[MBCook]

> The computer world pretty much standardized on DisplayPort already

Do you know why that is? I live in the Apple world do I didn’t follow the changes.

Last time I had a PC it was VGA and DVI, which gives you a sense of the timeline. Then it seems to have been HDMI for a while (?) and now seems to be moving to DisplayPort.

Is there a reason DisplayPort over Thunderbolt didn’t catch on? Maybe something about how common add-in GPUs are making implementing TB harder?

[yyyk]

DisplayPort is royalty-free while HDMI charges licensing per unit. Additionally, Intel strongly supported DP so many boards came with support even if there was nothing to connect it to, and Intel ensured support in USB specs. Eventually enough display manufacturers added support* and DP became common enough, this generated demand and we ended with a self-reinforcing system. There's still a lot of HDMI, so I wouldn't say the computer world is standardized. In my experience, people just use whatever port is available...

* Display turnaround time is significant. Displays can survive a decade comfortably. A few people brag about their 10000K display with 10000Hz refresh rates, but many people just keep their display until it drops or until they buy a new system. So DP took a long time to be universally supported and that hampered adoption for a long time.

[hocuspocus]

> Then it seems to have been HDMI for a while (?)

Not really. HDMI is basically DVI++ but it's first and foremost a TV and video interface.

Once DVI started to be limiting, both PCs and high-end monitors adopted DP. HDMI came to PCs and monitors later, sometimes with limitations, for instance my Dell U2711 couldn't run at its native resolution over HDMI. A few years later UHD 4:4:4 was literally impossible from a PC GPU before HDMI 2.0, while not a problem even on older DP 1.2.

[kjadslkjdsjd]

Also DP can do cool things like carrying the signals for multiple monitors (daisy chaining)... I have one usb type c cable that does power display and usb for my 2 dell monitors... it is awesome... sadly Apple never implemented DP daisy chaining this and when you try it with their hardware you only get a mirrored output.

[lxgr]

Yes, it’s a pity they never implemented that.

Presumably some deal with Intel to push Thunderbolt :/ It’s an open spec now, but at the time Apple was pushing Thunderbolt hard, only Intel was building the chips for it, both for computers and peripherals (ie monitors, docks etc.)

[crote]

HDMI was designed by the entertainment industry to connect HD televisions. Its initial version was electronically basically half of a DVI connector, with some audio data thrown into the video stream. Plenty for a 1080p 60Hz stream, but not much beyond that.

DisplayPort was developed by VESA for computer use. It supported a higher bandwidth than HDMI and rapidly gained support for features like variable refresh rates, compression, and feeding multiple monitors through a single cable.

Nowadays it doesn't really matter that much, and they both essentially have the same capabilities. It's now HDMI for televisions and DP for computers because History.