AMD chip created to support Display Port

Chip vendor announces completion of interoperability tests with Genesis transmitter

Rick Bergman: DisplayPort will deliver performance and adress bandwith concerns

AMD has announced the creation of the first graphics processor to boast native support for the next generation of display technology, DisplayPort 1.1.

The company has completed interoperability testing between a new ATI Radeon graphics processing unit and a DisplayPort 1.1 transmitter from Genesis Microchip.

DisplayPort is widely expected to supersede both DVI and VGA as the key connectivity port on LCD displays in the next couple of years. It can process 2,560 x 1,600 pixel resolution data at up to 10bit/s of colour depth, or 1.07 billion colours, through a single connection; current displays can achieve this performance only with two or more DVI ports.

A single DisplayPort chip can transmit graphics at 10.8Gbit/s, which would usually require three DVI or four low-voltage differential signalling interface chips.

DisplayPort is being groomed for the same kind of success that the high-definition (HD) port, HDMI, has found on all new HD TVs. It will be used on displays, notebooks and PCs to deliver HD content, and as with HDMI, a single cable will be capable of carrying surround sound audio.

AMD has promised that the first graphics cards to support DisplayPort 1.1 will ship early next year.
'AMD has been driving the high-definition transition on the PC with innovative firsts such as integrated HDMI, high-bandwidth digital content protection and our Unified Video Decoder,' said Rick Bergman, senior vice president at the graphics products group at AMD.

'We are once again breaking new ground in customer-centric innovation by offering increased choice in video and display technologies.'

A key advantage of DisplayPort, which also supports the HDCP copyright protection system, is that it costs only a little more to implement than current connectivity interfaces.

Alan Kobayashi, vice president, DisplayPort and monitor marketing, Genesis Microchip, said: 'This level of interoperability is the result of a long collaboration between AMD and Genesis Microchip. We believe the creation of DisplayPort is an industry milestone that will deliver incredible performance in displays and address the growing bandwidth concerns of any high-resolution audio and video application.'

Samsung recently unveiled the first LCD monitor with a DisplayPort interface. The 30in LCD, which is aimed at the professional market, transmits data at 10.8Gbit/s and has a top resolution of 2,560 x 1,600 without any colour smear. Mass production is due to begin in the second quarter of 2008.