Standards approval for Apple display connector

Posted on 11 Nov 2009 at 09:54

The Video Electronics Standards Association has certified the Mini DisplayPort as a standard for connecting laptops and other portable devices to external displays.

Developed by Apple for its MacBook Pro range, Mini DisplayPort (mDP) is much smaller than DVI (Digital Video Interface) or VGA connectors, but still enables fully functional video output on laptops, ultrathin notebooks and netbooks.

VESA said that mDP satisfies all the electrical and protocol specifications required by the original DisplayPort standard, providing the the full range of power, signalling and protocol capabilities.

VESA will not complete work on DisplayPort 1.2, which incorporates mDP and doubles available bandwidth to 21.6 Gb/second. The increased bandwidth will enable extended capabilities, including: multi-monitor support via a single output connector; higher resolutions, refresh rates and colour depths; and support for high performance 3D displays.

Apple has already licensed mDP to other companies that wish to incorporate the technology in new displays. VESA approval should accelerate that process.

Author: Simon Aughton

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