VESA has announced the DisplayPort 2.0 UHBR certification program for the long-awaited next revision to the standard. The announcement comes with the introduction of two new cables as well. The DP40 and DP80 ultra-high bit rate (UHBR) cables will support up to 40 Gbps and 80 Gbps of data throughput, respectively, as defined per the DisplayPort 2.0 standard.
A single cable is capable of uncompressed data transmission for 8K 60 Hz HDR. Those looking for something faster could use a single 4K HDR display with refresh rates of up to 240 Hz. Dual 4K 120 Hz HDR displays are also supported, and all without the use of DSC. The new spec ensures that PC gaming enthusiasts will be able to look forward to new levels of image quality, that is, once GPU technology catches up.
DP40 and DP 80 UHBR Specifications
| Cable Name | UHBR10 Link Rate | Full four-lane operation | UHBR13.5 Link Rate |
| DP40 UHBR | 10 Gbps | 40 Gbps | N/A |
| DP80 UHBR | 20 Gbps | 80 Gbps | 13.5 Gbps |
VESA says that it has certified cables from Accell, BizLink, and Wizen. More cables are being tested and certified as well, and we should begin seeing them on the market soon. The new standard will retain the full-size and Mini DisplayPort cable configurations previously seen with earlier versions of DisplayPort. Certified cables will be fully backward-compatible. Full-featured USB Type-C devices are capable of supporting the UHBR standard via DisplayPort Alt Mode, and USB Type-C to DisplayPort 2.0 converters should also hit the market soon.
Press Release
The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) today announced its certification program for video source, display and cable products supporting DisplayPort UHBR (Ultra-high Bit Rate), the higher data link rates supported by the DisplayPort standard version 2.0. Through the DisplayPort UHBR Certification Program, device and cable manufacturers can send new products to DisplayPort authorized test centers (ATCs) for testing and certification. The higher bandwidths enabled by UHBR support a variety of use cases such as uncompressed 8K 60Hz HDR, 4K 240Hz HDR, two 4K 120Hz HDR or four 4K 60Hz HDR displays through a single cable.
Today, VESA also announced the introduction of VESA certified DP40 and DP80 UHBR cables, which guarantee display connectivity and operation at the highest performance levels introduced with DisplayPort 2.0. VESA certified DP40 cables must support up to the UHBR10 link rate (10 Gigabits per second or Gbps) defined by DisplayPort 2.0, and support the full four-lane operation, providing a maximum throughput of 40 Gbps. VESA certified DP80 cables must support up to the UHBR20 link rate (20 Gbps) defined by DisplayPort 2.0, with four lanes, providing a maximum throughput of 80 Gbps. VESA certified DP80 cables will also support the UHBR13.5 link rate (13.5 Gbps), which is also defined by DisplayPort 2.0.
Multiple video source and display products are undergoing testing in the DisplayPort UHBR Certification Program now, and should complete early certification soon. Several DP40 and DP80 cables using improved full-sized DisplayPort and Mini DisplayPort connectors have already passed certification and are in production. Vendors currently offering VESA certified DP40 and DP80 cables include Accell, BizLink, and WIZEN, with more cables undergoing certification and expected to arrive to market soon.
“The ultra high bit rates supported with the DisplayPort 2.0 specification bring a whole new level of display performance and experience to the consumer,” stated James Choate, compliance program manager for VESA. “By establishing the UHBR Certification Program, we hope to speed adoption of higher-performance video and display products across the ecosystem. We expect results from this program to be similar to the success achieved with other VESA certification programs, including those that have enabled widespread ecosystem adoption of products supporting DisplayPort HBR3 bit rates, as well as the DisplayPort Alt Mode and DisplayHDR specifications and standards.”
Choate added, “No matter how high the performance of your graphics card and monitor are, the resulting image quality can still be limited by the cable used to connect those devices. Thanks to improvements in both the DisplayPort connector and cable design, the new VESA certified DP40 and DP80 UHBR cables enable consumers to get the highest performance possible from their VESA certified devices. These new cables are backed by VESA’s UHBR Certification Program, which provides added assurance that if your cable has the DP40 or DP80 logo from VESA, it will meet the specs for the highest data rates supported by current and future products certified by VESA.”
DP40 and DP80 cables are available in both full-size and Mini DisplayPort cable configurations, and are fully backward compatible with devices supporting DisplayPort link rates previously defined and currently in use, including RBR (Reduced Bit Rate), HBR (High Bit Rate), HBR2, and HBR3. For DisplayPort Alt Mode (DisplayPort over the USB Type-C connector), full-feature passive USB-C cables already support UHBR bit rate speeds, while USB Type-C to DisplayPort converter cables certified by VESA to meet UHBR speed requirements will soon become available.
UHBR product testing is now available at DisplayPort ATCs, including Allion Labs and Granite River Labs (GRL). A complete list of DisplayPort ATCs can be found at https://www.vesa.org/displayport-developer/compliance/.
VESA had previously announced many other supported resolution/refresh rate configurations with DisplayPort 2.0, which can be found here. Some configurations include the use of DSC, while others are without HDR or use varying color depths.
Source VESA (via VideoCardz)