Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
The DisplayPort Multimode icon adds two “+” symbols to indicate a port or device that is
fully backward compatible with both DVI and HDMI technology (via inexpensive cable
adapters).
Figure12.14
showstheDisplayPortMultimodeicon.
Figure12.15
showsanin-
expensive DisplayPort to DVI adapter.
Figure 12.14
Icon indicating a DisplayPort with Multimode (DVI and HDMI) support (right).
Figure 12.15
DisplayPort to DVI adapter, which works on MultiMode DisplayPort connectors.
When DisplayPort was released, many people wondered why we needed another digital
display interface when we already had DVI and HDMI. Unfortunately, those interfaces
carry both technical and licensing limitations that were preventing their universal adop-
tion.DisplayPortisdesignedtoovercomenotonlythetechnicallimitations,butespecially
the licensing constraints and fees that the other interfaces brought along as baggage. The
