition televisions. It is also capable of transmitting audio which cuts down on the amount of cabling needed for any given home entertainment system. HDMI connectors are simple, most having only 19 pins, and compact which makes them easy to handle and install and relatively inexpensive to replace.
HDMI has the capacity to scale, so as video quality increases the interface should be capable of accommodating it. HDMI is also able to interface with PC's at present, offering a significant advantage in that it can take the place of both a video and an audio input and output.
Display Port
Display Port is a new technology for PC's that offers significant advantages over the old VGA and DVI outputs used for hooking up monitors and other video devices. Display port adapters are compact and powerful, just as are their HDMI rivals.
Display Port technology can offer blazing speeds, up to nearly 11GB/second and can transmit video at qualities up to 2560×1600. Display port also offers something very attractive for media companies: copy protection.
Signals travelling through a Display Port cable can be encrypted en route, making it essentially impossible to make unlicensed copies of media. Between the speed, the affordability of the cabling and the security, Display Port stands to offer significant competition to HDMI where becoming an industry standard is concerned.
Some of the features of both connectors, however, are better for the venues in which they're typically employed. Display Port, for example, offers very low power consumption, something that is more a factor for PC hardware than it is for consumer electronics. HDMI, on the other hand, offers a means of transmitting both audio and video. This is an excellent feature for consumer electronics but in computers where two separate devices are usually used for audio and video may be of lesser usefulness.
