First! AMD's Radeon HD 3000 graphics cards now DisplayPort certified

After this morning's whispered layoffs, we're digging deep to bring you a bit of good news about AMD. VESA just announced that AMD's ATI Radeon HD 3000 series (and the 780G integrated graphics chipset) are the first graphics cards in the Industry granted DisplayPort certification. About time since Dell's 30-inch 3008WFP monitor has been shipping since December. Way to go Paula AMD, way to go!

[Via tgdaily]

[XDS @ Mar 20th 2008 5:04AM]

second!

[DarkLightConnection Unbanned @ Mar 20th 2008 5:11AM]

You fail! You're fir... Ah, damn you Thomas Ricker.

(BTW, why does the "First" on the title has an exclamation mark?)

[Brent @ Mar 20th 2008 1:10PM]

Ha, the 'First!' joke is finally funny. No where's the guy three or four comments down that thinks he was first?

[NineT9 @ Mar 20th 2008 5:37AM]

fourth!

[Anthony @ Mar 20th 2008 5:48AM]

i want it... gimme!!

[sirius @ Mar 20th 2008 5:55AM]

What's the point of DisplayPort?

I already read about it, but I'll ask anyway =D

[Randy @ Mar 20th 2008 10:09AM]

It's the future. Standard DVI plug is too big. Mini DVI hasn't really taken off (despite the macbook.) Displayport cable can carry Audio too.

[Randy @ Mar 20th 2008 10:15AM]

forgot to mention, Displayport allows you to put the display much further away than VGA/DVI with no signal loss. Good for Kiosk systems and situations where you don't want (or can't have) the machine physically close to the screen you want to display.

[KC @ Mar 20th 2008 10:42AM]

not to mention DisplayPort is loyalty free, much like the VGA port we've been using for decades

[UKNigel @ Mar 20th 2008 11:02AM]

Ah good, there's no loyalty involved. Huh?

[nonamo @ Mar 20th 2008 2:35PM]

phew, gotta hate those loyalty cards
:P

[Chebwa @ Mar 20th 2008 3:50PM]

DVI doesn't really seem that big to me...

And why not standardize video cords and use HDMI? Some licensing shit?

[Kunikos @ Mar 20th 2008 5:59PM]

"Like DVI however, DisplayPort does not support audio content. VESA however, would not see this as a problem since it didn't hinder DVI's performance in the market. On Monday, the group behind HDMI announced that more than 50 Desktops, Notebooks, Motherboards and Graphics cards are shipping with the HDMI technology on-board, sending a message to VESA that it plans to fight to become the standard.

DisplayPort has many advantages over HDMI however and is very powerful. It performs with relatively low power-consumption, has a low pin count and can transmit data at 10.8 Gigabits/second, supporting resolutions up to 2560x1600 (WQXGA) and possibly beyond. It can perform properly over a length of cable up to 15 meters in length, which many see as a great advantage over HDMI."

http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/8658.cfm

[Kunikos @ Mar 20th 2008 6:03PM]

More:

"The Video signal is not compatible with DVI or HDMI, but the specification will allow pass-through of these signals. DisplayPort supports embedded clock, unlike DVI/HDMI which require a separate clock pair. The data transmission protocol in DisplayPort is Micro-Packet based which is extensible in future to add features, whereas DVI/HDMI transmission protocol is Serial Data Stream at 10x pixel clock rate. However one of the biggest advantage that DisplayPort provides over DVI/HDMI is that DisplayPort is intended to consolidate both external(box-to-box) and internal (LCD panel) display connections."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DisplayPort

[Kunikos @ Mar 20th 2008 6:04PM]

Also, besides those technical details, yes, it's a licensing issue.

[MorikaWeb @ Mar 20th 2008 6:01AM]

Funny how a company evryone is so fast to call dead can get so many firsts in.

[DarkLightConnection Unbanned @ Mar 20th 2008 6:08AM]

I don't know why everyone calls AMD dead...

I, for one, am still AMD-powered. (I'm on the "wallet-friendly" side of computing, maybe the best Intel kicks the best AMD's a$$, but on the cheap side, AMD packs much more bang for the same (or even less) buck.)

[griegomas @ Mar 21st 2008 1:53PM]

Only if you don't overclock. an e2160 which you can get for $70 will overclock to 3ghz easy, and at that speed blows basically everything amd has (even its high end) right out of the water.

[tom @ Mar 20th 2008 9:23AM]

@DarkLight

+1, AMD is cool and piggybank friendly. AMD is always coming up new stuff, Intel just copy the idea and throw it in their chip..!

[zargon @ Mar 20th 2008 8:18AM]

Effe display port, just freaking use DVI or HDMI like the rest of the gosh darn industry. We don't need yet another freaking connection type.

[Hung @ Mar 20th 2008 10:04PM]

@ zargon

What's your problem, zargon? It'll probably have DVI and HDMI for people like you. But AMD is promoting DisplayPort because it's cheaper to license, meaning lower costs to us, the consumers. DP is also a better medium than either of those standards, so we benefit even more.

Nothing bad comes of this; literally nothing. I don't know what you're bitching about. If you can't keep track of DVI and HDMI and all those crazy formats (seriously, it's five–get over it), then stick with what you know and stop trying to prevent progress.

I want better picture, at a lower cost, with more practicality. I will end you to get it.

KTHXBAI?

[SomeGuy @ Mar 20th 2008 8:24AM]

Shall I be the first to ask what the F*** Displayport actually gives anyone for a computer monitor over Dual-Link DVI? Because I can't think of anything... and no, audio doesn't count for PC monitor. besides HDMI 1.3 has all that anyway, both DVI DL and HDMI 1.3 both support the top res of 30" monitors, so I'll ask again.. what the hell is the point?

BTW I own a Dell 3008 which hass all 3 and I just don't get it.

[aardvark sandwich @ Mar 20th 2008 8:31AM]

HDMI = HDCP encryption, D.P. = AES encryption ?

I dunno.

[Adam @ Mar 20th 2008 8:37AM]

I've been trying to figure that out myself. We're not limited by the connection and the displays, but rather the driver of that display, the video card.

The only notes I could find about DisplayPort was its added capability:
"DisplayPort introduced the 128bit-AES to replace HDCP. DisplayPort also includes a notebook internal connector, something the HDMI and DVI specifications lack."

HDCP: allows devices with HDCP key(s) to transmit high-definition content.

And with the so few DisplayPort compatible devices, isn't this just wasted technology added to their video card? In the future, it's going to be like using a 10 year old video card to push some new unknown product.

[Adam @ Mar 20th 2008 8:55AM]

Here are the listed advantages from Wiki... I think the notables are number 1.2, 2.1, & 5.

1. Based on micro-packet protocol
* Allows easy expansion of the standard
* Allows multiple video streams over single physical connection (in a future version)
2. Designed to support internal chip-to-chip communication
* Can drive display panels directly, eliminating control circuits and allowing for cheaper and slimmer displays
* Aimed to replace internal LVDS links in notebook panels with a unified link interface
3. Allows backward compatibility with single link DVI/HDMI; dual link DVI/HDMI and analog VGA require active converter adapters or dongles
4. Supports both RGB and YCbCr color spaces (ITU-R BT.601 and BT.709 format)
5. Auxiliary channel can be used for touch-panel data, USB links, camera, microphone, etc.
6. Fewer lanes with embedded clock reduce RFI.

[j0rd4n @ Mar 20th 2008 11:54AM]

*The* main reason for this is that IT'S LICENSE-FREE; as in, you don't have to pay a certain company to use this spec. Better encryption was just something that was tossed in, IMO. I believe the Wikipedia entry says the same, somewhere in there.

[moe @ Mar 20th 2008 8:44AM]

palit has had display port on their cards since it became available. this article is bullshit. display port resolves all the hdmi issues when running on a computer screen which has better then TV resolutions. nothing is upconverted with display port.

[Adam @ Mar 20th 2008 8:58AM]

I believe the key word is probably "certified"

[wud_e @ Mar 20th 2008 8:45AM]

We had layoffs?

[Alex @ Mar 20th 2008 8:54AM]

EPIC FAIL!!!

ENGAGET YOU SUCK FOR PERPETUATING THAT "FIRST" SHIT!

STOP IT NOW!

[JC @ Mar 20th 2008 9:06AM]

UBER LAME!!!

ALEX YOU SUCK FOR PERPETUATING THAT "EPIC FAIL" SHIT!

STOP IT NOW!

[Mobius_1 @ Mar 20th 2008 9:11AM]

Thank you very much JC, for speaking the mind of many fellow Engadget readers :)

[Alex @ Mar 20th 2008 9:56AM]

At least epic fail means something....yeah it's kinda cliche but makes a point...

And it's better than swearing up a storm which I was trying to refrain from doing...

The fact you are defending the phrase "first" just says so much about how completely useless you are...

[JC @ Mar 20th 2008 10:57AM]

Who's defending anything? I think all people who use stupid catchphrases ought to die a slow, painful death. I'm getting sick of every comment thread on Engadget getting crapped up with "Will it blend?", "Will it play Doom?", "I for one...", and yes, "Epic FAIL" too.

Real comedy and wit, that I can live with. Regurgitated vomit, not so much.

[Brent @ Mar 20th 2008 1:17PM]

When commenters do it it's lame, when Engadget makes fun of it's commenters that's somehow so much better. Looking forward to the epic fail reference sometime soon. It'll be nice to have the eds mock you in addition to the comments here already.

[webon @ Mar 20th 2008 11:32PM]

FIRST!

[Mobius_1 @ Mar 20th 2008 9:09AM]

As if people who buy 30 inch monitors use a video card without 8 or 9 in its name, well, make that several video cards

[Nehemoth @ Mar 20th 2008 10:35AM]

And remember one of the most important feature of DisplayPort which is, royalty free.

You know all the big player wants big profits.

:-)

[Nehemoth @ Mar 20th 2008 10:37AM]

testing my profile....again

[majortom1981 @ Mar 20th 2008 11:52AM]

How are they the first when there is a 9600gt card with display port on it thats been out for a month or two?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261001

see it has a display port and is an nvidia 9600gt.

[Juaquin @ Mar 20th 2008 1:24PM]

First officially approved. Not just first with a displayport.

[fuma @ Mar 20th 2008 12:35PM]

well, this one's frogless.

[Allen @ Mar 20th 2008 1:11PM]

The main benefit for consumers is length. It can run MUCH farther than HDMI before it loses signal. Category 1 cables for HDMI can run 15 feet, category 2 runs up to 50. And at 50 feet, do not expect to get about 1920x1080p 24/50/60 playback.

DisplayPort goes up to 50 feet (there are not two categories of cable, just one), and at 50 feet gives you 1920x1200 I am told. And a new, fiber optic based cable (expected to not cost much more than the copper cable, which is cheap anyway), will run up past 100 meters with 2500x1600 resolution. Its the same spec fiber used in those undersea cables, just in smaller size, so I wouldn't doubt you could get a kilometer out of that stuff before you need to do anything else.

[Kraziman @ Mar 20th 2008 7:24PM]

From a HTPC builder trying to build a bluray HTPC:
1. All graphics cards are only HDMI 1.2.
2. You can get Displayport to HDMI1.3 converting cables. This sounds good at face value but..
3. Displayport has the bandwidth to pass things like DTS HD master audio (24Mbps). True, but if you pass the audio signal to the graphics card using a SPDIF cable (1.5Mbps max bandwidth) then you don't have to be a rocket scientist to see thst's not going to work.

The card makers only ever tell you their card is "HMDI" hoping to catch the customers who don't bother to check what version it is (not 1.3). The card makers are telling you they have "displayport" card but will never mention things like "DTS HD master audio" because they can't do it.