1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,540 HDMI might be the most widespread video connector out there, but we think it's an injustice 2 00:00:05,540 --> 00:00:09,380 that DisplayPort isn't the king of connectors instead. 3 00:00:09,380 --> 00:00:12,840 Here are 6 ways DisplayPort is better than HDMI. 4 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:16,360 1. DisplayPort can operate in places that you don't even see it. 5 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:21,640 I'm talking about a derivative of DisplayPort called EDP, with the E standing for Embedded. 6 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:25,080 Whenever you're using a laptop or a tablet, there's a really good chance that there's 7 00:00:25,080 --> 00:00:30,600 actually a DisplayPort connection inside the machine that feeds the internal display. 8 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:35,200 This is likely making your laptop cheaper, simpler, and thinner than it would otherwise 9 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:40,920 be if it needed to rely on an internal HDMI protocol, which it can't do anyway because 10 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:47,720 HDMI doesn't actually have an equivalent to this. In fact, with the right kind of adapter, EDP even allows you to repurpose an old laptop 11 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:51,520 display. Hooray for standardization! 2. 12 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:55,360 DisplayPort has a special alt mode that works over USB-C. 13 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:58,880 Even if you have a computer that only has USB-C ports, there's a good chance it'll 14 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:06,640 still support DisplayPort. In fact, one of the newest DisplayPort standards, called UHBR20, can drive some seriously high 15 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:10,880 resolution signals, so you're not exactly giving up any performance by not using the 16 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:16,600 regular DisplayPort connector. The bad news is that DisplayPort alt mode over USB-C requires the monitor to explicitly 17 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:21,240 support it, and it usually won't work with a source device that isn't a computer. 18 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:26,560 But the good news is that if you do have a USB-C monitor, many of them support charging 19 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:31,360 your laptop at the same time over that single cable for a superior clean setup. 20 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:36,440 HDMI, on the other hand? Well, it did have a similar alt mode, but hardly anything supported it, and it's been 21 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:39,960 officially discontinued. 3. No royalties. 22 00:01:39,960 --> 00:01:44,080 Although both ports are very common in PC monitors, display manufacturers have to pay 23 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:49,680 the HDMI form a royalty in order to include an HDMI port in their product. 24 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:53,200 Between 4 and 15 cents per unit sold, which can start adding up if we're talking about 25 00:01:53,200 --> 00:02:00,080 a company that ships a lot of displays. On the other hand, DisplayPort is completely royalty-free, with manufacturers only paying 26 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:04,800 a fee to join Vesa, which gives them access to the latest spec. 27 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:08,760 To be clear, this doesn't mean that you're paying some kind of premium for HDMI products, 28 00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:13,120 as there are plenty of low-cost displays and devices that feature HDMI, but the extraction 29 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:17,800 of royalties has rubbed some enthusiasts the wrong way, especially when the HDMI form makes 30 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:20,800 the decision that seems unfriendly to consumers. 31 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:26,920 4. Daisy Chaining. If you're running a multi-monitor setup, DisplayPort offers a more elegant way to drive 32 00:02:26,920 --> 00:02:32,520 all of your screens. You can just run another cable from one monitor to the next, instead of connecting everything 33 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:39,760 back to your PC. With the latest version of DisplayPort, 2.1, you can Daisy Chain up to 4 4K monitors running 34 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:45,240 up to 60 frames per second. Pretty cool, especially if you have a limited number of ports on your computer to begin with. 35 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:49,320 DisplayPort can do this because of a feature called multi-stream transport, meaning the 36 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:52,960 link cable can actually carry multiple streams at once. 37 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:56,880 Do be sure though that the monitors you buy have a DisplayPort output if you want to Daisy 38 00:02:56,880 --> 00:03:00,600 Chain, as some monitors only have a DisplayPort input. 5. 39 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:06,620 It is much easier to convert DisplayPort to HDMI than to go the other way around. 40 00:03:06,620 --> 00:03:11,960 This is because of a feature called DisplayPort dual mode, or DP++, which can actually output 41 00:03:11,960 --> 00:03:16,000 a native HDMI signal through a physical DisplayPort connector. 42 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:20,560 This means that adapters that run from a DisplayPort output to a screen with an HDMI input are 43 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:29,120 straightforward to construct and cheap to buy. However, going from an HDMI source to a DisplaySport screen is much more complicated, as the adapter 44 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:33,200 has to have active logic inside of it to convert the signal properly. 45 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:38,440 And 6. Many DisplayPort cables have latches that actually keep the connector in place. 46 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:41,960 Once you push the cable all the way in, a couple of latches will pop up and lock the 47 00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:45,880 cable to the device, often audibly, so to disconnect it you then have to hold down a 48 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:49,760 button on the end of the cable while you're pulling, mitigating the risk that your cable 49 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:54,360 will come loose when you're in the middle of something really important gaming. 50 00:03:54,360 --> 00:03:57,440 And admittedly, this isn't quite as cool as the other features we've discussed in this 51 00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:01,560 video, but it might be the most useful feature if you're one of the folks who likes to walk 52 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:06,560 around the room with your laptop. But if you're worried about a cable being too difficult to remove, keep in mind that 53 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:12,160 this is an optional feature. And there are plenty of cables out there that don't have these little hooks if you just 54 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:15,960 gotta go fast. So thanks for watching guys, if you liked this video hit like, hit subscribe and hit 55 00:04:15,960 --> 00:04:20,280 us up in the comments section with your suggestions for topics that we should cover in the future.