The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) has announced an update to the Embedded DisplayPort (eDP) standard, bringing it to 1.4a. The major additions in this version include the introduction of the Display Stream Compression (DSC) standard (1.1) and a new segmented panel architecture that facilitates an increase in the amount of bandwidth available.

With eDP 1.4a, the focus is to enable higher bandwidth in systems with integrated graphics solutions such as smartphones, tablets and notebooks. With Quad HD mobile devices already available and 4K touted to be the next big thing in the world of smartphones, bandwidth required to drive a screen is continually growing. As such, eDP 1.4a has four lanes, each with a bandwidth of 8.1Gbps. The lanes can be used individually or combined to provide a theoretical bandwidth of 32.4Gbps. The amount of available bandwidth can easily drive a 4K screen (3840×2160) at 120Hz with 10-bit color and an 8K display at 60Hz.

Display Stream Compression is a compression technology that VESA claims does not result in any noticeable difference in quality, leading to “visually lossless” content. The technology allows data reduction by as much as three times the original size. There’s also enhancements to Panel Self-Refresh, which further adds to the overall data reduction by only changing the updated pixels frame to frame. We can only gauge the veracity of these claims once we see the standard in consumer-level hardware, which will occur next year.

Also available in eDP 1.4a is optional support for Adaptive Sync, or AMD’s FreeSync. The technology works in conjunction with an AMD-enabled video card and serves to minimize frame-tearing and stutter. As the feature is an optional one in the standard, it is likely we won’t see it in all eDP 1.4a monitors.

While eDP 1.4a is a move to enable 4K and beyond resolutions, there are other significant factors in bringing 4K or even 8K to a mobile, including GPU and display technology.

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Samsung just announced the SE790C, a 32″ top of the line  curved Ultra-WQHD monitor.  This monitor has been engineered to give the best curved monitor experience possible and to provide superior eye comfort as validated by TÜV Rheinland.

The brand new SE790C follows the new trend for WQHD displays, with its resolution of 3,440 by 1,440 pixels and 21:9 aspect ratio.  It is bursting with high-end specs like a 3000:1 contrast ratio and 300 cd/m² typical brightness with dynamic lighting and shading.

The viewing angle is 178 degrees horizontally and vertically, which will give a great viewing experience however you choose to set up your desk and office.  The SE790C houses four USB 3.0 super-charging ports which should be able to properly charge more demanding portable devices like the iPad with 2.1A.

The monitor also incorporates dual 7-watt stereo speakers to give the full multimedia experience.  Users can choose from PiP (Picture-in-Picture) and PbP 2.0 (Picture-by-Picture) to connect and view two devices simultaneously without the need to downscale content.  This will be nice for those who want to set up their console and computer to the same monitor to save desktop space.  The SE790C also comes with a height adjustable curved T-shaped, while the panel itself has a hidden VESA mount bracket.  Based on what Samsung calls 3000R (curvature radius of 3000mm) design the curved display is said to provide a “noticeably different viewing experience from traditional flat screen monitors and competitive curved monitors”.   Samsung claims that the monitor creates a panoramic-like view and creates a wider and fuller field of view.  It even claims that the monitor’s design creates a 3D-like effect, though this is not really likely and seems more like they are claiming that it is much more of an immersive display.

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AMD (NYSE:AMD) and Samsung (KRX:005930) announced a partnership today at the AMD Future of Compute event in held in Singapore.

The partnership will have Samsung making FreeSync enabled displays, and they will begin to appear in March of next year.  The first will be 23.6 inch and 28 inch versions of the UD590 which will both be UHD (4K) displays.  Later will come some more UHD displays in the UE850 line with 23.6 inch, 28 inch , and 31.5 inch models.  AMD’s FreeSync is its alternative to Nvidia’s G-SYNC tech that has been in the market for over a year now. AMD went the royalty free route with its FreeSync technology that is based on the Adaptive-Sync open standard for DisplayPort.  VESA is implementing this technology in the new DisplayPort 1.2a and DisplayPort 1.3 specification.  With the lower costs of FreeSync tech this will no doubt encourage more manufacturers to use it in upcoming models.

It may be fairly late in the game for FreeSync since G-Sync has done well with gaming enthusiasts looking to get a good gaming monitor.  Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) has made headway getting companies on the G-SYNC train, such as ASUS (TPE: 2357), BenQ (TPE:8215), Philips, and Acer (TPE:2353).  The 27″ QHD (2560×1440) 144Hz ASUS ROG Swift PG278Q is by far one of the best G-SYNC monitors that is currently available but sells for $799 and isn’t even 4K.  There are also UHD versions available such as the Acer XB280HK that retails for just under $800. But even with a decent amount of monitors on the market, Nvidia’s G-Sync monitors command a serious premium over equally specced monitors without G-Sync. As such, this could potentially put Nvidia at a disadvantage since many monitor manufacturers are constantly looking for ways to differentiate without spending too much money on the bill of materials (BOM).

There is little doubt that FreeSync will do well and that the partnership between AMD and Samsung will do well with the products.  With about four months until the models come out users will have plenty of time to set some money aside each month now that we have a date.  This will be the go-to monitor of choice for the AMD fans and there sure are plenty of them waiting for the next-gen AMD product to pair with a FreeSync monitor. There has also been talk of companies like BENQ and even ASUS potentially releasing FreeSync compatible monitors. The reality of the situation is that adaptive sync is the superior technology and will very likely get adopted by Intel and that will help AMD overcome Nvidia’s overall size and dominance in the graphics market. Once AMD can partner with Intel (crazy to think) to push FreeSync/Adaptive Sync in both companies’ products then G-Sync will effectively be dead. But you can’t blame Nvidia for wanting to improve gaming, even at a fairly high cost.

The partnership will see Samsung releasing new FreeSync monitors in March 2015.

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While AMD (NYSE: AMD) has fully embraced VESA’s Adaptive Sync standard, which powers its Project Freesync, Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) has flat-out rejected the idea in an interview with Chinese-language publication Expreview.

Expreview asked an Nvidia representative whether the company intends to support VESA’s Adaptive Sync, which competes with Nvidia’s G-Sync. Nvidia says it has no plans to support the protocol on its recently launched GeForce 9-series, pointing to the fact that neither of the cards have the the requisite DisplayPort 1.2a connectors (which are supported in most cards AMD has released over the past two years) for Adaptive Sync to work.

Later, Nvidia confirmed this when responding to an inquiry from Tom’s Hardware.

“Nvidia is solely focused on delivering the best gaming experience with G-SYNC—which is shipping and available today from leading monitor OEMs,” Nvidia said to the publication.

While VESA’s Adaptive Sync is based on open standards, Nvidia’s competing G-Sync is proprietary and requires Nvidia’s silicon in the monitors to work (which also brings in royalties for Nvidia).

Should Nvidia dump G-Sync?

Now that Nvidia’s G-Sync has a competitor that’s part of the broader VESA standard, questions remain on whether the company should continue to pursue the standard or simply abandon it. While Nvidia has had some luck convincing hardware partners such as Asus and Acer to include G-Sync in their monitors, the standard hasn’t been the best-seller that Nvidia no doubt hoped.

One option for Nvidia would be to simply drop the royalties associated with G-Sync altogether and make it freeware. Nvidia isn’t likely to adopt Adaptive Sync, as it could be seen as a capitulation to its competitor AMD. Alternatively Nvidia may simply treat the protocol to an unceremonious and undignified death next year, much like how Nvision — its 3D gaming platform — simply faded away in 2012-2013.

Regardless of what option Nvidia takes, it now faces an uphill battle convincing vendors that they should adopt its proprietary standard instead of embracing what VESA and AMD are offering.

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After just recently announcing the DisplayPort 1.3 standard, VESA has today announced yet another major step forward for the entire electronics industry.

VESA, the governing body behind DisplayPort Alt actually has been working with the USB 3.0 promoter group to integrate the new DisplayPort Alt protocols into the new USB Type C connector due to be implemented in future computers and mobile devices. The brilliance of this partnership and announcement is that it combines the simplicity of USB Type C with the interoperability of DisplayPort across various standards and connectors. Remember, USB Type C is the USB IF’s own third standard connector (in addition to A and B) which allows for a perfectly reversible connector that is not only significantly smaller than the current USB connectors, but also orientation agnostic and capable of delivering up to 100 watts of power.

USB Type C Pin Out Diagram – Notice how its symmetrical and reversible

In simple terms, that means that you can have a 4K video signal transmitted over the very same cable that also powers your device and sends it other data. You could theoretically connect a Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) 4K display that has USB 3.1 ports and power over a single USB Type C connector, which would mean that most devices would only require a single USB Type C connector for all purposes. This usage model works only when a USB Type C connector is connected to another USB Type C connector, however there is still quite a bit of interoperatbility between previous USB connectors and standards with USB Type C and DisplayPort Alt mode.

Example Configurations of USB Type C with DisplayPort Alt Mode

Watch out Thunderbolt

With an industry standard USB Type C connector on both ends consumers can expect that their device will have up to USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) bandwidth, combined with up to 100 watts of power and DisplayPort audio and video signaling capability. This presents a direct challenge to Apple’s own Thunderbolt connector which is capable of both data and video like USB 3.1, but lacks power capabilities as well as the ability to send data, power and video at the same time. In fact, there have been rumors that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is actually behind pushing USB Type C and DisplayPort Alt due to the fact that its Thunderbolt cables still require Intel’s (NASDAQ: INTC) proprietary technology and don’t actually help improve bandwidth much greater than what USB 3.1 Gen 2 offers. A USB Type C cable with USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) is essentially just as capable as Thunderbolt is, as both standards only support 10 Gbps per cable.

Also, with DisplayPort Alt, a laptop or mobile device manufacturer doesn’t have to worry about what display a consumer might want to use because DisplayPort effectively supports all legacy standards in addition to DisplayPort (HDMI, DVI, VGA).

It also removes the problem that DisplayPort has been having with manufacturers, which is battling for connector space on PCBs and fitting into manufacturers’ progressively thinner and thinner designs. Now, everyone will want to have a USB Type C connector in their devices purely because of the fact that it fully support DisplayPort Alt mode which means that you can get full DisplayPort functionality through a USB cable and don’t need an additional connector (like you would with HDMI or standard DisplayPort connector). DisplayPort Alt mode essentially means that mobile device manufacturers can toss standards like HDMI and MHL to the wind and adopt a single cable for everything while still supporting legacy standards at the same time.

VESA is working with the USB IF to create a standard set of testing procedures for cables to certify them for DisplayPort Alt mode which will be signified by a simple DisplayPort logo on the USB cable, letting the consumer know that the cable is capable of DisplayPort Alt mode and therefore all of the things that come with that, including video signaling capabilities. The goal is to make this certification and testing procedure to be part of the USB Type C certification process so that manufacturers can easily adhere to it without needing additional equipment or testing procedures.

With this announcement, device manufacturers can now focus on a single connector standard and unify around it on a global scale. It will satisfy governments’ demands to have a single power connector across all mobile devices and it may even entice Apple to move away from their own proprietary lightning connector in order to make consumers’ lives easier and manufacturing costs lower. No more apologizing for not having a lightning connector or worrying about whether or not a friend might have a spare charger. It also will reduce the amount of connectors and cables that consumers may have to deal with in general as the industry moves towards a single standard connector for virtually everything ‘cabled’.

USB Type C and DisplayPort Alt mode are a match made in heaven and are a really great example of when companies (and standards organizations) work together to create industry standards that make technology better for everyone.

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VESA officially announced the DisplayPort 1.3 Standard Monday, something long-time readers of Bright Side of News* may have already been familiar with.

Many months ago, there was talk about DisplayPort 1.3 exclusively on BSN*, those rumors pointed to 8K and 4K 3D. In terms of bandwidth, the 8.1 Gbps per channel was spot on as VESA’s new DisplayPort 1.3 bandwidth clocks in at exactly 32.4 Gbits/second. This is more than enough to support 4K video (as DisplayPort 1.2 already does this with much less bandwidth). However, the increase to 32.4 Gbps appears to be more of a future-proofing of DisplayPort 1.3 as it already incorporates 4K support as well as adaptive sync from the DisplayPort 1.2a standard that preceded it.

DisplayPort Bandwidth

The new DisplayPort 1.3 standard also brings HDCP 2.2 and HDMI 2.0 compatibility, enabling you to take a DisplayPort connector and make it into an HDMI 2.0 connector at will via an adapter. Thanks to the added bandwidth of the DisplayPort 1.3 standard, there is also the possibility of supporting 4K displays at 60 Hz and up to 24-bit color, and as if that all weren’t enough there are additional data channels available for USB 3.0 connectivity with Dockport. This means that we could expect to see USB 3.0 connectors on some 4K monitors using only a single data cable and a separate cable for power.

VESA is currently only talking about 5K resolution support like for the recently announced Dell 5K monitor with DisplayPort 1.3, which very likely means that we won’t see 4K3D and 8K support until DisplayPort 1.3a when VESA adopts their compression standard as part of DisplayPort. While there isn’t necessarily an exact timeframe for such an update, there’s a very good chance that the industry could see it follow shortly after DisplayPort 1.3’s announcement today. It is a little disappointing that the compression standard didn’t make it into DisplayPort 1.3, but there could have been a timing issue that caused a delay that wouldn’t have enabled DisplayPort 1.3 to have the necessary compression to support 8K resolution.

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As we had already reported, a component of the AMD technology coined as FreeSync has finally been ratified and standardized by VESA as part of the DisplayPort 1.2a standard. As of today, however, the standard will be known as Adaptive-Sync. While it may not be as catchy for companies like AMD, which liked to brag about the fact that their version of adaptive refresh rate syncing was a ‘free’ upgrade the truth is the technology is best named Adaptive-Sync. This is a more open version of what Nvidia’s currently doing with their G-Sync technology, which is also an adaptive-sync technology, but requires Nvidia GPU and Nvidia monitor electronics both of which are not only cost prohibitive but fairly closed in terms of accessibility to others. As such, Nvidia must be applauded for having brought this technology to market and for having made the issue a topic of discussion and ultimately resulting in DisplayPort’s supporting of this new adaptive-sync technology.

How Adaptive-Sync works in different scenarios

Adaptive-Sync is a great technology because it will allow both gaming desktop and notebook manufacturers to not only smooth out the frame rates of gaming and graphics, but also to only refresh the monitor as many times as the GPU is capable of delivering frames. This means that with fewer refreshes we could see much better power consumption and battery life out of these displays, which ultimately results in better power bills for people that always have their monitors on and better battery life for mobile devices that connect to an external display. Adaptive-Sync has been a part of VESA’s embedded DisplayPort, eDP, spec since 2009 and as a result, a lot of adaptive-sync technology is already incorporated into a lot of the components for displays that rely on eDP for internal signaling.

Implementation of DisplayPort Adaptive-Sync technology is offered to VESA members free without any license fee, which means we will likely see big monitor manufacturers like Dell and Samsung adopting this standard fairly quickly. This announcement, as we had stated earlier would likely happen in May, and precede VESA’s DisplayPort 1.3 announcement. This announcement is expected to come around the late Q2, early Q3 timeframe and will include all of the DisplayPort 1.2a features including adaptive-sync. And thanks to the inclusion of adaptive-sync into DisplayPort 1.2, the DisplayPort 1.3 standard may have an easier time enabling things like 8K video since supporting 8K video at variable lower frame rates going to be less bandwidth intensive than 30 or 60p. While we don’t know what the exact final specifications of DisplayPort 1.3 will be, we do know it will likely include VESA’s new video compression standard called Display Stream Compression which is designed to support up to 8K video. As we’ve said before, the people at VESA would really like to be able to maintain the same cabling as DisplayPort 1.1 and 1.2, however it may not be possible in order to enable 8K and 4K 3D technologies. Until then, we’ll keep you updated and informed on the latest from VESA and all of the video standards.

Update 11:35 am: AMD has sent us a series of Q&A about the new DisplayPort Adaptive-sync technology addressing some people’s questions

Q:What is DisplayPort™ Adaptive-Sync?
A: DisplayPort™ Adaptive-Sync is a new addition to the DisplayPort™ 1.2a specification, ported from the embedded DisplayPort™ v1.0 specification. DisplayPort™ Adaptive-Sync provides an industry-standard mechanism that enables real-time adjustment of a monitor’s refresh rate of a display over a DisplayPort™ link.

Q: What is Project FreeSync?
A: Project FreeSync is an AMD effort to leverage industry standards, like DisplayPort™ Adaptive-Sync, to deliver dynamic refresh rates. Dynamic refresh rates synchronize the refresh rate of a compatible monitor to the framerate of a user’s AMD Radeon™ graphics to reduce or eliminate stuttering, juddering and/or tearing during gaming and video playback.

Q: How are DisplayPort™ Adaptive-Sync and Project FreeSync different?
A: DisplayPort™ Adaptive-Sync is an ingredient DisplayPort™ feature that enables real-time adjustment of monitor refresh rates required by technologies like Project FreeSync. Project FreeSync is a unique AMD hardware/software solution that utilizes DisplayPort™ Adaptive-Sync protocols to enable user-facing benefits: smooth, tearing-free and low-latency gameplay and video.

Q: Is DisplayPort™ Adaptive-Sync the industry-standard version of Project FreeSync?
A: The DisplayPort™ Adaptive-Sync specification was ported from the Embedded DisplayPort™ specification through a proposal to the VESA group by AMD. DisplayPort™ Adaptive-Sync is an ingredient feature of a DisplayPort™ link and an industry standard that enables technologies like Project FreeSync.

Q: What are the requirements to use FreeSync?
A: To take advantage of the benefits of Project FreeSync, users will require: a monitor compatible with DisplayPort™ Adaptive-Sync, a compatible AMD Radeon™ GPU with a DisplayPort™ connection, and a compatible AMD Catalyst™ graphics driver. AMD plans to release a compatible graphics driver to coincide with the introduction of the first DisplayPort™ Adaptive-Sync monitors.

Q: When can I buy a monitor compatible with Project FreeSync?
A: AMD has undertaken every necessary effort to enable Project FreeSync in the display ecosystem. Monitor vendors are now integrating the DisplayPort™ Adaptive-Sync specification and productizing compatible displays. AMD is working closely with these vendors to bring products to market, and we expect compatible monitors within 6-12 months.

Q: What AMD Radeon™ GPUs are compatible with Project FreeSync?
A: The first discrete GPUs compatible with Project FreeSync are the AMD Radeon™ R9 290X, R9 290, R7 260X and R7 260 graphics cards. Project FreeSync is also compatible with AMD APUs codenamed “Kabini,” “Temash,” “Beema,” and “Mullins.” All compatible products must be connected via DisplayPort™ to a display that supports DisplayPort™ Adaptive-Sync.

Q: How is Project Freesync different from NVIDIA G-Sync?
A: While both technologies have similar benefits, G-Sync uses expensive and proprietary hardware. In contrast, Project FreeSync utilizes the industry-standard DisplayPort™ Adaptive-Sync specification to promote wider adoption, lower cost of ownership, and a broad ecosystem of compatibility.

Q: Why should gamers purchase a system that utilizes Project FreeSync?
A: Project FreeSync’s ability to synchronize the refresh rate of a display to the framerate of a graphics card can eliminate visual artifacts that many gamers are especially sensitive to: screen tearing, input lag, and stuttering. Project FreeSync aims to accomplish this through an open ecosystem that does not require licensing fees from participants, which encourages broad adoption and low end-user costs.

Q: What is the supported range of refresh rates with FreeSync and DisplayPort™ Adaptive-Sync?
A: AMD Radeon™ graphics cards will support a wide variety of dynamic refresh ranges with Project FreeSync. Using DisplayPort™ Adaptive-Sync, the graphics card can detect and set an appropriate maximum and minimum refresh rate based on the capabilities reported by the display. Potential ranges include 36-240Hz, 21-144Hz, 17-120Hz and 9-60Hz.

The post Adaptive-Sync Added to VESA DisplayPort 1.2a Standard appeared first on VR World.

As many of you may already know, AMD has proposed a standard unofficially dubbed FreeSync as a way to allow monitors to sync with graphics cards in a way that allows them not to render half frames and to sync the refresh rate of the monitor with the frame rate of the GPU. This standard is designed to be a ‘free’ alternative to Nvidia’s announced G-Sync which will only work with Nvidia’s own GPUs and monitor hardware. AMD’s solution is designed to be more ‘open’ and ‘free’ meaning that you don’t have to necessarily commit to a specific brand of graphics card or monitor. While I haven’t seen FreeSync, I have seen G-Sync and I can tell you that the experience without a doubt elevates the quality of gaming without a doubt in my mind.

Now, there has recently been a rumor circulating around the press for the past few days about the fact that AMD’s dubbed FreeSync standard has been ratified by VESA and will become part of the DisplayPort standard. We did some digging around and managed to get some pretty definitive answers about this new standard that will be part of DisplayPort 1.2a. We were told that while the name itself isn’t too bad, there is a strong likelihood that when the new standard is officially announced as part of DisplayPort  that it’ll lose its current name.  We were also told that there’s a strong likelihood that we could see it as soon as May, shortly before VESA makes another announcement.

That announcement will precede an even bigger one, in the announcement of DisplayPort 1.3. For those unfamiliar with DisplayPort 1.3, we wrote a pretty lengthy exclusive article back in December detailing all of the aspects of DisplayPort 1.3, however, once FreeSync gets integrated into 1.2a, that feature will also be added to 1.3 by default. I suspect that because of FreeSync, there may be a possibility that we could see DisplayPort 1.3 gaining faster adoption as a result of the fact that a generally lower refresh rate will allow for less power drawn by the display. In fact, one of the best applications for FreeSync in DisplayPort 1.2a and later standards will be the fact that monitors will spend less time refreshing and as a result drawing less power. Not to mention the overall experiential improvements. Additionally, it may be easier to implement things like 8K video over DisplayPort 1.3 if we know that initial testing can be done at lower refresh rates than 60 Hz. Hopefully they’ve resolved the cable bandwidth issue with DisplayPort 1.3, and if we find out anything new about FreeSync or DisplayPort 1.3, we’ll be sure to report it to you as soon as possible.

The expectation is that DisplayPort 1.3 will be announced sometime in late Q2 or early Q3, which leaves DisplayPort 1.2 to come anywhere between that time and now.

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