It is more important to look at the version number (on both the source and the display) than to compare DisplayPort with HDMITM
DisplayPort vs HDMI: What is the difference?
Displays · Future review · 6 min read
DisplayPort and HDMITM are two distinct standards for transmitting video and audio from a player to a display. But what is – apart from the clearly distinct connectors – the difference between DisplayPort and HDMITM? After all they were designed to do the same thing, right? In this article we try to give you some advice…
There are a lot of examples in technology history of multiple competing standards that were on the market simultaneously. Just think about the video recorder standards war in the early 1980s between Video 2000, VHS and Betamax. For the youngsters amongst us, VHS finally won mainly because of its longer recording time and its open licensing, which led to lower prices. Support from the adult movie industry is often mentioned too, although opinions differ on how much it mattered. Later, there was the battle between Blu-ray and HD DVD, which ended in 2008 when Toshiba stopped making HD DVD players.
DisplayPort or HDMI: who is who?
So is there also a format war between DisplayPort and HDMITM going on? Not exactly. While both HDMI and DisplayPort have the same objective, they were in fact conceived under different constellations.
HDMITM (short for High-Definition Multimedia Interface) was introduced in 2003 by a consortium of (mainly) display manufacturers, including Sony, Philips, Panasonic, and Toshiba. These are large corporations that primarily target purely image driven applications. This is why you will find HDMITM ports most commonly on appliances like television sets, gaming consoles, projectors and home computers.
A few years later (2006), another large consortium of PC and chip manufacturers worked to create DisplayPort (DP), a follow-up of the older VGA and DVI standards. The main focus was computer displays, graphics cards and professional IT equipment, so more data centered markets.
Technical and functional comparison: DisplayPort vs. HDMI
The table below compares the latest standards. Keep in mind that the products you can buy today often lag behind the newest specification.
| Feature / Specification | DisplayPort (DP) | HDMI |
|---|---|---|
| Latest Standard | DisplayPort 2.1b, which adds the DP80LL active cable | HDMITM 2.2 (specification released in June 2025). HDMITM 2.1b is the version in current products |
| Max Raw Bandwidth | Up to 80 Gbps (UHBR20 mode) | Up to 96 Gbps with HDMITM 2.2 (Ultra96), 48 Gbps with HDMITM 2.1 (Fixed Rate Link) |
| Usable bandwidth after encoding overhead | 77.37 Gbps (UHBR20) | About 42.6 Gbps with HDMITM 2.1 and about 85 Gbps with HDMITM 2.2 |
| Max Uncompressed Resolution | Up to 8K @ 60 Hz in full 4:4:4 color and 4K @ 240 Hz with UHBR20 | HDMITM 2.2: 8K @ 60 Hz and 4K @ 240 Hz in full 4:4:4 color. HDMITM 2.1: 4K @ 120 Hz, while 8K @ 60 Hz needs 4:2:0 color or compression |
| Multi-Monitor Support | Supported natively via Multi-Stream Transport (MST) / daisy-chaining | Not supported (requires an external splitter or one output per display) |
| Audio Return Channel | No equivalent (Audio flows unidirectionally from host to display) | ARC / eARC (sends audio back to soundbars or receivers) |
| Physical Connector Type | 20-pin rectangular connector with mechanical latching mechanism. Also available as Mini DisplayPort and over USB-C | 19-pin friction-fit connector (Type-A standard, Type-C mini, Type-D micro) |
| Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) | VESA Adaptive-Sync, AMD FreeSync, NVIDIA G-Sync | HDMI VRR, AMD FreeSync, NVIDIA G-Sync Compatible |
Connectors: what a difference a pin makes
The 19 pins HDMITM-connectors are actually available in 5 shapes, but only 3 of them are commonly seen: the well-known Type A (standard HDMITM, mainly used for TVs, projectors and laptops), Type C (mini HDMITM, commonly found on cameras, tablets and some laptops), and Type D (micro HDMITM, for tablets, smartphones and action cameras).
The lesser known Type B (29 pins) was designed for dual-link applications, but you will hardly ever come across it. Type E has a locking tab to keep the cable from vibrating loose in automotive applications. The other HDMITM connectors commonly use friction to keep the plug in the socket – although sometimes locking mechanisms are used that prevent the cable from pulling loose. Such mechanisms are a lot more common in DisplayPort solutions.
DisplayPort connectors have 20 pins. There are two sizes available: the standard DisplayPort and a smaller alternative made by Apple called Mini DisplayPort. The latter looks the same as the port on Thunderbolt 1 and 2. Since Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt uses the USB-C connector, which can also carry DisplayPort signals through DisplayPort Alt Mode. As a result, on many compact devices DisplayPort comes over a USB-C port. Not every USB-C port can output video though, so look for the DisplayPort or Thunderbolt logo, or check the specifications.
Though most full-size DisplayPort connectors have a locking mechanism that prevents them from being disconnected accidentally, this feature is not required by the official specification.
Resolution and bandwidth
Every new version of both the HDMITM and DisplayPort standards typically introduce some minor new features, and higher resolution and bandwidth.
This however does not mean that a new display always supports the latest version of the standard. It doesn't make much sense to include a standard that supports 8K resolution on an HD display. The most important thing is that the standard matches the needs of the display. If not, you will be paying more for something you cannot use.
Today’s most common version (for video wall displays), DisplayPort 1.2, supports video resolutions of up to 3840 x 2160 pixels, at a refresh rate of 60 Hz. The official name for this resolution is by the way UHD, but the term 4K is often used as well. In the movie industry 4K implies a resolution of 4096 x 2160, by the way. It also supports all common 3D video formats. The maximum bandwidth to be sent through a DP 1.2 cable is 17.28 Gbps. DisplayPort 1.4, supporting 5120 x 2880 @60Hz at a bandwidth of 25.92 Gbps, is found on many monitors and graphics cards today. It also adds Display Stream Compression (DSC), a visually lossless method that makes 8K at 60 Hz possible over the same cable.
The most used HDMITM-version for years, HDMITM 2.0, features UHD resolution at 60 Hz and a bandwidth of 14.4 Gbps[1]. It is still very common in professional equipment. In other words, it is more important to look at the version number (on both the source and the display) than to compare DisplayPort with HDMITM.
Meanwhile, HDMITM 2.1 has been launched, supporting 4K at 120 Hz or 8K at 60 Hz, and offering 48 Gbps speeds. This standard has since become common in consumer products such as TVs, game consoles and graphics cards. Keep in mind that 8K at 60 Hz over HDMITM 2.1 relies on 4:2:0 color or compression. In June 2025, the HDMI Forum released HDMITM 2.2, which doubles the bandwidth to 96 Gbps. Ultra96 cables are on sale already, but the first devices are expected in 2027.
DisplayPort 2.0 (since updated to 2.1), boasting 10,240 x 4320 resolution and a whopping 77.4 Gbps bandwidth, is no longer a promise on paper. Monitors and graphics cards with DisplayPort 2.1 are on the market today.
Same version, different speed
A version number does not tell the whole story. DisplayPort 2.1 covers three speed tiers: UHBR10 (40 Gbps), UHBR13.5 (54 Gbps) and UHBR20 (80 Gbps), so a “2.1” label does not guarantee the top speed. HDMITM 2.2 works the same way: the Ultra96 name can stand for 64, 80 or 96 Gbps. Check the exact figure on the spec sheet, on both the source and the display.
It can make a real difference. Uncompressed 4K at 240 Hz in 10-bit HDR needs UHBR20, while UHBR13.5 stops at roughly 187 Hz without compression. Not everyone needs that, because many DisplayPort 1.4 monitors deliver a similar signal with DSC.
Audio features: facing the music
Both HDMITM and DisplayPort support multichannel digital audio: up to 8 channels at up to 24 bit and 192 kHz in earlier versions, and up to 32 channels in current ones. The main difference is that HDMITM features an audio return channel (ARC). This means that not only the source device (usually an AV-receiver) can send audio to the television set, but sound can flow in the other direction as well.
This can be used when the television has a built-in broadcast receiver (e.g. watching Netflix on a smart-TV), but you don’t want to listen to the sound using the TV’s built-in speakers and prefer the surround sound system of the AV-receiver. Although this is a valuable use case in consumer electronics, it is almost never used in professional AV visualization.
Newer HDMITM versions add eARC (enhanced ARC), which has far more bandwidth. It lets lossless formats such as Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Atmos travel from the TV back to the receiver or soundbar.
For longer distances, you can rely on a signal booster or an active cable which amplifies the signal. Note that HDMI signals can also run over CAT 5 or CAT 6 cables (up to 100 meters for 1080p and 70 meters for 4K at 60 Hz with HDBaseT extenders), coaxial cable (up to 90 meters) or over fiber (more than 100 meters).
Quick guide: DisplayPort or HDMI?
Short on time? This overview sums it up.
Your situation | The better choice |
TV, soundbar, AV receiver or game console | HDMITM. It offers ARC and eARC and is the standard on TVs and consoles |
PC monitor with a high refresh rate | DisplayPort or HDMITM 2.1, depending on what both the graphics card and the monitor support. Check the version and the speed tier |
One cable for several monitors, or a video wall | DisplayPort, thanks to Multi-Stream Transport |
Laptop with a USB-C port | USB-C with DisplayPort Alt Mode or Thunderbolt, if your port can output video |
Long distances | HDMITM over Cat 6 with HDBaseT extenders, or active or fiber cables for DisplayPort |
DisplayPort source and HDMITM display, or the other way round | An adapter. DisplayPort to HDMITM can often be passive at lower resolutions, HDMITM to DisplayPort always needs an active one |
Conclusion
Although the purpose of HDMI and DisplayPort is similar for about 90%, there are a number of distinct features. HDMI supports an Audio Return Channel (ARC and eARC), making it possible to send sound from the display to the source – which can be handy when using a smart-TV.
The possibility to drive multiple displays with one cable is for many professionals a must. This feature determines in many cases the choice for DisplayPort.
In terms of image quality, there is virtually no difference between HDMI and DP. The newer the version, the higher the maximum bandwidth and the supported resolution. It is in fact much more important to check the version than the standard (HDMI or DP) itself, and for the newest versions also the speed tier. Also make sure that the cable is good enough to support the version’s resolution and high bandwidth..
Many of Barco's products, including our LCD video wall and projector ranges, feature both HDMI and DP. The Barco UniSee II LCD video wall, for example, has two DisplayPort 1.2 inputs, one DisplayPort output and two HDMITM 2.0 inputs, and the F80-4K7 projector offers HDMITM 2.0 next to two DisplayPort 1.2 inputs. These products can be used in both video and data centric applications, so it makes sense to include both. For LCD video walls, DP is the standard of choice in many cases, because it offers the possibility to drive multiple displays with one cable connection. By the way, in this article you can read why you can easily convert DisplayPort signals to HDMI using a passive adapter, but not the other way round.
In a purely image driven market like digital cinema, on the other hand, only HDMI is used.
[1]: Considering the 8b/10 overhead to measure the effective data transmission rate. Without this overhead, the bandwidth would be 18Gbps.
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