VESA Rolls Out DisplayID Version 2.0

The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) today announced a major update to its Display Identification Data (DisplayID) standard. The new version 2.0 of this universal display standard simplifies connecting and configuring modern display products, including PC monitors, consumer TVs and embedded displays (e.g., display panels within laptop and all-in-one systems). The result is a best-in-class plug-and-play experience. Advanced capabilities supported include 4K-and-higher resolutions, high dynamic range (HDR), augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), and refresh rates of 120 Hz and above.

The DisplayID standard was originally launched in 2009 to enable the widely adopted Extended Display Identification Data (EDID) standard to keep up with newer-generation display technologies. However, with the EDID standard nearing the end of its effectiveness, a standard with new standalone structures, unencumbered by legacy architecture, is needed to properly and efficiently communicate modern display capabilities, thus ensuring an optimal user experience for future display technologies.

What's New with DisplayID 2.0

The key difference between DisplayID 2.0 and EDID predecessors is its modular structure, based on the concept of "data blocks" - individually defined, self-contained data formats that each provide a specific set of related display information in a clear unambiguous manner. This benefit affords unprecedented flexibility, as entire content can be constructed from any number of elements, predefined data blocks or descriptors. The specification addresses head-mounted and other types of wearable displays; provides a clearer way to define Adaptive-Sync (i.e., dynamic refresh rate); extends field sizes to support higher pixel counts; expands the magnitude of parameters needed to enable HDR; and supports high luminance, to name just a few of the advanced technologies that DisplayID 2.0 covers.

"What version 2.0 of the DisplayID standard facilitates is a true 'it just works' plug-and-play consumer experience," said Bill Lempesis, VESA executive director. "With advanced display technologies becoming more widely available, DisplayID 2.0 - by stripping out legacy capabilities - provides a crisp, succinct way to describe optimized connectivity while carrying forward structures that remain relevant today. This ensures the standard will expand to accommodate user demands."

"EDID remains viable for lower-resolution devices, and the current framework allows for the smooth transition from EDID to DisplayID as modern displays migrate over time," commented Syed Hussain, VESA board vice chairman and AMD Senior Display Domain Fellow. "While DisplayID 2.0 is a future-focused specification incorporating support for higher resolution and refresh rates as well as HDR and Adaptive-Sync, it can also co-exist with older products supporting EDID, further enabling us to help guarantee full-plug-and-play ability for consumers regardless of the type of display they own."