VESA Introduces DisplayPort 1.4 Standard

Standardization organization VESA has introduced version 1.4 of the displayport standard. The new standard is the first to use VESA’s Display Stream Compression technology, according to the organization.

The latest version of the DSC technology enables data transfer with a compression ratio of 3:1. VESA claims that the transfer is visually lossless, i.e. without noticeable loss in quality. Visually lossless, as VESA describes it, is a lossy compression method in which the loss of data should not be visible. With true lossless compression, there is no loss of data at any level. With the compression method, displayport-1.4 would be suitable for use in high-end audio and video products. The technology was first intended as a new external interface, but has since been included in other connections, such as USB-C and Thunderbolt.

The compression of video transfer improves the ability to use USB-C connections. This makes both high-quality video and USB 3.1 possible, according to the VESA. At the same time, it supports the use of high dynamic range and video in 8k resolution via the display port. With this, the standard offers the possibility for 8k at 60Hz with HDR and 4k at 120Hz with HDR.

In addition, the new standard comes with forward error correction, which implements the data loss resistance needed to transfer compressed video to external displays. Displayport 1.4 hdr also has meta transport as a function. This uses the secondary data packet, which is integrated into the displayport standard to support the current CTA 861.3 standard. This is used, among other things, for the conversion of the displayport protocol to the hdmi 2.0a protocol. In addition, it should offer support for future dynamic HDR standards. Finally, displayport 1.4 extends the audio transfer capabilities. The new extension offers features such as 32 audio channels and a sample rate of 1536kHz, and can include all known types of audio files.