HDMI to DP and vice versa

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networkn

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#294143 8-Mar-2022 10:20

I am trying to determine the reason for a price difference of $40 between buying a DP to HDMI Cable (I assume these are bi-directional and support HDMI to DP and DP to HDMI) and an DP to HDMI adapter, which costs considerably more?

Why would you use one over another?

I'd assume wherever possible you'd buy a cable that supported DP 2.0 and HDMI 1.4, and I assume that is fully backward compatible?

Any gotchas I am missing?

huckster

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#2880956 8-Mar-2022 10:26

My albeit limited experience is that they are not bi-directional. I've tried a few DP to HDMIs and they only work that direction.

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#2880959 8-Mar-2022 10:27

"I assume these are bi-directional and support HDMI to DP and DP to HDMI"

Unless it is specified as bi-directional assume its not,

DP is not like DVI which is simply a different connector but a pin to pin transformation of HDMI..

There is some form of magic that goes on in a DP-HDMI cable and its doesn't always work backwards

amanzi

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#2880962 8-Mar-2022 10:32

huckster:

My albeit limited experience is that they are not bi-directional. I've tried a few DP to HDMIs and they only work that direction.

I've been bitten by this too. I try to avoid DisplayPort as much as possible.

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#2880964 8-Mar-2022 10:34

There are historically 2 types of DP to HDMI adapter - passive and active. Passive relies on the GPU generating HDMI timing and then converts the levels to that of HDMI, active has some smarts to repackage display link data into the analog video era based timing that HDMI uses for its signaling. They both have their place. And both circuits are only one way. passive only works on some ports with the + symbols on the DP logo. Seldom see passive ones now outside of aliexpress ones because they wont do 4k HDMI.

Going the other way you have to repacketize the HDMI content into what a real displayport signal looks like. Displayport finally got rid of all the legacy stuff that has plagued HDMI until 2.1 era of timings and clock rates and other things that become incompatible between devices, and has set data rates that the transport works at so its not just a passive conversion like going the other way can be if the port supports it.

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#2881170 8-Mar-2022 13:40

amanzi:

I try to avoid DisplayPort as much as possible.

DisplayPort is a PC/Monitor technology, HDMI is a TV/AV technology, so it really depends on what you want to do. As someone who's very much more focused on PC than TV, I prefer DisplayPort.

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#2881175 8-Mar-2022 13:46

Also worth noting, HDMI 2.0/2.1/2.1a is a giant steaming dumpster fire.

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networkn

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#2881176 8-Mar-2022 13:50

Lias:

Also worth noting, HDMI 2.0/2.1/2.1a is a giant steaming dumpster fire.

I imagine as it relates to PC gaming it's not quite the same. In-Home theatre setups I agree.

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#2881316 8-Mar-2022 17:40

networkn:

I imagine as it relates to PC gaming it's not quite the same. In-Home theatre setups I agree.

I suspect most PC gamers wouldn't use HDMI full stop. I feel for the less tech savvy trying to navigate the dumpster fire of HDMI right now thou.

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#2881321 8-Mar-2022 17:48

Lias:

I suspect most PC gamers wouldn't use HDMI full stop. I feel for the less tech savvy trying to navigate the dumpster fire of HDMI right now thou.

This is a bit off-topic from the original post, but I'm curious to know what's gone wrong with HDMI in the gaming world?

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#2881343 8-Mar-2022 18:57

amanzi:

Lias:

I suspect most PC gamers wouldn't use HDMI full stop. I feel for the less tech savvy trying to navigate the dumpster fire of HDMI right now thou.

This is a bit off-topic from the original post, but I'm curious to know what's gone wrong with HDMI in the gaming world?

HDMI has never been the best input for gaming when using PCs. When comparing HDMI to DP at their equivalent point in time, DP has just always exceeded the specs of HDMI. So PC has always used DP due to supporting higher resolutions and faster refresh rates. The only time gaming comes into it for HDMI is for consoles as they were almost always plugged into a TV.

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#2881344 8-Mar-2022 18:59

you can go display port or mini display port to HDMI or DVI

you can go mini display port to DisplayPort

you can't go HDMI or DVI to DisplayPort

you can't go DisplayPort, dvi, or HDMI to mini DisplayPort

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#2881376 8-Mar-2022 20:30

nztim:

you can't go HDMI or DVI to DisplayPort

you can't go DisplayPort, dvi, or HDMI to mini DisplayPort

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#2881380 8-Mar-2022 20:44

amanzi:

This is a bit off-topic from the original post, but I'm curious to know what's gone wrong with HDMI in the gaming world?

The guys above pretty much covered it, HDMI has never really been anything more then a 'minor curiosity' in the PC world. The PC standard was VGA for years, then DVI for a bit, then it's been DisplayPort since forever.

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#2881437 9-Mar-2022 07:58

I normally use DP but sometimes I run 4 computers through one monitor, for this setup I use HDMI cables and an HDMI switch as they are a lot cheaper than DP switches for some reason.