DP8K Certified DisplayPort cables - native DisplayPort cables that are guaranteed to support DisplayPort High Bit Rate 3 (HBR3) - are now available in the marketplace, and the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) is ready to double the DisplayPort data rate.

HBR3 is the highest bit rate (8.1 Gigabits per second (Gbps) per lane) supported by DisplayPort standard version 1.4, and provides the speed required to drive 8K video resolution at 60 frames per second (fps) using a single cable, as well as multiple 4K displays. DisplayPort HBR3 has enabled support for 8K and novel wide-aspect resolutions, such as 3840 x 1080, at refresh rates of 144Hz and beyond for High Dynamic Range (HDR) gaming. Applications supported by HBR3 include high-performance gaming, augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR) and television broadcasting. HBR3 is already available in a wide array of consumer products, including GPUs and monitors. The availability of cables that have been certified by VESA to support HBR3 come to complete the HBR3 ecosystem.

With DP8K Certified cables, devices with native DisplayPort connectors can reliably support 5K or 8K monitors, as well as high-performance 4K monitors. For USB Type-C (USB-C) to USB-C connections, this same level of performance is available with "SuperSpeed USB 10 Gbps" cables, which support the HBR3 data rate for DisplayPort Alt Mode.

Cable vendors offering DP8K Certified DisplayPort cables include ELKA International, Hotron Precision Electronic Industrial, Dezhou HongJu Communication Technology, Ji-Haw Industrial, and Ningbo Prime Electronic. HBR3 cable testing is now available at DisplayPort Authorized Test Centers (ATCs), including Allion Labs and Granite River Labs (GRL).

Gaming systems showcasing the ability to drive 4K resolution at 120 fps using DisplayPort HBR3 will be demonstrated at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), January 9-12, 2018.

VESA is also currently engaged with its members in the development of the next DisplayPort standard generation, with plans to increase the data rate enabled by DisplayPort by two-fold and beyond. VESA plans to publish this update within the next 18 months. The new standard will address future performance requirements of traditional displays, such as beyond 8K resolutions, and will further enhance the user experience with AR/VR displays, including 4K-and-beyond VR resolutions.

In addition to pure display interfaces, VESA is also working to address the future needs of the mixed data-plus-video world of DisplayPort Alt Mode on the USB-C connector. USB-C now allows a single connector for USB data, video data and power, but for simultaneous support of SuperSpeed USB data (now running at 5 or 10 Gbps) and video, the USB-C signals need to be shared, which cuts the DisplayPort bit rate in half. Today, USB-C can support 4K at 60Hz performance utilizing the two lanes of USB-C in this configuration, or 4K HDR or 8K at 30Hz by adding compression. Increasing the DisplayPort data rates in the future will also expand video display capability of a single USB-C connector.